Over the past decade, much attention has been given to the growing political influence of Latinos in the United States in order to define the so-called ""Latino vote."" But the existence of a coherent Latino political agenda is highly debatable and likely unviable, as electoral and protest politics erase diversity and debate in favor of images of unity. Situated at the intersection of political theory and Latino studies, this book is the first comprehensive critique of civic Latinidad, analyzing the relationship among participatory democracy, public speech, and racial identification.