The Movimiento Is Upon Us: The Latinoization of U.S. Politics

“NEW YORK–Awilda Macias and other evangelical futbol mamas didn’t march behind banners labeled “Leftist Christians.” They sang and chanted “los montes se mueven con el espiritu santo” (mountains move with the holy spirit) as they danced to a merengue beat behind the big banner of Long Island’s Church of the Prophecy on April 10. These women don’t fit into any standard political categories. What has become evident is that we lack the language and frame of reference to describe and understand the new movimiento that’s upon us.

Friends who know these parents told me that eighth grader Anthony Soltero, who became the first martyr of the movimiento, didn’t die because he was a “radical” student. Soltero shot himself after an assistant principal at De Anza Middle School in Ontario, Calif., told him that he was going to prison for three years for walking out and joining student protests. He died demanding sane immigration policy — and better schools.”

Comments are closed.