Organizing with Central-American Immigrants

"Organizing with Central-American Immigrants in the United States" by Carlos Cordoba is a valuable essay; it points out the obstacles to empowering the Central-American immigrant community. This community encompasses a wide spectrum of political, social, and cultural beliefs. Thus many of the existing social action models must be adapted and modified to effect favorable outcomes for organizing activities.

One of the obstacles to political power in the Central-American immigrant community is its diversity. This diversity makes it difficult to generalize the community's demographic composition. Central-American immigrants are among the fastest growing population in the United States (Cordoba 178). Among the nationalities represented are Guatemalans, Salvadorans, Nicaraguans, Hondurans, and Costa Ricans, and various ethnic subgroups within these categories. For instance, the Mayan Indians are the indigenous culture of Guatemalan and are mostly employed as agricultural migrant workers in the United States. Their cultural, political, and social values differ sharply from the mestizo and Spanish-speaking Guatemalan immigrants, who come from middle- and working class backgrounds. Distinct differences also exist between recent Central-American immigrants and those who resettled during the 1970s and 1980s. Besides the number of legal immigrants, a substantial number of undocumented Central-Americans also reside in the United States.

Another obstacle to community organizin

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