ABSTRACT
This chapter examines historical economic, political and social experiences of Mexican Americans from a colonial perspective. The subjects of military conquest, the first Mexicans were incorporated into American society at the end of the Mexican War of 1848. Although Mexicans living in the Southwest were promised United States citizenship, they quickly becomes the subjects of a colonial environment. The neocolonial model analyzes Mexican American youth crime and violence in terms of race and class inequality. Because of the racial hierarchy in American society, Mexican American youths generally have fewer opportunities in which to achieve structural success than White youths. The salient differences in the social and economic environments encountered by Mexican Americans should result in these youths having lower levels of perceived economic and social oppression and alienation, and higher levels of social support than African American youths.
