By: héctor luis díaz  (Page 2/11)

I conducted a review of the current literature related to Hispanics in the United States with the objective of identifying factors associated to their socio-economic development. Furthermore, consistent with the deductive approach to knowledge building, he proposes a theory to be tested in future research. The identified factors were classified as based on the individual or group or as contextual.

Major hispanic groups in the united states

Mexicans, Puerto Ricans and Cubans represent the three largest Hispanic groups in the United States. Nevertheless, other Hispanic groups such as the Dominican and the Salvadoran continue to grow at a very fast rate. In 1997, the four Latin-American countries with most immigrants in the United States were: Mexico, Cuba, Dominican Republic and El Salvador ( www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/1999/cb99-195.html ). Puerto Rico is not listed among these countries due to the fact that it is not a country but a territory or colony of the United States.

The Hispanic community is very diverse in terms of their cultures of origin and the circumstances that brought them to the United States. Policy-makers need knowledge about those cultures of origin and circumstances in order to better understand the unique challenges and socio-economic differences among these ethnic groups.

Most of the Cubans who came to the United States in the early 1960’s following Fidel Castro’s rise to power were White, affluent and highly educated. They enjoyed, in Cuba, disproportionate access to power and wealth, and controlled the decision-making processes within the country’s financial, political and educational institutions (Acosta-Belén, 1988, p. 96; Olson&Olson, 1995, pp. 54-55). This first group of immigrants was not able to bring financial capital to the United States; however, they were able to bring their knowledge, education, and a tradition of being part of the dominant group in society (human capital). This has made it possible for them to recreate their lifestyle in the United States and to succeed financially, once more. The social and economic progress of the Cuban community in the United States was also influenced by the “cold war” that existed for decades between the United States and the communist world. Many people in the U.S. viewed the fact that many Cubans preferred to live in the U.S. rather than in their home country, as a moral victory over Fidel Castro and communism (Olson&Olson, 1995, p. 59, 64). This helps explain why, to this day, all Cubans arriving at U.S. shores are provided with political asylum and with assistance not available to other Hispanics or immigrant groups. The previously mentioned circumstances help explain why Cubans fare better than other Hispanic groups in relation to most social and economic indicators. For instance, 25% of Cuban adults possess an education of a bachelor’s degree or more while only 7% of Mexicans and Puerto Ricans possess such levels of education. At the same time, 80% of Cuban families are headed by a married couple as compared to 68% for Hispanic families in general (www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2000/cb00-38.html).