The Individual and Contextual Determinants of Protest Among Latinos

Abstract

This study builds upon and extends prior literature on political participation by exami-ning individual-level and city-level determinants of Latinos' protest participation in the U. S. Multilevel models were used on a sample of 2,810 Latinos of Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Cuban descent. Individual factors such as age, education, income, religiosity, and organizational involvement are found to impact participation in expected directions. Results also point to a significant role for contextual factors in shaping the probability of participation. On the one hand, protest participation is more likely in cities with a greater presence of Latino organizations, which points to the importance of mobilizing agents. On the other hand, protest participation is less likely in cities with relatively large Latino populations and where more Latinos hold elected office, suggesting protest is deemed less desirable or necessary when more formal channels of political participation are viable. Together these results are useful for understanding the factors that motivate Latino protest at the individual and con-textual levels, which present opportunities for further understanding their participation in unconventional politics.