"Chicano is our identity; it defines who we are as a people. It rejects the notion that we ... should assimilate into the Anglo-American melting pot ... Aztlan was the legendary homeland of the Aztecas ... it became synonymous with the vast territories of the Southwest, brutally stolen from the Mexican people marginalized and betrayed by hostile custodians of Manifest Destiny." — Statement on the University of Oregon's MEChA Web site (Jan. 3, 2006)

Reminisant of the anti-Vietnam demonstrations of the past, today carefully orchestrated protests and marches are taking place all over the United States. Crowds of expatriated Latinos (legal and illegal) and their supporters mug for the media carrying signs that insult the rule of law and the will of the American people. They carry foreign flags and sometimes burn the U.S. flag in protest. These organized marches are designed to make it appear to the gullible that the majority of the citizens of the U.S. support open borders and immigration amnesty. This is a lie.

Who's pulling the strings on this big puppet show? Surprisingly, some of these puppeteers are from prominent mainstream organizations such as the National Council de La Raza that are funded by millions of taxpayer dollars and federal grants. The Spanish "La Raza" translates literally to "The Race." National Council de La Raza uses these funds to run charter schools and get-out-the-vote efforts to support their political agenda.  

Behind the National Council de La Raza's respectable veneer are the organization's support of other secondary "La Raza" racist organizations such as Movimento Estudantil Chicano de Aztlan (MEChA) or the Chicano Students Movement of Aztlan. Since its beginnings in the radical 1960s, MEChA has spread across the entire U.S. gaining footholds in colleges and universities and promoting racial supremist La Raza ideologies and the "reconquista" agenda of the mythical Aztlan.

The MEChA manifesto can be read on their own Web sites, though few Latino students who join this organization (mostly for the MEChA social events) ever bother to read the garbage they post. The "El Plan Espirtual de Aztlan" (The Spiritual Plan for Aztlan) lays out their founding principles, "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 todo. Fuera de La Raza nada." The last two sentences translate "For the Race everything. Outside the Race nothing."

MEChA and other Raza movements teach that Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah and parts of Washington state are part of an area that was called by the Aztecs Aztlan before the arrival of European settlers. They believe that La Raza, the descendants of the Aztecs, are heirs to this land and La Raza should re-conquer Aztlan by any means necessary. This is what is meant by "reconquista." But they are content to re-conquer Aztlan through illegal immigration if need be, building their numbers until they have complete power without firing a shot.

It's no wonder that MEChA is reported to be one of the primary organizers of anti-immigration laws and pro amnesty demonstrations. To add insult to injury, did you know they do it with your tax dollars? This would be similar to the Ku Klux Klan funding its rallies through government grants and donations provided by the federal government.

Cal State Northridge MEChA member Miguel Perez is quoted as saying, "The ultimate ideology is the liberation of Aztlan. Communism would be closest [to it]. Once Aztlan is established, ethnic cleansing would commence—non-Chicanos would have to be expelled—opposition groups would be quashed because you have to keep power."

To tell you the truth, this is one of the reasons that I moved my family out of California when I retired. Even Stevie Wonder could see that there were too many La Raza sympathizers and puppets in California's city, state and national politics. Former MEChA firebrand Antonio Villarigosa is now the mayor of Los Angeles. Villarigosa was endorsed by La Raza and received the Graciela Olivarez award from La Raza. California's Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante was also a "MEChista" (member of MEChA) and gave the keynote address at La Raza's 2002 annual convention.   

Across the U.S., there are numerous highly placed lawyers, and city, state, and national officeholders who came through the university system in the southwest where liberal professors preached these La Raza racist ideas and taught the myth of Aztlan. They were former members of organizations such as the Raza Unida party, the Brown Berets, or MEChA.

They don't intend to hold to the will of the people or the wishes of the citizens they represent. In reality, they are representatives of the mythical land of Aztlan and believe—"For the Race everything. Outside the Race nothing."

Editor's Note: Much of the material for this article comes from an April 7, 2006 report, "The Truth About La Raza," by Rep. Charlie Norwood, a Republican representing the 10^th District of Georgia. It is also drawn from my personal experiences working LASD intelligence and my youthful indoctrination as a political activist. An article on the early days of the Chicano movement and the Brown Berets will follow soon.