INTRODUCTION

The first of the two documents presented here, El Plan de Aztlan was adopted at the first National Chicano Youth Liberation Conference in Denver, Colorado, March 1969. The plan presented for the first time a clear statement of the growing nationalist consciousness of the Chicano people. It raised the concept of Aztlan,^* a Chicano nation, and the need for Chicano control of the Chicano community. Referring to the Democratic and Republican parties as "the same animal with two heads that feed from the same trough," the plan pointed out that to achieve the goal of self-determination, would require an independent political party with Raza nationalism as its "common denominator."

Although the Plan de Aztlan has appeared in some Chicano publications, many Raza activists and others interested in the Chicano struggle remain unfamiliar with it This edition will for the first time make the plan readily available to all.

The second document, intended as a general guide to action, is the basic programmatic statement adopted by the Oakland-Berkeley, California Raza Unida Party in November 1970. Building upon the ideas propounded in the Plan de Aztlan, it outlines a program for mobilizing La Raza around the key issues that affect their lives.

When first proposed in 1969, some viewed the idea of breaking with the capitalist politicians of the Democratic and Republican parties as "idealistic" or "impractical." Yet today, greater and greater numbers of La Raza are coming to recognize the need for such a break. In April 1970, the Crystal City Raza Unida Party swept into office in the first electoral victory of an independent all-Chicano party. This was followed by the statewide campaign of the Colorado Raza Unida Party which sprang up following the second Chicano Youth Liberation Conference in Denver in March 1970. After winning the elections again In April 1971, the Crystal City Raza Unida Party now has solid majorities on both the school board and the city council. The inspiring example of Crystal City, where meaningful reforms have already benefited La Raza, has resulted in the spread of Raza Unida parties into Northern California, Los Angeles, Arizona, and several cities in South Texas and has the prospect of becoming statewide in Texas by 1972. These developments point toward important advances in the struggle for Chicano liberation.

It is hoped that these two documents will prove of value to those fighting for an end to the oppression of La Raza.

Antonio Camejo, October 1971

* Aztlan - The ancient Aztec name for what is now the Southwest

Documents of the Chicano Struggle