Long before "Cesar Chavez" and "Chicano" became commonly known, the word "bracero" had established itself in the language of American politics. The Mexican Farm Labor Program--or bracero program as it came to be known--was from its inception in 1942 a highly controversial issue. At international, national, and subnational levels, it remained the focal point of an intense interest-group struggle. This struggle and its group combatants provide the central concern of this study.
In the early 1940's agribusiness interests had sought to contract Mexican laborers ("braceros") for work on...
Long before "Cesar Chavez" and "Chicano" became commonly known, the word "bracero" had established itself in the language of American politics. The...
