¶ … AI Camp, Roderic "Learning Democracy in Mexico and the United States."

Mexican Studies / Estudios Mexicanos. Vol.19. No. 1. Winter, 2003. pp. 3-27. 13 Mar 2007. Stable URL:

http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0742-9797%28200324%2919%3A1%3C3%3ALDIMAT%3E2.0.CO%3B2-I

Democracy is not a static or trans-cultural concept. Rather, it is a complicated cultural construction that is highly dependant upon an individual's national origin and heritage, as well as his or her personal values and some attitudes towards democracy are more apt to change than others. These are the findings summarized in Roderic Ai Camp's article "Learning Democracy in Mexico and the United States," which examines the attitudes of Americans, Mexicans, and Mexican-Americans in a cross-national attitudinal study. Some of the findings were surprising, such as the high value placed upon education as a vehicle of improvement amongst all three groups, despite the significant differences between the three groups in terms of access. Others were more predictable, such as the tendency for Americans to be more centrist in their affiliations, while Mexicans are more concentrated at the polarized ends of the spectrum, which reflects the more economically stratified nature of Mexico.

As typical of another class-bound society, that of Great Britain, political affiliations and levels of interest seemed to be passed on from parents to children in Mexico, in contrast to the U.S. Family influence, as measured, for instance in giving money back to family in Mexico, declined depending on the Mexican-American's duration in America. Levels of political interest varied widely in Mexico, with leftists, more highly educated and affluent persons, of the male gender showing greater interest. The U.S.'s greater perceived opportunities for meaningful involvement in the political process, risk-taking as a national characteristic, participation in civic as opposed to religious organizations, and trust in the process seemed to spark greater interest. Interestingly, while political affiliation is much higher in Mexican-Americans compared with their Mexican counterparts, low levels of civic trust remain constant within these two groups. But White Americans specifically tend to equate democracy with liberty, while Mexican-Americans adopt these attitudes fairly quickly, in contrast to Mexicans. In short, some attitudes and patterns of behavior, the study found, are more open to socialization and change and others are not.