Hispanics and the U.S. Political System: Moving Into the Mainstream by Chris Garcia & Gabriel Sánchez

Author:Chris Garcia & Gabriel Sánchez [Garcia, Chris & Sánchez, Gabriel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Political Science, General
ISBN: 9781317347866
Google: baZACwAAQBAJ
Goodreads: 28410050
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2015-12-22T00:00:00+00:00

LEADERSHIP

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One of the most important aspects of political organization and subsequent political success, particularly in a pluralistic democracy where groups are the primary political players, is the quality of group leadership. Leadership is sometimes difficult to define concisely. It is known that virtually every group or organization has a few “key people” who tend to be the most active and involved and who are instrumental in setting the direction and in providing the operations of any organization. Whether it is a club, interest group, or political party, these key people in organizations somehow manage to either have the qualities that impel them toward leadership or have developed the skills that allow them to play this essential role. There is no doubt that often the most effective political groups and organizations are those that have the most effective leadership. These leaders are key people who can and are willing to devote considerable time, energy and effort to the maintenance and goal-oriented behavior of their organizations. They can serve as spokespersons for these organizations and are often seen as being among the influential members of any society.

Hispanic leadership has gone through several stages in the United States. Although these are not clearly neat and distinctive phases, they are generally recognized as sequences in the development of leadership and leader types in the Hispanic community. From the earliest times, whenever there was a Hispanic community, natural leaders emerged. These people were often businessmen, educators, or religious leaders to whom others deferred and from whom others sought guidance and assistance. With the coming of Anglo America in 1848, a new type of leadership developed among Hispanics. Another culture’s economic, political, and religious system was being imposed on the conquered Mexican American people. Many of the persons who had previously been leaders in the Hispanic community were nullified or replaced by the Anglo Americans. The Hispanic community now needed persons who could serve as liaisons or go-betweens for the Anglo and Hispanic communities. At the minimum, these people had to be bilingual and often bicultural. They also had to have, if not the respect, at least the acceptance, of both the Hispanic community and the now superordinate Anglo ruling hierarchy. In other words, new leaders were “intermediaries” who had to have the acceptance, if not the support, of each of the two distinct sides of the new society.

To play an intermediate role of communication and mutual understanding between the two societies, they had to engage in what is called “dual validation.” This meant that the leaders of this now dichotomized society would have to be acceptable to both Anglo and Hispanic societies. Such intermediaries would have to be helpful in interpreting the needs and wants of the Hispanic communities to the Anglo Americans now in newly created positions of power in government, education, economics, and religion. The Hispanic community needed to have faith that these Hispanic intermediary leaders would present the community’s needs and interests effectively and clearly to the decision makers and

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