Includes bibliographical references and index

Coherent connection or commonplace contiguity? : theorizing about the California-Mexico overlap -- Mexico and California : the paradox of tolerance and dedemocratization -- Reform, globalization, and structural interdependence : new economic ties between Mexico and California -- Connection at its source : changing socioeconomic conditions and migration patterns -- Exporting conflict : transboundary consequences of Mexican politics -- California and Mexico : facing the Pacific Rim -- Mexicans in Southern California : societal enrichment or wasted opportunity? -- Mexican labor in Californias's economy : from rapid growth to likely stability -- Separating myth from reality : the impact of Mexican immigration on health and human services -- In search of the American dream : obstacles to Latino educational achievement -- Once-and-future majority : Latino politics in Los Angeles -- Mexican Diaspora in California : limits and possibilities for the Mexican government -- From state to "state" : managing Mexico's California connection -- Challenges from the south : enhancing California's Mexico connection

Not since the early nineteenth century, when California was still part of Mexico, have there been such close ties between Mexico and its former northern territory. Today, one Californian in five is of Mexican heritage, compared with fewer than one in ten in 1970. California is Mexico's second-largest trading partner (after Texas), and Mexico is California's second-largest export market (after Japan). Millions of people from southern California and northern Mexico engage each day in an intricate web of transactions in which the border is much less significant than shared aims and interactions. California's growing Mexican connection shapes the state's life in many ways other than economic: from culture to cuisine, schools to boardrooms, workplace to voting booth. This book is the first in any language to explore the nature, scope, and effects of the California-Mexico connection. It analyzes the movements of people, goods, money, politics, and culture across the California-Mexico border, and explores its implications for both parties. By bringing together experts on Mexico, California, and the issue areas where they intersect, the fourteen papers in this book not only describe and analyze the connection but consider how Mexicans and Californians can help assure that the connection's effects are more consistently and mutually positive. The book is in four parts. Part I situates the California-Mexico connection in comparative and theoretical terms, and provides an overview from the Mexican perspective on the mutual impact of California and Mexico. Part II outlines demographic, economic, political, and social changes in Mexico and how they are affecting California. Part III focuses on Mexico's presence within California and its impact on society, education, health, labor, politics, and the economy. Part IV analyzes what can be done - by Mexicans and Californians - to strengthen the positive effects of the California-Mexico connection

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