VITO MARCANTONIO, PUERTO RICAN MIGRATION, AND THE 1949 MAYORAL ELECTION IN NEW YORK CITY

Abstract

"This article examines the 1949 mayoral election in New York City, a crucial event in the political incorporation of Puerto Ricans in the postwar period. In this election, Congressman Vito Marcantonio ran for mayor under the American Labor Party. Marcantonio was the representative for East Harlem, the area known as El Barrio, the political center of the Puerto Rican community in New York City at the time. In an unprecedented political move, the government of Puerto Rico, headed by Governor Luis Muñoz Marín of the Popular Democratic Party (PPD), got involved in this election by campaigning against Marcantonio. This was the first time that a governmental official of the island engaged in a political contest in the United States. Given the amicable relationship between Marcantonio and the PPD until a few years before, this maneuver may seem surprising. Although Puerto Rican independence was a factor in explaining this rift, I argue here that the issues of Puerto Rican migration to New York City and Marcantonio's role in the Puerto Rican community were the principal causes for the PPD's attack on Marcantonio."

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