Latino Politics Essay

The study of Latinos no longer encompasses minority politics. Currently there are about 60 million Latinos in the United States. It is predicted that by the year 2050, Latinos will represent an estimated one third of the American population. As demographics continue to shift and Latino populations continue to grow, it is important to understand Latino identity, Latino diversity, and the changing nature of Latino communities. It is important to note that there is no single Latino community, there are many Latino communities and they are all diverse. Understanding Latino identity and Latino communities is key to understanding the basic concept in the study of politics in terms of who is included and who is excluded. In many cases, Latino identity …show more content…
Latino identity has been a function on the interaction of class, gender, and racialization. In this case, racialization refers to the process of discursive, ideological production of racial identities by which a group is identified and targeted for differential negative action by dominant groups based on imagined or real visual, physical or phenotypical characteristics. Four interpretations of the Latino identity are panethnic, heterogeneity, ethnorace, and …show more content…
In terms of politics, Suarez-Orozco points out that Latinos have become key players in institutions where racial and ethnic categories with economic and political implications. These institutions include, the census, taxation, and political representation. Race and ethnicity have also had implications for policies including civil rights, affirmative action and equal opportunity. To a certain degree panethnicity can provide insight into who is included and excluded in Latino politics, but this understanding of Latino identity is limited to an identity defined by the government, a major institution, which may not be directly tied to interpretations of Latino identity at the household and community