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Antonio Villaraigosa: Alcalde de Los Angeles?
by
Hector Carreon
La Voz de Aztlan
Los Angeles, Alta California - May 13, 2005 - (ACN) "EL Pueblo de Nuestra Señora La Reina de Los Angeles" may again have a mayor (alcalde) of Mexican descent after more than 133 years. Antonio Villaraigosa, a former student leader of the Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (MEChA) at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), may take over the mayor's office of the second largest city in the country on Tuesday. According to the polls, Antonio Villaraigosa is on the average 12 points ahead of incumbent Mayor James Hahn with only 4 days left before voting day.
Los Angeles was founded in 1781 by Mexican families primarily from Sinaloa, Sonora and Jalisco. From 1781 to 1822 all of the mayors were born in Mexico but from 1823 to 1848 they were mostly native Angelinos, sons of Mexican families who owned vast "Ranchos" in the area. The first white occupation mayor was a migrant from Missouri by the name of Stephen Foster. Foster commenced his term as mayor in 1848, the year when the Mexican-American War ended, and one year before Alta California was invaded by hordes of whites looking for gold. The "Gold Rush 49ers" were mostly unsavory characters. They were foul-mouth rowdy thiefs and gamblers from the east who negatively transformed the peaceful culture of the region. Their effect on the local culture is today immortalized on a City of Baldwin Park public monument with the inscribed words, "It was better before they came".
During the tumultus 24 years following the war, white efforts to consolidate their political power and control of the land, resulted in the election of 12 white mayors and only 4 Mexican-Americans. The last Los Angeles mayor of Mexican descent was Cristobal Aguilar who completed his term in 1872. That was 133 years ago. Antonio Villaraigosa hopes to reverse the trend on Tuesday.
Mexican-American voters are "all fired up" for Tuesday's election. MEChA's slogan, "Los Angeles Today, Alta California Tomorrow" is destined to become reality. No, there is no need for whites to start packing their luggage to leave Los Angeles even though many have already done on their own free will. Among those who have left are felon Chris Simcox of the Tombstone Vigilantes and Glenn Spencer of the American Border Patrol which is another vigilante group operating along the Mexico/Arizona border. Both left Los Angeles after they could no longer tolerate living among millions of Mexicans. Good riddance and we wish all of their ilk will leave the city and the state. This includes many of the hate radio jocks in Los Angeles especially those at KABC and KFI.
The Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (MEChA) has done wonders concerning the political re-empowerment of La Raza. The organization's opening of the doors to higher education through student recruitment, politicalization and the formation of Mexican-American study programs has created a very effective cadre of leaders with the will power and know how to do what has to be done. There are now numerous MEChA alumni at all levels of government and one, Cruz Bustamante, came very close to defeating the immigrant from Austria, Arnold Schwarzenegger, for the governorship of the state. The last Mexican governor of Alta California was Pio de Jesus Pico. Governor Pio Pico was forced to flea to Mexico in 1846 by US occupation military forces. The election of a governor of Mexican descent in Alta California is just a matter of time.
The election of Antonio Villaraigosa will have national significance. Mexican-Americans are the fastest growing ethnic group in the US and Latinos as a whole now make the largest minority. In Los Angeles, a left-labor coalition reigns king in politics and is a model now being used in other regions of the southwest. Labor, composed of large numbers of Mexican-Americans, will transform the political landscape of the southwest. Also, an aging and unproductive white population is a major factor in the ongoing transformation. The white population, primarily paper-pushers, are loosing their grip on political power. One perfect example within this element are some white hate radio jocks who make a living by using their mouths to blurt ethnic hate. They produce nothing concrete of value. They produce no food, shelter, or clothing but only pollute the airwaves with their broadcasts.
A large and vigorous turnout of Labor on Tuesday will assure the election of Antonio Villaraigosa. La Voz de Aztlan compliments Antonio Villaraigosa for never repudiating MEChA under the intense pressure exerted by the English language media. The example set by Cruz Bustamante is noble and Antonio Villaraigosa is to be commended for his courageous resistance.
On Tuesday, flags may be flying and autos seen with bumper stickers saying, "Los Angeles Today, Alta California Tomorrow". God Bless Aztlan!
