Communication and participation in transnational communities: An analysis of Mexican Americans

This study investigates the role of communication behaviors in predicting transnational political participation. While transnational studies often herald new media as a catalyst for political participation in countries of origin, studies in communication suggest media and interpersonal communication can have both positive and/or negative effects on political participation. Using two data sets of Mexican Americans, this study tests a series of hypotheses and research questions emerging from literature on communication and transnational studies. The first is a secondary analysis of a large national telephone survey of 5704 Latinos of Mexican descent; the second comprises of original data from a convenience sample of 323 people of Mexican descent in Yakima, Washington. Results suggests that communication behavior is a better predictor of political participation in the U.S. than in Mexico. Furthermore, civic participation seems a poor predictor of political participation in both the U.S. and Mexico. With regards to communication behavior in general, respondents demonstrated a preference for local news, and there was some evidence that people who use media for information-seeking purposes were slightly more likely to identify with one nationality more than people who less actively sought information about either the U.S. or Mexico. Future research on transnational political participation should seek to include more comparative work and should consider the impact of local media and participatory opportunities.