Mexican Reconquista: Leader Says California Will Be First 'Hispanic' State
Stephan Archer Wednesday, June 7, 2000
"I have proudly affirmed that the Mexican nation extends beyond the territory enclosed by its borders and that Mexican migrants are an important – a very important part – of this."
This statement wasn’t made in secrecy behind closed doors. It wasn’t said outside the jurisdiction of the United States of America. None other than Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo spoke it in Chicago on July 23, 1997.
Speaking before the National Council of La Raza, Zedillo went on to say, "For this reason, my government proposed a constitutional amendment to allow any Mexican with the right and the desire to acquire another nationality to do so without being forced to first give up his or her Mexican nationality."
This amendment is significant for more than just the obvious reason. It is nearly impossible to obtain Mexican citizenship unless you can prove you are Mexican or are of Mexican descent. If you are neither, you must prove that you have completely adopted Mexican culture and lifestyle. Yet a Mexican citizen can, in essence, acquire another nationality and remain a Mexican. Is this a double standard?
Glenn Spencer, president of Voice of Citizens Together and radio talk show host of American Patrol Report, thinks so. But he thinks there’s something more sinister to the Mexican president’s decree than one might think.
"This is an invasion of the United States in a very classic way with all of the classic objectives of an invasion without using bullets," Spencer said.
Spencer added he believed Mexico is allowing this so that those people with dual citizenship may vote in the interest of Mexico in the United States. The ultimate goal of this invasion, Spencer contends, is to reclaim the American Southwest – an area including California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and parts of Colorado and Texas. Known as Aztlan by Hispanic activists, these states make up what used to be Mexican territory before treaties and wars gave the land to the United States.
Some Hispanic activists deny that there is any sort of organized effort to take over these states and reclaim it for Mexico. However, Jose Pescador Osuna, who was once the Mexican consul general in Los Angeles, has been quoted on the record as saying, "Even though I’m saying this part serious and part joking, I believe we are practicing 'La Reconquista' in California."
"La Reconquista" means "the reconquest" and refers to the taking over of the U.S. Southwest. Osuna now is an agent of the Mexican government and works for migration in Mexico City.
Even though these statements have been made on American soil, Mario Obledo of the California Coalition of Hispanic Organizations said the "radical" Aztlan movement died in the 1960s. Obledo, a resident of Sacramento, Calif., explained that his organization tries to secure the civil rights of Mexican-Americans "and others similarly situated."
Although claiming a profound faith in America, he’s also proud of the fact that the majority of Californians in the next few years will be Hispanic.
"California is going to be a Hispanic state," Obledo said. "Anyone who doesn’t like it should leave."
Obledo further added: "Every constitutional office in California is going to be held by Hispanics in the next 20 years. It’s a fact of life. That’s all. All of those propositions – 187, 209, and whatever – is a backlash due to the insecurities of the majority population. That’s all. But all those measures are going to be reversed one of these days."
Proposition 187 was the California initiative supported by a majority of Californians that denied taxpayer funds for services to non-citizens. Proposition 209 was another initiative supported by a majority of Californians that banned affirmative action, that is, prohibited preferential treatment in the work place and public schools and universities.
Speaking at a Latino gathering in response to Proposition 187’s passage in 1995, Art Torres, the chairman of the California Democratic Party, said: "Power is not given to you. You have to take it. Remember, 187 is the last gasp of white America in California."
But if Mexico is to reclaim the U.S. Southwest, how will it be done?
Spencer believes that with the increasing unrest along the U.S.-Mexican border, the U.S. Border Patrol will eventually become overwhelmed, requiring the U.S. Army to take action. With increasing unrest and military presence all along the border, the current border will be erased and a new border zone stretching 150 miles from the current border into the United States will be put in place.
Although this may sound impossible, President Clinton has already issued an executive order that could put such a border zone in place.
Executive Order 13122, signed by the president May 25, 1999, established an Interagency Task Force on the Economic Development of the Southwest Border. The purpose of the task force is to "coordinate and better leverage existing Administration efforts for the Southwest Border, in concert with locally led efforts to increase the living standards and the overall economic profile of the Southwest Border so that it may achieve the average of the Nation."
Down toward the bottom of the executive order, it adds, "The Southwest Border or Southwest Border region is defined as including the areas up to 150 miles north of the United States-Mexican border in the States of Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and California."
Spencer believes this inclusion in the executive order is little more than a mechanism of NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) to erase the border by creating a border "zone" instead of a border line.
"It’s an attempt to gradually erase the border," Spencer said.
Spencer has been speaking about his scenario of an "Aztlan invasion" on the radio for some time now, and it has drawn considerable attention, including death threats.
Referring to a banner he saw at California State University, Northridge that read "Aztlan Graduation," Spencer concluded: "This is an invasion of the United States. I believe it’s going to end up in a war, and I believe it’s going to be so much worse because Clinton has sold us down the river."
What I don't think is supported is the idea that Mexico, and Vicente Fox, are engaged in an effort to expand Mexican territory into the United States or that President Bush approves of the idea.
Some radical Mexicans do actively promote that idea. But they're radicals, and we have some kooks of our own. That will never happen.
We do face some serious questions about what happens as Mexicans continue to come across the border into America. It does threaten our culture and it does threaten our economy, especially when it comes to health care. The current situation of tacitly agreeing to illegal immigration is nuts.
But there's no danger of Mexico annexing part of America. If anything, they want to be a part of it.