The investigator proposes to help fill in the gaps in our knowledge by conducting a survey of Mexican American political organizations, their goals, tactics, and methods by which they attract and retain their members. A major empirical question to be explored is how a reward schedule offered by leaders is structured and adjusted in order to assure continued member participation. The PI will identify four basic types of groups in the Mexican American Political Culture. He hypothesizes that 1) Lower income organizations will depend almost exclusively on expressive rewards while downplaying the social and recreational aspects of their incentive package and 2) Upper class organizations will focus more on material rewards for group membership while offering a wider range of solidarity benefits. He also hypothesizes that the relationship between staff and the rank and file varies according to the socioeconomic status of the membership. Groups chosen for the survey will be politically active groups in the two largest Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area for California, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois and active groups in Washington D.C. These groups will be selected from three major national Hispanic Directories. To augument the list,interviews with local politicians, activists, scholars and journalists will be conducted.
