Mutualista

Mutual aid societies in the Chicana/o community were one of many forms of resistance demonstrated by those of Mexican ancestry after the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848), ending the Mexican-American War (1846–48). By 1900, within a half-century of the signing of the treaty, the majority of Mexican Americans had lost their land and become wage workers for others. In order to protect not only their cultural and linguistic practices but also their economic well-being, they formed mutualistas for self-preservation.

Discrimination and exclusion from other ethnic and mainstream organizations and trade unions accelerated the growth and importance of mutualistas. These groups functioned on the notion of mutualism: the practice of mutual dependence for economic and sociocultural security. Previous gifting and sponsorship practices dating back to the Spanish colonial era, such as compadrazgo (godparenting), predated mutualistas and continued long after their decline.

Large mutualistas such as the Alianza Hispano-Americana (AHA) in Tucson, Arizona, contributed to the organizing experiences of its members and gave rise to the more militant Chicano civil rights organizations of the 1960s and 1970s. Mutualistas also paralleled the self-defense and patriotic organizations of other ethnic and immigrant American groups, such as black mutual aid societies founded in the late 1700s in cities like Philadelphia, almost a full century before mutualistas. At times, groups worked across ethnic lines, such as in the 1950s, when the AHA worked with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to address common problems with segregation.

Mutualistas had existed in both Mexico and Latin America prior to their adoption in what would become the southwestern United States. In the United States, mutualistas were formed based on geographic areas or along trade or religious lines. They maintained close ties to other organizations in the community, pooling and targeting scarce resources and serving as networks and conduits for information. They demonstrated resilience and the type of ingenuity and resourcefulness often touted in the American popular lore of rugged individualism and self-determination.

Mutualistas were particularly important for recent immigrants trying to establish ties in a new community.

Sociedades mutualistas (mutual aid societies) charged small monthly dues in exchange for economic, social, and educational benefits to members such as unemployment benefits; health, disability, and burial insurance; credit unions; legal aid; translation services; newsletters; support for religious or folkloric celebrations; and programs for women and youth. They often conducted meetings in Spanish, had the names of important Mexican or Latin American heroes, and reinforced cultural, religious, and linguistic traditions in the face of extreme xenophobia and assimilationist pressures in the early 20th century.

Prior to the New Deal and creation of many social safety-net programs, mutualistas were often the only resource for Mexican Americans in their communities. The Great Depression, also known as La Crisis, devastated many mutualistas with massive unemployment and the repatriation program; more people were collecting at the same time that fewer people were paying. Mutual aid societies continued after La Crisis, however, because of ongoing discrimination within trade unions, which often provided similar member benefits, and with the implementation of New Deal programs.

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