This article was downloaded by: [Trent University]On: 11 October 2014, At: 01:19Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH,UK

Journal of Borderlands StudiesPublication details, including instructions forauthors and subscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rjbs20

Book reviewAdrian X. Esparza a , Oliver Schmidtke b & JanniAragon ca Associate Professor in the School of NaturalResources , University of Arizona , Tucson, Arizonab Associate Professor in the Department of PublicScience , University of Victoria , Victoria, BritishColombia, Canadac Associate Professor in the Department of PoliticalScience , University of Victoria , CanadaPublished online: 21 Nov 2011.

To cite this article: Adrian X. Esparza , Oliver Schmidtke & Janni Aragon(2008) Book review, Journal of Borderlands Studies, 23:3, 109-115, DOI:10.1080/08865655.2008.9695712

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08865655.2008.9695712

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109

Book Review

Journal of Borderlands StudiesVolume 23 • No. 3 • Fall 2008

Landscapes of Fraud: MissionTumacácori, the Baca Float, and theBetrayal of the O’odhamby Thomas E. SheridanTucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press (2008)

Reviewed by Adrian X. Esparza*

The sixty-plus mile trip from Tucson, Arizona to ambos Nogales begins in Tucson’sdense urban core, passes through sprawling suburbs at the city’s southern fringe, forgesthrough several exurban communities, and skirts two historic missions—San Xavierdel Bac and Tumacácori—before reaching the U.S.-Mexico border. The Santa CruzRiver, lifeblood for much of the region’s flora and fauna, runs near the interstate high-way (I-19) but is seldom visible from cars that speed by. Over the years, millions oftravelers have made this journey but perhaps only a handful are familiar with the region’srich history.

In Landscapes of Fraud, Sheridan brings this story to life as few others can. Hisprimary objective is to demonstrate how historical events led to the commodificationof land in the upper Santa Cruz Valley, and eventually to the rise of suburbs and exurbsthat crowd the Valley today. Such a lengthy history is seldom found in other books, yetis warranted if readers wish to understand the full breadth of forces that underpin theregion’s current development.

The book’s nine chapters describe how, and why, the near-pristine upper SantaCruz Valley, former home of the O’odham (the “people”), became a mecca for profi-teering as the moneyed elite capitalized on the region’s rich natural resources and abun-dant lands. With an eye to detail, Sheridan begins by documenting indigenous popula-tions who inhabited the Pimería Alta (upper land of the Pimas) at the time of Spanishcolonization in the late 17th century. He describes how missionaries converted thenorganized the O’odham around missions that hugged the Santa Cruz River, especiallyMission Tumacácori. His nuanced account paints a vibrant picture of the cultural con-trasts and conflicts that colored daily life and led eventually to the O’odham’s demise.

In the chapters that follow, Sheridan describes how lands inhabited by the O’odhamwere seized by ranchers, mining companies and land speculators through a series ofland grants and legal battles that, together, created a landscape of betrayal. The conflict

*Esparza is Associate Professor in the School of Natural Resources at the Universityof Arizona, Tucson, Arizona.

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110 Esparza, Review of Sheridan’s Landscapes of Fraud: Mission Tumacácori...

and struggle for land ownership is crystallized by Baca Float No. 3: a parcel of ap-proximately 100,000 acres located near the settlements of Tumacácori and Tubac. Thestory of Baca float No. 3 begins in the early 1820s when Maria Cabeza de Baca re-ceived a land grant of one-half million acres in northeastern New Mexico. Despitelegal ownership, the land was settled by small-scale farmers and ranchers who soughtto build communities in the region’s rich grasslands. As compensation for the loss ofland, in the 1860’s Baca’s heirs were granted five “floats” (land parcels granted by thegovernment): Baca Float No. 3 was one of them. Baca’s heirs quickly sold the landwhich ignited a chain of murky legal battles as lawyers, mining companies, and landspeculators sought ownership of the land. Sheridan draws on a range of documents,maps and first-hand accounts to piece together this checkered legacy. His discussion iscaptivating and urges reader’s to study carefully the montage of economic and politicalforces that shaped landownership in the region.

Concluding chapters of the book demonstrate how age-hold Spanish land grantspaved the way for more recent development in the upper Santa Cruz Valley. Many ofthese land holdings became ranches well-known in the area—the Baca Float Ranch,Empire Ranch and Canoa Ranch—that occupied millions of acres. In more recent years,these ranches were sold to large corporations that built exurban communities such asRio Rico (approximately 10 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border) and Green Valley(approximately 25 miles south of Tucson), the widely known retirement community.Sheridan’s treatment of Rio Rico is especially revealing because he pieces together thepeople and corporations involved with unscrupulous land transactions that created alandscape of fraud. Sheridan illustrates how rampant and unbridled land developmentled Pima County, Arizona (Tucson in the county seat) to develop the Sonoran DesertConservation Plan in order to protect lands critical for biological conservation.

Without question, Landscapes of Fraud is required reading for anyone interestedin the U.S.-Mexico border region. But the book’s scope positions it well for disciplinesranging from anthropology and history to natural resources and urban and regionalplanning. Books rarely appeal to such a wide audience, but Sheridan has deliveredonce again.

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111

Book Review

Journal of Borderlands StudiesVolume 23 • No. 3 • Fall 2008

Migration Without Borders: Essays on theFree Movement of Peopleby Antoine Pécoud and Paul de Guchteneire (eds.)UNESCO Publishing: Paris and Berghahn Books: New York/Oxford (2007)

Reviewed by Oliver Schmidtke*

The image of open borders normally provokes an alarmist reaction: it is associatedwith notions of security threats, uncontrollable migration, and the decline of socialwelfare systems. Defending the integrity of borders is deeply rooted in the Westphalianidea of sovereignty, constitutive of modern nation-states, as well as in contemporarypolitical discourse committed to defend national interests. The book Migration WithoutBorders, edited by Antoine Pécoud and Paul de Guchteneire, encourages the reader toquestion some of the taken-for-granted assumptions in accepting this idea of sacro-sanct national borders. The organizing idea of their edited volume is to systematicallydiscuss arguments to protect nation-states from what is perceived as “unwanted” mi-gration and, from a refreshingly pragmatic perspective, to contemplate the feasibilityof open borders for migrants on a global scale.

The starting point for the thirteen chapters of the book is a simple, albeit politicallyexplosive normative suggestion, namely that the 1948 Universal Declaration of Hu-man Rights and its commitment to the fundamental right to leave and return to a coun-try (Article 13-2) needs to be filled with life. The first section of the book discussesfrom a more theoretical angle what it would mean to give substance to this article bycomplementing it with a comprehensive right to cross-border mobility. The authorscontributing to this section come to insights that defy common sense wisdom. Basedon a utilitarian logic they argue that there are substantial economic and social benefitsattributable to open borders for migrants also because of the enormous costs involvedin controlling borders and enforcing restrictive migration policies. More importantly,as Nigel Harris, Mehmet Ugur, and Han Entzinger claim in their essays, even the ef-fects of open borders on national economic performance, labor income, and socialservices is likely to be positive and would have modest negative effects only for low-income groups that could easily be compensated for. Addressing one of the most con-tested issues Han Entzinger argues that open borders are compatible with welfare statesand their constitutive values of equality and solidarity. In a nutshell, their argumentspoint to the—counterintuitive—suggestion that open borders for migrants are likely to

*Schmidtke is Associate Professor in the Department of Public Science at the Universityof Victoria, Victoria, British Colombia, Canada.

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112 Schmidtke, Review of Pécoud and de Guchteneire’s Migration Without Borders

generate beneficial socio-economic effects, both with view to global structures of so-cial inequality and with regard to the welfare of the recipient societies in the West.

The other central argument of the book is that the practice of regulating and secur-ing borders in the contemporary world is normatively unsustainable and structurallyflawed. In her contribution Catherine Wihtol de Wenden summarizes the basic ethicalargument by stating: “The frontiers of mobility are also the frontiers of democracy andhuman rights.” (61) The essays of this first section forcefully argue that controllingnational borders as exclusive markers of membership and legal status have led to en-demic forms of human rights violation and social exclusion that migrants have to en-dure in an ever more integrated world. They show how national citizenship, as thealmost exclusive framework for bestowing individuals with rights and entitlements, isseriously challenged by the new dimension of social mobility across borders. At aglance, the authors argue that current restrictive immigration policies are failing andthat their—unintended—consequences are detrimental to the fundamental rights andfreedom of migrants, compromising the universalistic ethos of liberal democracies. Inthis vein, Mehmet Ugur suggests that regulating migration should be done under theauthority of a kind of “World Migration Organization.”

The second section of the book looks at regional examples of trans-national mi-gration regimes as blueprints and stepping stones to an open-border approach. Here thepicture is far bleaker than the theoretical discussion would suggest: While the Euro-pean Union is the most prominent and ambitious example where unrestricted mobilityis put into action, it is described to essentially reproduce the structural problems ofnational border regimes in terms of securitizing and enforcing borders. While the mo-bility of EU citizens has widely been realized internally, the concept of “Europe with-out borders” remains, as Jan Kunz and Mari Leinonen put it with view to mobilityacross the EU’s external frontiers, “merely a utopian idea” (155). This situation is notmore encouraging in other parts of the world: the chapters on Western and SouthernAfrica, Asia, and North and South America show how reluctant regional organizationsare to consider unrestricted mobility across their internal and external borders.

Pécoud and Guchteneire are to be applauded for taking on the thorny issue of openborders and bringing together a group of highly competent authors to approach thisissue in its complexity from a multi-disciplinary background. The book would havewarranted a concluding chapter discussing why there is such a disconnect between themore theoretically driven discourse and political initiatives on the ground as discussedin the second section of the book; how are we to explain the widespread resistance toeven consider open borders irrespective of authoritative voices pointing to the practicalfeasibility of such an idea? But also without such a conclusion this book offers itsreader a thought-provoking journey into a subject that seems to be so politically salientyet, at the same time, is hardly part of current public debate.

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113

Book Review

Journal of Borderlands StudiesVolume 23 • No. 3 • Fall 2008

Políticas: Latina Public Officials in Texasby García, Sonia R., Valerie Martinez-Ebers, Irasema Coronado, Sharon A.

Navarro, and Patricia A. Jaramillo.Austin: University of Texas Press (2008)

Reviewed by Janni Aragon

This groundbreaking book documents some of the germinal firsts for Latinas inthe state of Texas. Through their case studies the authors assess how the first generationof Latina public officials made a difference in the Latino communities across Texas.The authors explain that Latinas in Texas have been active in their communities helpedto secure women’s right to vote and worked to help ensure that people would receivemuch needed services, registered people to vote, and historically were active within thepolitical parties and other political organizations (8-9). While Latinos constitute morethan a quarter of the total population in Texas, Políticas demonstrates how it is just inthe past 20-40 years that more Latinas have been elected in formal politics. The au-thors also shed light on how data is missing or was never collected to document howmany Latinas, if any, had served in elected positions. Políticas starts from scratch withtheir documentation about the Latina “firsts.”

The book offers more than biographies of the fifteen different women, which theyuse as case studies. Políticas details how these women traveled uncharted territory asthe first in their particular office. They refreshingly offer complete stories of thesewomen by asking key questions about motivation, support, and networking in theircommunities. Políticas also sets up the analysis by using qualitative research as a ma-jor component of their framework. The book’s appendices of the tables of Latinas inpublic office and the interview questions provide an invaluable resource for the reader.

The book is organized according to the type of offices held by the Latina politi-cians. The book opens with Chapter 1, “Understanding Latina Political Leadership,”sets up the discussion of the status of Latinas in Texas politics and the framework foranalysis of the book. The objectives of the book are to present an overview of TexasLatinas’ participation in formal politics, provide case studies of fifteen Texas Latinapublic officials, contribute to the theoretical framework on Latina politics, and providea basis of information and resources on Texas Latinas (12). In this first chapter, theauthors also discuss the different cultural and societal cues that play into the ways inwhich Latinas maneuver formal and personal politics. Políticas could be used as a

*Aragon is Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at the Universityof Victoria, Canada.

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114 Aragon, Review of García, Martinez-Ebers, Coronado, Navarro, and Jaramillo’s Políticas

guide for the up and coming Latina entertaining a run for public office, as well, asuseful addition to the personal library of the student of politics or history.

Chapter 2, “Areas of Inquiry: Why So Few Latinas Hold Public Office” asks hardquestions about the dearth of Latinas in public office in Texas. While there is a richhistory of Latinas volunteering and being involved in informal politics, there has beena historic lack of Latinas in the state house, courts, and mayoral offices. A major expla-nation is the issue of political socialization of Latinas. Socio-cultural mores plays intohow Latinas view themselves and their political qualifications. All of the Latinas inthis book espoused an interest in helping the community and not self-interest in fur-thering their careers by seeking public positions. Political socialization was an impor-tant part of the case study profiles. All of these women knew that they were breakingground for Latinas and serving as advocates for the larger Latino community.

The next chapters detail the firsts: Latina in the Texas Legislature, Texas Senate,and other statewide and municipal offices. It is worth noting that this book does notlook at every Texas Latina public official, but instead focuses specifically on the firstsin particular fields. This actually gives depth to the book so that the authors can givedetailed biographies and analysis. From the book we also learn that it would be almostimpossible to examine all of the elected or appointed Latinas in Texas history. “It isimportant to note that as of 2007, no formal record existed of Mexican American womenwho have served as mayors in Texas” (89). While the state might not have kept recordsabout mayors, at least at the statewide and federal levels, the National Association ofLatino Elected Officials (NALEO) has been instrumental in documenting the numbersof Latinas and Latinos in public office. This point makes Políticas an important contri-bution to Latino political histories.

Obstacles that Latinas face: machismo or cultural cues, their looks (some notedthat in order to be involved in politics it was understood that Latinas had to be attrac-tive), lack of formal support from political network support. One point that was consis-tent between the Latinas was that a supportive family was absolutely necessary to enterinto formal politics. The road to public office was not an easy one for the majority ofthe Latinas in this book. The Latinas examined in this book share certain qualities andconcerns. From the case studies it is evident that the Latinas were all concerned aboutcommunity, culture, collaborative leading, and “compassion” issues.1 While most choseto not self-identify as feminists or being involved in the formal women’s movement inTexas some noted that they were inherently aware of how being a woman was both ahindrance or help to their respective political careers. Due to their position in the com-munity as women leaders who are Latinas they typically represent Latino heavy con-stituents and serve as advocates for multiple groups (134).

My only constructive comment about the book is the lack of depth with the useand explanation of Intersectional theory or Intersectionality. The authors explain, “Thisintersectionality of identities provides Latinas with resources and skills to negotiateand form coalitions” (11), yet the authors do not offer more discussion or analysisabout how Intersectionality is key to understanding the Latina public officials’ lives.While they refer to the germinal work by Kimberlé Crenshaw, their use ofIntersectionality was quickly dropped into the first chapter and left untapped as a strongtheoretical framework for understanding the complexity behind the case studies. AnIntersectional analysis would have been fruitful to explore and understand the Latinaoffice holders’ political experiences as Latina leaders.

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Volume 23 • No. 3 • Fall 2008 Journal of Borderlands Studies 115

In conclusion, Políticas is both easy to read, and each chapter could stand alone asa strong reading in its own right. Readers will find the book informative and many willfind it inspirational. The audience for this book is varied since the book could workwell in both in secondary schools, as well as undergraduate and graduate level coursesin Gender and Politics or American Politics course, Race, Ethnicity, and Politics coursesAmerican History, Texas History, Leadership courses, as well as any courses that ex-amine elections and campaigns. Given the specificity of the book, I am hopeful that itwill not be overlooked, since Políticas makes an immeasurable contribution to the studyof public officials in a border state.

Endnote

1 Compassion issues are usually identified as dealing with social welfare, children, and the fam-ily. These issues are often referred to as women’s issues or bread and butter issues.

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