A Mexican-American political party established by Jose Angel Gutierrez and other students in south Texas in 1970, La Raza Unida, or The United People, grew out of the Mexican-American Youth Organization formed in 1967 by Gutierrez and several other students, which aimed at solving problems and developing leaders in the Chicano community.
From its birth in Texas, La Raza Unida spread throughout the Southwest. Under the guidance of RoDOLFO “Corky” Gonzales, leader of the Crusade for Justice, an active 1960s militant nationalist group based in Denver, Colorado, La Roza Unida gained support in Colorado. Meanwhile, in California, La Raza Unida expanded from the Northern California Bay Area to San Diego within six months. Other La Raza Unida affiliations soon followed in Arizona, New Mexico, and the Midwest.
The members, goals, and philosophies of La Raza Unida varied depending on the individual state and local communities. For instance, in Northern California, the party included Central and South Americans and Cubans as well as other Spanish-speaking people. The constituency in Southern California consisted mainly of Mexican Americans. The aspirations of La Raza Unida in Texas included rallying for Chicano representation, exposing and confronting Anglos as exploiters of Mexican Americans, and acquiring economic power for Chicano communities. California branches sought reforms in education, labor, and the prison system, as well as control of land and equality for women. The Colorado organization envisioned building the Aztlan nation, the mythic Aztec Indian homeland in the American Southwest, to serve Chicano people.
The main ideological differences within La Raza Unida stemmed from differences between Gutierrez and Gonzales. While both deemphasized national politics, Gonzales called for a nationalist and socialist sociocultural revolution that would unite Chicanos and other oppressed groups. Gutierrez sought to balance power through local action, using the party’s national structure to garner attention and support for community efforts.
From its inception, La Raza Unida achieved numerous political gains, particularly in Texas and California. In 1970, La Raza Unida candidates won a total of 11 school board and city council elections in three south Texas cities.
By 1971, party members successfully secured the offices of mayor and two city commissioner positions in San Antonio. In the same year in Oakland, California, La Raza Unida challengers made a strong showing, capturing 25 to 35 percent of the vote in school board elections.
Socially, the party provided leadership roles for women and it became a strong tool to unify Chicano communities throughout the Southwest. Mexican-American women participated as candidates and in the day-to-day affairs of the party. Their efforts provided the stimulus for the development of La Raza Unida’s two feminist organizations: the Mujeres Pro-Raza Unida (Texas) and the Federacion de Mujeres de la Raza Unida (California). The membership of La Raza Unida brought together poor Chicanos and Latinos, the young and the old, students, welfare recipients, exconvicts, conservatives, radicals, and people who had never been involved in politics. The political victories of the early 1970s demonstrated that Chicanos could successfully unite to achieve positive change against a discriminatory system.
The political impetus of La Raza Unida spurred a cultural awakening in Chicano music, history, and literature. Chicano scholars challenged perceptions of Mexican Americans as passive victims and helped establish Chicano studies program at numerous universities. Although, at times, La Raza Unida invoked violence, it raised the political consciousness of a generation of Mexican Americans, particularly the youth, on an unprecedented scale.
Despite the successes in the elections of the early 1970s, La Raza Unida’s influence had all but faded by 1978. From the outside, the party had been weakened by repeated sabotage from local courts that removed candidates and rejected or reversed vote counts. From within, La Raza Unida suffered from diverging ideologies, lack of young, trained organizers, few financial resources, and a general loss of appeal. Gutierrez’s 1982 resignation of his seat on the increasingly Democratic Party-controlled county commissioner’s court in Crystal City, Texas, ended La Raza Unida’s activities and influence.
Further reading: Ignacio M. Garcia, United We Win: The Rise and Fall of La Raza Unida Party (Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1989); Fernando Pinon, Of Myths and Realities: Dynamics of Ethnic Politics (New York: Vantage Press, 1978).
—Michelle Reid
World History
