The Reconquista ("reconquest") is an irredentist vision by different individuals, groups, and/or nations that the Southwestern United States should be politically or culturally returned to Mexico. Known as advocating a Greater Mexico (), such opinions are often formed on the basis that those territories were part of the Spanish Empire for centuries and then of Mexico from 1821 until they were annexed by the United States during the Texas Annexation (1845) and the Mexican Cession (1848) because of the Mexican–American War.
thumb|The [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic and Latino American proportion of population in the United States in 2010 overlaid with the Mexican–American border of 1836|350x350px]]
Background
The term Reconquista means "reconquest" and is an analogy to the Christian Reconquista of Moorish Iberia. The areas of greatest Mexican immigration and cultural diffusion are the same as with the territories that were taken by the United States from Mexico during the 19th century.
Cultural views
Mexican writers
In a 2001 article on the Latin American web portal Terra, "Advancement of the Spanish language and Hispanics is like a Reconquista (Reconquest)," Elena Poniatowska stated:
In his keynote address at the Second International Congress of the Spanish Language in Valladolid, Spain, in 2003, "Unity and Diversity of Spanish, Language of Encounters," Carlos Fuentes said:
In another part of his speech, Fuentes briefly returned to his idea of "reconquista:"