Emilio: A People's Politician: The Life and Times of Emilio Naranjo

This is a biography of a political leader who was, by all odds, one of the most powerful Hispanic politicians of his kind, one who was involved in most of the events of twentieth-century New Mexico history. The book places Emilio in the context of the oldest and most unusual border culture in the United States where political power was based on “personalismo” --- a fervent personal loyalty that was tantamount to a fervent political loyalty.
Over the years, Emilio Naranjo succeeded in politicizing a whole generation of disenfranchised New Mexicans. The book leads the reader through the labyrinth of the old-style Spanish political contract forged by Emilio even as a schoolboy, his career as a Democratic Party leader, sheriff of a genuinely “wild west” environment, Federal Marshal during Reies López Tijerina’s Courthouse raid (a period of explosive racial relations), drug czar, and State Senator. Thus, the story is told within the context of the political and social milieu of northern New Mexico.