I recently returned from a six-month road trip through the so-called “red states,” where I interviewed hundreds of people about politics and why they vote the way they do. I’m in the process of transcribing my interviews.
When I arrived in Texas in late April and looked at the Election 2004 county map, I immediately noticed a small section of Democratic counties in the South, so I decided to visit to find out what makes the area different from the rest of the state. My first stop was Crystal City, located in Zavala County, where Kerry got 75 percent of the vote. Like so many rural towns, Crystal City’s main drag is full of empty storefronts and dilapidated buildings. I stopped at a small flea market and interviewed a few women who were hesitant to talk before and even during the interview; after I turned off my recorder, they wrote down their addresses and said they’d appreciate it if I would send them political magazines.
Here are excerpts from those interviews:
Sofia Munoz is a cook for early Head Start, a labor contractor in the fields and a part-time cook at a taco stand
How many hours a week do you work?
I work 40 in my regular job, 14 in my part-time job and eight, nine or sometimes 10 hours in the fields.
That’s almost 64 hours a week.
I have to make ends meet.
What do you make?
In the fields, I make $5.15 an hour; as a regular cook, I make $6.76; and at the taco stand, it’s $5.00 an hour. I work most of the time.
How long have you had those jobs?
My regular job, five years. And the other one, all my life. My parents were migrant workers and I worked there. After I got married, I continued working in the fields and raised a son. Then I got divorced and got this part-time job about three or four weeks ago. If I can work, everybody else can. There are a lot of people out there who depend on welfare and shouldn’t. We were born to fight for our rights. Still, they tell us we can’t and pay us cheap labor. We have to fight to get more money.
Do you ask for raises?
We asked for a raise, but they say we only get one percent of the cost of living. It should be three percent. Everyday they raise prices. The cost of living goes up every day. Look at the gas prices. It’s hurting everybody.
What do you pay for rent?
I pay $150 in rent and about $200 in bills. On this income, I barely make ends meet. Way back in 1974, we had a walk out because we were discriminated against and we fought for our rights. Now we want to be known. We’re equal. The only thing I get upset about is that politicians only know we’re around during election time. They should always be there for the people. You’re there because we voted for you to fight for what’s right.
Do you vote?
Yes and I want to know why we’re still at war. We want to know why. A lot of innocent people are getting killed. I vote Democrat all the time, but I feel that something went wrong.
What message would you send to politicians?
Please don’t be an opportunist. Please continue to fight for our rights and let’s do it together. If we all stand together, we can make a difference. We live in a small town, but those of us who stay informed spread the word and have a lot to say. All we ask is that you be real and listen. When they have debates, that’s where I want to be because I have a lot of things to say. I work in the fields with 150 people and I fight for their wages and I fight for good conditions.
What’s it like working in the fields?
I work in cabbage, cantaloupes and watermelon fields. When it’s real hot, I just work five to seven hours. You have to be careful. We’re human just like everybody else.
Where do you get your information?
I listen to the radio and television. I go to seminars and trainings. I always write everything down. That’s who I am. I was born and raised to work hard. I graduated from high school. We never had the means to go to college. What I learned I learned from my family. I make a point to learn as much as I can and ask questions. Some of us get in trouble, but it’s better to know the facts.
Maria Rivera, Homemaker
Why is your county the most Democratic county in the state of Texas?
Because of our Mexican heritage. Most of the people believe that the Democratic Party is for the poor people.
Tell me about Crystal City.
It hasn’t been long since it’s become a Hispanic town. It used to be mostly white. In 1974, we had a walk out. Most of the kids weren’t allowed to leave so they had to jump out of the windows to join the walk out. By then, if you walked out, you would be suspended.
How has life changed since then?
It’s getting worse. At least we had jobs back then. The white people brought in more opportunities. If you have a job, keep it. You won’t get another one.
What kind of work do people do here?
They work at the Del Monte cannery. The high paying jobs are teachers, but they don’t get paid a lot. Most guys are truck drivers.
Did you vote?
Yes, for Kerry.
What message would you send to politicians?
To get more involved with minorities.
What issues are most important to you?
Jobs, segregation and equality. If you’re white, you get paid more than Hispanics. That’s the main problem here.
Thanks so much for these exchanges. Crystal City reminds me of my hometown. We’re 3500 and predominately Mexican-American. The town used to be double in size with more anglos but when the copper mine closed in 1982, those with money pulled up their stakes and left.
Politicians would be surprised how much positive attention they would receive if they simply showed up at places like that and did some real work with the people on a regular basis instead of just during the campaign cycle. Even listening sessions…it is human to want to have your plight heard from those in power.
My sister was told by a friend of hers many years ago that the marching band for the Crystal City Texas high school once did a half-time tribute to Che Guevara.
I have no way of knowing if this is true but I’ve always accepted it as fact. I’ve always enjoyed sharing the story with others.
Crystal City Texas was the birthplace of Dr. José Angel Gutiérrez, who was co-founder of serveral organizations, the Mexican American Youth Organization (MAYO) and La Raza Unida party. Dr Gutiérrez was also President of the Crystal City Independent School District from 1970 to 1973 so there might be more than a grain of truth to my sister’s anecdote.
It’s interesting that each of the women who’s interviews you’ve chosen to share both mention what seems to me to be the same incident, a walk-out in 1974. I assume that at the time La Raza was very active politically in the area. it must have had a significant impact on their political development for both of them to mention it. I assume they were interviewed separately? Thanks for sharing these women’s stories. First person accounts such as these are so important.
and I’d bet what you’re saying about the band and La Raza is true. In 1970, the United Farm Workers headquarters in Texas was a little north of Crystal City, in Uvalde. A small group of us, part of an “ecumenical ministry” to increase tolerance among people of different ethnic groups, met with the head of the Texas UFW.
The early ’70s was quite a hush-hush time for some of the real activists, so we didn’t know for sure he would meet with us until it happened. The union was under attack by powerful farmers and the lettuce boycott was ongoing. We would only eat union-picked lettuce, and it had a special label. BTW, we had also met with one of the big, big ranchers in his fine home. It was quite a contrast.
It was quite a time for activism, too. Hope it comes back.
Crystal City is where the Chican@ movement began and when the Chican@s showed Texas the importance of the Hispanic vote as Raza Unida Party started running in local elections and did have plenty of successful local election year. But people remember the lose in the Governor’s race.
I know Dr. José Angel Gutiérrez personally and lets just say he is pretty interesting. Since I am a child of the Chican@ movement, activism is in my blood. So far, it is slowly growing, the problem we have is finding a common ground since the Hispanic community is so diverse, since there are a lot of immigrants not only from Mexico but from South and Central America. We all have different views and we still haven’t found our common ground, which the GOP is totally enjoying exploiting.
It is better to die standing than to live on our knees. I’m glad that spirit is still out there.
Missed others, but this is the second article of yours I have read. When your book is ready, the Booman store would be a handy place to start marketing it, don’t you think? Democratic congressmen and Senators should be required to read it. Thanks so much for your work, and sharing it here.
so ya ought to take that as a compliment. I’ll be looking forward to the publication of your transcripts. Be sure to make an announcement here at BT.
Back in the 70s, I was a very young, single mom. My ex would not pay child support($25 per week, whipty do)and at that time it was near impossible to go after him. I was working three jobs off and on. I landed a job bartending making about $85 a week plus tips. I was receiving food stamps. I got a very smal raise that amounted to about $10 per week. The government took away the food stamps because I was making too much money. If it weren’t for my mother’s help, I never would have made it. My son was fed alot of hot dogs and Kraft mac and cheese because that came to about $1.50 and I could feed him for a couple of days. Seems like not much has changed for alot of folks in thirty years.
Well, this is happening in South Texas among the middle class, namely, my own family. I am disabled, and can only work part-time, so mr. dks, after he lost his 90K job after 9-11, has worked 2 to 3 jobs to pay, not boat payments, or payments on a vacation home, or credit card payments for meals out, cruises, and cute housewares, but just every day, middle class stuff like mortgage, insurance, electricity, gasoline, 1 car payment, basic cable TV & high-speed internet, phone, water, garbage, cell phone, kid sport fees and travel expenses, groceries, books (sort of a luxury)water and garbage, medicine (cheap at $150. a month due to insurance and buying generics) – plus – 10% tithe on gross. He went from making 90K to 21K after 4 months of unemployment. We used up every bit of our savings to surive those 4 months, and still have trouble getting our county tax bill paid twice a year. He is now making 51K at 2 jobs, which seems fantastic to us because he is only working 2 jobs, and we get to eat dinner together 4 nights a week. Since the church is useless to struggling middle class people here in So TX, our tithe now goes to political causes and directly to charities delivering aid to the poor, such as local homeless shelters, planned parenthood, food pantries, stuff like that. Yup, only in America as Jorge tells us.