Restructuring Citizenship in Pueblo, Colorado

Abstract

The terrain of local democracy in the United States is shifting. Structural changes in the economy and political institutions threaten the social rights of citizenship and the standing of individuals in the polity. In this paper, I examine political activism at the local level as a response to the changing nature of citizenship under economic and political restructuring. Interviews with residents of Pueblo, CO, are used to evaluate the ways in which citizens respond to restructuring. I argue that residents of Pueblo may be successful in the short term in using their activism to respond to the new opportunities and needs created by restructuring. However, the inability of residents to create linkages among members of social groups may ultimately limit their ability to forge a new progressive politics out of restructuring.