ABSTRACT
This chapter is a historical collage of Puerto Rican political participation in New York City from 1960 to 1970. It focuses on the role Puerto Rican political elites and groups played within New York City politics, seeking insights into the process of access to power and its exercise. The chapter first places Puerto Rican political participation in context by briefly outlining the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the community during the 1960s. Next, it offers a description of three types of political participation at the elite and group level: electoral, community, and radical politics. Based on this account, the chapter concludes with a comment on the consequences of Puerto Rican political participation for the community and for city politics, along with a reflection on the nature and character of access to and exercise of political power that favors a willful and contingent style of thinking and action.
