ARIZONA BOUND, OR BOUND TO BE ARIZONA?

ARIZONA-A MICROCOSM OF THE NEW AMERICA?

In the 2004 film “The Motorcycle Diaries”, a young Ernesto “Che” Guevara makes a generally accurate observation about Latin America. The youthful pre-Communist Revolutionary says that [paraphrase] from Tierra Del Fuego to the Mexican border with Texas, Latin America is one large Mestizo continent. Mestizo is a Latin American term for mixed European and Native Latin American people.

In many Latin American counties, the majorities of the populations of the countries are of mixed European and Native American ancestry.[i] Hispanics in the United States also reflect a high percentage of Mestizo ancestry, although a few profess solely European ancestry.

Another way of addressing the meztiso populations in Latin America is to state the obvious. Spanish and Portuguese invaders of Central and South America commingled with Native peoples to produce offspring with genetic traits from both populations. European invaders and Native North Americans did not commingle in a similarly large extent. North American European conquerors preferred genocide and Apartheid (“reservations”) as opposed to a more paternalistic “patron” system.

AMERICA WANTED THE MEXICAN LANDS, BUT APPARENTLY NOT THE MEXICANS

America, a nation of immigrants that have no memory of their former immigrant status, is manufacturing another “immigrant crisis”. Originally conceived as just one more partisan “Wedge” issue designed by Republican strategists, the immigration “Wedge” has cleaved big divisions in the Republican base. Republican corporate interests (and Democratic corporate interests) like the supply of lower-wage workers. But the xenophobic, Nativist, racist wing of the Republican party (and some old-line Democrat lunch pail union types) want the “wet backs” out and snipers on the border. Too late, they’re already here. Most of them have been in here for a while. A lot of them were living in New Mexico, Arizona and California when America took those lands by military force from Mexico in the War of 1848.

MEZTISOS MOVE NORTH

As most of the readers know, the Author lives in New Mexico, Nuevo Mexico. To the east of New Mexico is Texas and to the west lies Arizona. Each state has a large Hispanic population and each has its own political and sociological idiosyncrasies. In Texas, 35% of the population is Hispanic and 49% is Anglo-European. Arizona, one of the fastest growing states in the country, is 26% Hispanic and 63% Anglo-European. New Mexico is 42% Hispanic and 45% Anglo-European. Almost 10% of New Mexican residents are First Nations Americans.

But of course most American cities and states now have large and growing Hispanic populations. Indiana, the Author’s home state, has a 3.5% Hispanic population percentage. Minnesota, the Author’s former resident state, has a 3% Hispanic population. Georgia’s population is about 5% Hispanic. And Hispanics are the largest growing population group in the country.

WHEN WILL THE UNITED STATES BECOME A MEZTISO NATION?

Just like the Author cannot predict future stock market directions, he cannot predict when the United States will be a plurality or a majority Hispanic nation. It is likely it will be, but not in the Author’s lifetime. But the process is already underway. Along with other processes. Loss of industrial capacity. Income divergence. Sprawl. Expansion of low-wage service work. Nativism versus economic and cultural inclusion.

Of the three states discussed, Arizona is likely to be a better bellwether of the new American direction[ii]. Texas is already a large state with well-defined demographic divisions. New Mexico is a small state that does not have capacity for large growth. So when we look to the future, we should look to Arizona.

In the next post, the second of a two-part series, we will look at why Arizona is a microcosm, good and bad, for the Nuevo America.

DITAT DEUS FROM THE DESERT OF THE REAL!

[i] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mestiso. This Wikopedia article addresses Meztiso populations in greater detail.
[ii] The Author did not consider California, as it is also a large state with established demographic divisions. The Author needs to look at an adolescent state, like Arizona.