MEChA, which stands for Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (Chicano Student Movement of Atzlan), is a student organization that was born in 1969 in California and has spread to college campuses all over the nation. One of their main stated aims is to assist young members of the Hispanic community in entering higher education, a worthy goal. Other aspects of its philosophy are more controversial and strike many as divisive in the extreme.
Rather than use my own or others' characterizations of MEChA's philosophy, let me quote from their national webpage (nationalmecha.org):
"MEChA is a student organization that promotes higher education, cultura and historia (culture and history) . MEChA was founded on the principles of self-determination for the liberation of our people. We believe that political involvement and education is the avenue for change in our society.
Each word in MEChA symbolizes a great concept in terms of la causa (the cause). Movimiento (Movement) means that the organization is dedicated to the movement to gain self determination for our people. Estudiantil (Student as adjective) identifies the organization as a student group for we are part of our Raza's (race's) future. At the heart of the name is the use of the identity: Chicano. At first seen as a negative word, now taken for a badge of honor. In adopting their new identity, the students committed themselves to return to the barrios, colonias (neighborhoods/districts), or campos (fields) and together, struggle against the forces that oppress our gente (people). Lastly, the affirmation that we are indigenous people to this land by placing our movement in Aztlan, the homeland of all peoples from Anahuak.
On campuses across Aztlan. MEChA and Mechistas are often the only groups on campus Raza and non-Raza (Race and non-Race) alike that seek to open the doors of higher education para nuestras comunidades (for our communities) and strive for a society free of imperialism, racism, sexism, and homophobia. An inspirational statement in El Plan Santa Barbara that speaks to these notes:
"MEChA must bring to the mind of every young Chicana and Chicano that the liberation of her/his people from prejudice and oppression is in her/his hands and this responsibility is greater than personal achievement and more meaningful than degrees, especially if they are earned at the expense of her/his identity and cultural integrity. MEChA, then, is more than a name; it is a spirit of unity, of sisterhood and brotherhood, and a resolve to undertake a struggle for liberation in a society where justice is but a word. MEChA is a means to an end" (El Plan de Santa Barbara).
* (Translations of Spanish words in parentheses are added by me).
The motto for MEChA is as follows: Por la Raza todo. Fuera de la Raza nada -For the race everything. (For those) outside of the race-nothing-Not exactly a motto designed to inspire confidence in MEChA's desire to promote harmony.
Aztlan is an Amer-Indian term referring to the present-day southwest area of the US. According to MEChA, this area is illegally occupied by the US. El Plan de Santa Barbara refers to the plan of action that was part of the 1969 beginnings of MEChA at the University of California at Santa Barbara.
As you can see, the language is right out of the 1960s, but still appears on MEChA's website today. Divisive? You make the call. Critics of MEChA claim that the organization still believes that the US southwest should revert back to Mexico and that MEChA is in fact, a racist organization that sets back efforts to assimilate recent Latin immigrants and promote harmony between ethnic groups. MEChA, of course denies the racism charges and stresses its present-day efforts to promote higher education among Hispanic youth. Of course, MEChA supports the cause of illegal aliens in the US.
One interesting sidelight is the prominance in California politics of many of MECha's former members. Many of the state's leading Democratic politicians belonged to the organization during their collegiate years. This has caused many critics to question the commitment of these figures to represent all of their constituents.
California's most visible former Mechista is LA Mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa, who was a MEChA ;eader while attending UCLA. After UCLA, he attended the "People's Law School", which Frontpage Magazine referred to as "a factory for the manufacture of radical leftist lawyers" (See Frontpage 9-10-2003/License to Kill by Lowell Ponte) Prior to becoming mayor, Villaraigosa was speaker of the lower house of the California legislature and later LA city councilman. Until the recent disclosure of the break-up of his marriage and affair with Telemundo reporter, Mirthala Salinas, Villaraigosa had attracted the most attention as mayor by openly supporting the city's massive illegal alien population, appearing at many of their marches and proclaiming on one occasion, "We clean your toilets!". Under Villaraigosa's stewardship, LA is one of several "sanctuary cities" around the US-that is- cities that will not cooperate with immigration authorities and will not allow their police to inquire about immigration status when they come into contact with suspects.
Until the recent love scandal broke, Villaraigosa had been considered a leading candidate to become governor-and then go on to national office.
In statewide politics, Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez is probably the most prominent former Mechista. Nunez was previously the political director of the LA County Federation of Labor and later the head of government relations for LA Unified School District. As the Democratic Party's top legislator, Nunez has been a vocal supporter for the measure that would have allowed illegal aliens to obtain California drivers licenses. In the 1990s, he led protests against Proposition 187 passed by California voters that would have denied benefits to illegal aliens. In one protest in October 1994, which was organized by Nunez and his colleague, Juan Jose Gutierrez, protesters waved Mexican flags and displayed an American flag with 13 stars. Governor Wilson was called a "pig", and "Anglos" were called upon to go back to Europe. Nunez's opponents, to this day, consider him a "Reconquista" (one who favors the return of the southwest to Mexico.)
Cruz Bustamante, who served as Lt. Governor under the disasterous administration of Grey Davis, was also a MEChA member in the 1970s at Fresno State. When Davis was recalled by voters due to his gross ineptitude, Bustamante unsuccessfully ran to succeed him, losing to current governor, Arnold Schwartzenegger. A career political technocrat, who bounces from one position to another, Bustamante's campaigns have been controversial for campaign finance irregularities, i.e. diverting campaign funds into other causes, such as defeating Ward Connerly's Racial Privacy Initiative. Bustamante, not surprisingly, is a strong supporter of racial preferences. He did have one slip-up a couple of years back when, speaking before a group of African-Americans, he let slip the N-word, immediately offering profuse apologies. Did that end his political career? Hardly. He is, after all, a liberal Democrat. Those stories don't have legs, as they say in the news media.
State Senator Gil Cedillo, who represents East Los Angeles, was a MECha activist at UCLA in the 1970s. Like Villaraigosa, he followed UCLA by attending the aforementioned "People's Law School". Cedillo is derisively referred to by many as "One Bill Gil", a reference to his continuing promulgation of legislation that would give drivers licenses to illegal aliens.
Another former Mechista is Joe Baca, member of the US House of Representatives from the Inland Empire area around Riverside and San Bernadino (Rialto). Previously, he was a California state senator. Not long ago, he made headlines by referring to Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) as a "whore". This all evolved in connection with strife within the Latino Caucus in Congress as well as Sanchez's criticism of Baca's use of campaign funds.
One point I would like to make here is this: MEChA would deny that they are a racist organization. They would state that their main purpose is to facilitate and assist other young Hispanics in obtaining a higher education, as I said, a worthy goal. Yet, they should realize that many are troubled by the fiery rhetoric of their motto and the questionable language on their website. Also troubling is the langauge emenating from their founding in 1969 and the "Santa Barbara Plan". It implies that they are promoting separatism from mainstream American society. Let me quote further from their national website (nationalmecha.org):
"The Mexican-American (Hispanic) is a person who lacks respect for his/her cultural and ethnic heritage. Unsure of her/himself, she/he seeks assimilation as a way out of her/his 'degraded' social status. Consequently, she/he remains politically ineffective. In contrast, Chicanismo reflects self-respect and pride on one's ethnic and cutural background. Thus, the Chicana/o acts with confidence and with a range of alternatives in the political world. She/he is capable of developing an effective ideology through action" (El Plan de Santa Barbara).
Is this what MEChA still thinks today? Or is this just a slogan from the past? I would hope that the latter is the case.
Now for a little personal imput: I am not Mexican-American nor Hispanic. I am a 62 year old, white Anglo who grew up and went to school with Mexican-Americans in West Los Angeles. This term, Chicano, I recall well from my teenage years. It was a street word for Mexican-Americans- a term many Mexican-Americans still reject. Unfortunately, it became trendy in the universities during the 1960s, and today, some universitities still have what they call "Chicano Studies Departments". My wife is a (legal) Mexican immigrant who came to this country with her family about 40 years ago. I myself speak Spanish, and we have done everything we could to raise our children to speak Spanish and, while being Americans, not to ignore their Mexican heritage. But it comes down to this: While the Mexican influence has always been a part of the fabric of southern California and, indeed, the southwest, this is still the United States and the language that everyone needs to know is English. If there are voices in the Mexican-American community that encourage people to reject their American heritage, to not assimilate with other Americans-including other ethnic groups, then they are doing a huge disservice to their community. Whether we are succeeding or not, our goal should be to accept immigrants from wherever and encourage them to assimilate and become Americans. It should not matter whether their skin is white, black, yellow or brown-we are Americans. More than ever, we Americans need to stand together against the forces that wish to destroy all of us. The politics of ethnicity and the so-called community leaders who practice it are wrong. They are only dividing us all.
As to the above-mentioned political leaders, all of whom are Democrats, there is no record of any of them repudiating their past membership in MEChA nor any of the language that MEChA has used or still uses. They insist that in their political lives, they are representing all of their constituents, but none of them (that I am aware of) have publically stated that MEChA's language is intemporate or out of date.
As for MEChA, if your goal is to help other Hispanics obtain higher education, I am with you on that. If, on the other hand, your goal is to drive a wedge between Hispanics and other ethnic groups and further, to achieve some sort of "reconquista" of the southwestern United States back to Mexico, then you are dead wrong. You would not only be hurting our country, but your community even more so because you are creating an impediment to assimilation. Any Mexican-American family that wants to teach their children Spanish and about the Mexican culture is always free to do so, but that is a personal decision. This is the United States, and we are made up of many ethnic groups. Our task is to come together.
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