This story is not going away. Will Cruz continue to waffle or will he renounce the traitorous and racist aspects of the group?
"PAST"? Where do they get that. If he doesn't renounce his membership or MECHA's views, it's "PRESENT", not "PAST".
Bustamante is CURRENTLY a member of MECHA. He CURRENTLY believes in their views.
Yeah -- just like the past didn't matter to them a STITCH when President Bush's DUI (no conviction) charge from the '70s was released the weekend before the 2000 election. (insert sarcasm here).
The fact is, things matter to the Dems and the press when it is convenient, and the same things do not matter when it is not convenient for them to matter.
Look at these & learn. Read the mnany pages & see what they want-a violent political struggle is the plan.
http://www.aztlan.net http://latino.sscnet.ucla.edu/research/docs/struggle/aztlan.htm EL PLAN DE AZTLAN
El Plan Espiritual de Aztlan
In the spirit of a new people that is conscious not only of its proud historical heritage but also of the brutal "gringo" invasion of our territories, we, the Chicano inhabitants and civilizers of the northern land of Aztlan from whence came our forefathers, reclaiming the land of their birth and consecrating the determination of our people of the sun, declare that the call of our blood is our power, our responsibility, and our inevitable destiny.
We are free and sovereign to determine those tasks which are justly called for by our house, our land, the sweat of our brows, and by our hearts. Aztlan belongs to those who plant the seeds, water the fields, and gather the crops and not to the foreign Europeans. We do not recognize capricious frontiers on the bronze continent
Brotherhood unites us, and love for our brothers makes us a people whose time has come and who struggles against the foreigner "gabacho" who exploits our riches and destroys our culture. With our heart in our hands and our hands in the soil, we declare the independence of our mestizo nation. We are a bronze people with a bronze culture. Before the world, before all of North America, before all our brothers in the bronze continent, we are a nation, we are a union of free pueblos, we are Aztlan.
For La Raza to do. Fuera de La Raza nada.
Program
El Plan Espiritual de Aztlan sets the theme that the Chicanos (La Raza de Bronze) must use their nationalism as the key or common denominator for mass mobilization and organization. Once we are committed to the idea and philosophy of El Plan de Aztlan, we can only conclude that social, economic, cultural, and political independence is the only road to total liberation from oppression, exploitation, and racism. Our struggle then must be for the control of our barrios, campos, pueblos, lands, our economy, our culture, and our political life. El Plan commits all levels of Chicano society - the barrio, the campo, the ranchero, the writer, the teacher, the worker, the professional - to La Causa.
Nationalism
Nationalism as the key to organization transcends all religious, political, class, and economic factions or boundaries. Nationalism is the common denominator that all members of La Raza can agree upon.
Organizational Goals
1. UNITY in the thinking of our people concerning the barrios, the pueblo, the campo, the land, the poor, the middle class, the professional-all committed to the liberation of La Raza.
2. ECONOMY: economic control of our lives and our communities can only come about by driving the exploiter out of our communities, our pueblos, and our lands and by controlling and developing our own talents, sweat, and resources. Cultural background and values which ignore materialism and embrace humanism will contribute to the act of cooperative buying and the distribution of resources and production to sustain an economic base for healthy growth and development Lands rightfully ours will be fought for and defended. Land and realty ownership will be acquired by the community for the people's welfare. Economic ties of responsibility must be secured by nationalism and the Chicano defense units.
3. EDUCATION must be relative to our people, i.e., history, culture, bilingual education, contributions, etc. Community control of our schools, our teachers, our administrators, our counselors, and our programs.
4. INSTITUTIONS shall serve our people by providing the service necessary for a full life and their welfare on the basis of restitution, not handouts or beggar's crumbs. Restitution for past economic slavery, political exploitation, ethnic and cultural psychological destruction and denial of civil and human rights. Institutions in our community which do not serve the people have no place in the community. The institutions belong to the people.
5. SELF-DEFENSE of the community must rely on the combined strength of the people. The front line defense will come from the barrios, the camp os, the pueblos, and the ranchitos. Their involvement as protectors of their people will be given respect and dignity. They in turn offer their responsibility and their lives for their people. Those who place themselves in the front ranks for their people do so out of love and carnalismo. Those institutions which are fattened by our brothers to provide employment and political pork barrels for the gringo will do so only as acts of liberation and for La Causa. For the very young there will no longer be acts of juvenile delinquency, but revolutionary acts.
6. CULTURAL values of our people strengthen our identity and the moral backbone of the movement. Our culture unites and educates the family of La Raza towards liberation with one heart and one mind. We must insure that our writers, poets, musicians, and artists produce literature and art that is appealing to our people and relates to our revolutionary culture. Our cultural values of life, family, and home will serve as a powerful weapon to defeat the gringo dollar value system and encourage the process of love and brotherhood.
7. POLITICAL LIBERATION can only come through indepen-dent action on our part, since the two-party system is the same animal with two heads that feed from the same trough. Where we are a majority, we will control; where we are a minority, we will represent a pressure group; nationally, we will represent one party: La Familia de La Raza!
Action
1. Awareness and distribution of El Plan Espiritual de Aztlan. Presented at every meeting, demonstration, confrontation, courthouse, institution, administration, church, school, tree, building, car, and every place of human existence.
2. September 16, on the birthdate of Mexican Independence, a national walk-out by all Chicanos of all colleges and schools to be sustained until the complete revision of the educational system: its policy makers, administration, its curriculum, and its personnel to meet the needs of our community.
3. Self-Defense against the occupying forces of the oppressors at every school, every available man, woman, and child.
4. Community nationalization and organization of all Chicanos: El Plan Espiritual de Aztlan.
5. Economic program to drive the exploiter out of our community and a welding together of our people's combined resources to control their own production through cooperative effort.
6. Creation of an independent local, regional, and national political party.
A nation autonomous and free - culturally, socially, economically, and politically- will make its own decisions on the usage of our lands, the taxation of our goods, the utilization of our bodies for war, the determination of justice (reward and punishment), and the profit of our sweat.
El Plan de Aztlan is the plan of liberation!
Documents of the Chicano Struggle
The fact that he belonged to the group at one time is irrelevant in my opinion. The fact that he refuses to say that he's changed is views is entirely another matter.
In my younger days while I was being indoctrinated by the socialist college professors I too was a member of Mecha. However, since reality has hit home, I now know differently. Mecha - like almost any political organization, has it's moderates and it's radicals.
Cruz was on Tony Snow's show this morning and he completely danced around the question about disavowing Mecha for about 10 minutes. He would not disassociate himself from Mecha - and Tony finally let him get away without answering yes or no.
This is not a difficult topic to reasonably address. He only has to say that the group serves a valuable purpose for hispanic students by helping them to develop pride in their cultural heritage and then qualify that with a statement renouncing racist views expressed by the group and provide assurances that he supports the United States constitution and in no way supports the idea that any part of the U.S. be reconquered or have it's sovereignty altered in any way.
He doesn't want to do that because he fears that this will not be received well in some circles.
I think we stopped short in 1848, we had all of Mexico, we should have kept it and no such discussions as these would be ongoing today.
Maybe it is time to take back what was once ours by right of conquest, all of Mexico. Memo to illegals, don't trek north, we are coming south to you.
I wonder how much money the Mexican government is supplying him with for his campaign. I bet he can't renounce that government either.
Trouble is, the people who come with the territory have a bad attitude about freedom. They don't 'comprende' that. They do act like a mob. That is their one outstanding skill.
You have the potential pressure point-the mexican government is behind many things.
Where is the Southern Law And Poverty Center with their illustrious leader Morris Dees on this issue? It is a known fact that Mecha is racist and anti-Semitic.
Oh, stupid me, Why would the Dees be interested, Mecha is not a right wing Christian organization composed of White southern rednecks.