Peter M. Sanchez

The 1996 Chicago Latino Registered Voter Political Survey: Political Participation and Public Policy Positions

Abstract The Latino population in the United States has been expanding at a tremendous rate in recent decades and as the number of Latinos in the United States grows, so does their potential for influencing American politics grow. Yet, we have a very limited understanding of Latino civic engagement, political behavior, and public policy opinions. This article presents the results of a survey of 408 registered Latino voters in Chicago, Illinois. The findings advance a multidimensional understanding of Latino political behaviors and attitudes through the examination of multiple measures of political participation and opinions concerning political parties and public issues such as welfare reform, immigration, naturalization and official language policy, bilingual education, capital punishment, gun control, and affirmative action. Findings are discussed in the context of earlier studies of Latino electoral participation and American public policy opinions.

Economies of Desire: Sex and Tourism in Cuba and the Dominican Republic (review)

In this brief, ambitious book, Amalia Cabezas theorizes about the lives and hardships of women in Cuba and the Dominican Republic who engage in what she terms sexual-affective relations or tactical sex to escape economic distress as well as domestic abuse. While the book is to a large extent theoretical and informed by existing studies, Cabezass arguments are enhanced by numerous personal interviews over a ten-year period with mostly women engaged in the tourist industry and also by her own work in an all-inclusive hotel in Varadero, Cuba. The interviews and work experience are quite suggestive and add substantial insight and personal narrative to her theoretical constructions.

Is Security First Simply a Repackaged Realism

Security First is a welcome breath of fresh air at a time when U.S. foreign policy is in desperate need of repair. However, no book can exhaust a topic. The author will make brief observations on two arguments in the book that he found interesting but in need of more discussion.

Teaching U.S.‐Latin American relations in Panama

I had the great pleasure of teaching a course on U.S.—Latin American relations at the University of Panama during the Fall 1997 semester, under a lecturing/ research Fulbright Senior Scholar grant. This wonderful opportunity taught me as much about teaching in the United States as it did about teaching in Latin America. I believe that the lessons I learned are valuable enough to share with others, particularly since I am convinced that the way we teach foreign affairs in U.S. universities is inherently flawed by nationalist sentiments.