Using Puerto Rican politics in New York City as a case study, particularly focusing on political elites, Puerto Rican Identity, Political Development, and Democracy in New York, 1960–1990 argues that ethnic identity is a positive force in political development. José E. Cruz suggests that in using ethnic identity to claim and exercise social and civil rights, to pursue representation, and to access resources and benefits, Puerto Ricans sustained and enriched liberal democracy in New York City. This book shows how in carrying out politics in this way, Puerto Rican political elites placed themselves out of the margins and into the mainstream of city politics as significant contributors to urban democracy.