http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,95871,00.html It isn't a 30 year old "issue" - as of 8/28/03 - he still support MECHa and what it stands for:
From the above Fox report:
Instead, Bustamante, who is running to be governor of California, praised the Chicano Student Movement of Aztlan, or MEChA (search), and said he still supports it.
"The students who are in MEChA today are just like the students when I was there, pretty much they are trying to get an education," Bustamante said during a press conference in which the first three questions related to his ties to the group.
"I think the actuality of what takes place in those organizations is to provide student leadership. For me, and many, many others, we were running for student government. That's how I got here today."
MEChA has used violence in the past to make its case. At a July 4 celebration in 1996, members of the group, who call themselves Mechistas, were videotaped attacking black and white Americans protesting illegal immigration. In 1993, students at UCLA caused $500,000 worth of damage during protests to demand a Chicano studies department. MEChA has also been associated with anti-Semitic groups like Nation of Aztlan.
MEChA's motto is "for the race, everything. For those outside the race, nothing." Critics say affiliation with that kind of group could spell political ruin for a white candidate and are upset that little attention has been paid to Bustamante's relationship with the group. He belonged to MEChA while attending Fresno State University in the 1970s.
"Whatever you did in your youth, it's what you did at the time. You can't disassociate from the past," said Manuel Olgin, a former MEChA member and now a counselor at the university. "Now if you're still plugged in and doing stuff, that's another question. But this is immaterial to me."
"Joining MEChA was a rite of passage just like if a black student joined a black student union. And if you didn't join, you weren't Chicano. The question is why hasn't he renounced it now. It is a racist organization," said radio talk show host Larry Elder.