Abstract
In this pioneering work of social theory, Cristina Beltrán applies the best of European and American political thought to the contemporary predicament of “Latinos,” that portion of the U.S. population which is of Latin American origin or social identity. The Trouble with Unity, the author’s evocative title, is that the 45 million Latinos have always been a diverse and heterogeneous group. For the author, attempts to create a homogeneous Latino identity and united political movement are not only hopeless but harmful to the interests of Latinos as a whole. The notion of a common Latino way of life and shared political destiny is more a fiction of activist discourse and journalistic rhetoric than a grounded reality.
Through a conceptual apparatus assembled from mainstream political science, post-colonial, feminist and cultural studies theorists (including Anzaldúa, Arendt, Brown, Butler, Connolly, Deleuze, Guattari, and Warner), Beltrán exposes the myth that the largest ethnic minority group in the United States will one day arise like a wide-awake Frankenstein to take its rightful share of power. According to Beltrán, both the Puerto Rican and Chicano movements of the 1960s attempted to naturalize particular representations of a unified Latino polity and shared traditions and make them a basis for popular mobilizations. The author subjects both movements to a rigorous feminist and queer theory-based critique. In the end, she argues, these iconic movements limited rather than widened political alternatives for gay Latinos and women.
In subsequent decades, Latinidad, a more diffuse, amorphous, culturally-oriented and less politicized sense of pan-Latin ethnicity moved to the forefront. One of the most intriguing sections of the book concerns the “politics of resonance” as it relates to Latino political relationships. Resonance refers to linguistic, emotional, spiritual, physiognomic, or other senses of self and political affiliation that are not necessarily ideological, ancient, policy-oriented, or deeply rooted. Such connections, per Connolly, underlie primarily white Christian-oriented movements such as Bush-era Republicanism. The Tea Party appears to spring from similar antecedents. One would hope that the “rhizomatic” political resonances of Latinos would generate a more progressive, forward-looking politics than that of evangelical white Protestants and the “cowboy capitalists.” But this remains to be seen.
Throughout the book Beltrán systematically dismantles outmoded political discourses in favor of emergent, negotiated, more complex coalitions of Latino solidarity. Inspired by feminist and queer theory, she considers Latino a verb rather than a noun and “Latino interests” a perpetually contingent space of contestation and alliance.The author explicitly disavows the idea that she has ignored the practical needs of real-world Latinos. She also rejects the suggestion that post-colonial critics must not only deconstruct colonial frameworks but also replace them with a new emancipatory framework.
Overall, the book is logically coherent, well supported by information on the historical experience of Latino social movements, and theoretically convincing. Yet as one envisions the future of Latino groups in the light of Beltrán’s Deleuzian theorizing, a number of political possibilities seem likely. Most notably, I would suggest that the fragmentation that Beltrán analyzes, and to some extent advocates, may well lead to the emergence of new Mexican-American political coalitions that are less focused on the interests of other Latino groups (Puerto Ricans, Cuban-Americans, Dominicans, Central Americans, etc.) and more closely concerned with conflicts or alliances vis-à-vis their primary political interlocutors (Anglo Americans and Mexican nationals). Mexican Americans/ Chicanos make up roughly two-thirds of the U.S. Latino population and in some cities, such as San Antonio, El Paso, and East Los Angeles, and regions, they comprise the vast majority. In such regional places and situations, Mexican Americans/Chicanos may still be able to mobilize around more essentialized notions of identity and presumptively shared interests related to issues of immigration, language policy, hiring and labor practices, religion, customs, and traditions. They may also create unique coalitions of political resonance à la Connolly. The U.S.-Mexico border and the divisive political discourses and practices surrounding it looms large in these political struggles and debates, though the border is little discussed in Beltrán’s book.
Ultimately, The Trouble with Unity does not provide political prescriptions for quotidian policies, party politics or electoral strategies. It is primarily a philosophical probing into how Latinos have been conceived as a cultural and political entity, and how they may be reimagined in the future. To that end this book will be required reading in courses, especially at the graduate level, in social theory, anthropology, feminism, Latino Studies, and political science. It will also be a vital stimulus for debate among scholars who work in these areas and their intersections. Hopefully Latino and non-Latino politicians and activists will take notice as well.