Gregory Rodriguez writes:
When the Pew Center asked whether Latinos from different countries work together politically, 43% said yes but 49% said no.
It was only in the early 1970s that Mexican American activists on the West Coast and Puerto Ricans in the East sought to join forces to create a national Latino identity for political purposes. (…)
Despite the differences between conservative, rural Mexican American-dominated districts in Texas and urban Puerto Rican barrios in New York, caucus members sought to forge a common national Latino agenda.
Even then, it didn’t seem like a great idea to everyone. Some lawmakers found the term misleading but useful.
Others saw it as a way for their groups to compete with the national category of African Americans for federal money.
