Defiant braceros : how migrant workers fought for racial, sexual, and political freedom / Mireya Loza.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Loza, Mireya, author.

Series:

David J. Weber series in the new borderlands history

The David J. Weber series in the new borderlands history

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Seasonal Farm Laborers Program.

Foreign workers, Mexican--United States--History.

Foreign workers, Mexican.

Mexicans--Race identity--United States.

Mexicans.

Foreign workers, Mexican--Political activity--United States--History.

Foreign workers, Mexican--United States--Social conditions--History.

Foreign workers, Mexican--United States--Economic conditions--History.

Economic conditions.

History.

Social conditions.

Political participation.

Mexicans--Race identity.

United States.

Physical Description:

xiii, 237 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Chapel Hill : The University of North Carolina Press, [2016]

Summary:

"In this book, Mireya Loza sheds new light on the history of the Bracero Program (1942-1964), the binational agreement between the United States and Mexico that allowed hundreds of thousands of male Mexican workers to enter this country on temporary work permits. While this program and the issue of temporary workers has long been politicized on both sides of the border, Loza argues that the prevailing romanticized image of braceros as a family-oriented, productive, legal workforce has obscured the real, diverse experiences of the workers themselves. Focusing on underexplored aspects of workers' lives such as their transnational union organizing efforts, the sexual economies of both gay and straight workers, and the ethno-racial boundaries among Mexican indigenous braceros, Loza reveals how these men defied perceived political, sexual, and racial norms. Basing her work on an archive of more than 800 oral histories from the United States and Mexico, Loza is the first scholar to carefully differentiate between the experiences of Spanish-speaking guest workers and the many Mixtec, Zapotec, Purhepecha, and Mayan laborers. In doing so, she demonstrates how these transnational workers were able to forge new identities in the face of intense discrimination and exploitation"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction. Making braceros

Interlude. Me modernicé

Yo era indígena: race, modernity, and the transformational politics of transnational labor

Interlude. ¡Yo le digo!

In the camp's shadows: intimate economies in the Bracero Program

Interlude. Documenting

Unionizing the impossible: Alianza de Braceros Nacionales de México en los Estados Unidos

Interlude. Ten percent

La política de la dignidad: creating the Bracero Justice Movement

Interlude. Performing masculinities

Epilogue. Representing memory: braceros in the archive and museum.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781469629759

1469629755

9781469629766

1469629763

OCLC:

942745191