Raza Unida Party

The Raza Unida Party stated four main goals in their preamble. They are: • To uphold equal representation for all people by superseding existing systems • To construct a new government that benefits the people while fulfilling the needs of the individual Their local platform in Crystal City supported farmers, students, and the working class. The stances they endorsed included multilingual instruction in school, farm subsidies, regulation of utilities, community-based organization of politics, and an impartial tax system. In 1974, RUP developed a statewide platform in hopes to enlarge its appeal to voters in Texas. They endorsed an improved allocation of funds in public education, a revision and development of new methods of transportation, and a system that provided quality medical care. RUP also believed in the prosecution of industrial polluters, the conservation of “human and natural resources,” and the creation of resolutions to concerns exclusive to urban communities. == Founding ==

and Mario Compean 1970 The Mexican American Youth Organization (MAYO) was begun by five young men studying at St. Mary's University in 1967: Jose Angel Gutierrez, Mario Compean, Willie Velasquez, Ignacio Perez, and Juan Patlan. Jose Angel explained "All of us were the products of the traditional Mexican American organizations … All of us were very frustrated at the lack of political efficacy, at the lack of any broad based movement, and at the lack of expertise". After the victory of the RUP in municipal elections in Crystal City and Cotulla, the party grew and expanded to other states, especially California and Colorado. In Colorado, the RUP worked closely with Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales and the Crusade For Justice based out of Denver. In California, the RUP spread throughout the state and held strong ground in Los Angeles County, with as many as 20 chapters at one point. The novice city council was not very effective in implementing its goals and damaged the party's reputation in the short term. However, RUP ran candidates for governor of Texas, Ramsey Muniz in 1972 and 1974 and Mario Compean of San Antonio in 1978. They petitioned the conservative Dr. Hector P. Garcia to run on the RUP ticket, but he declined. In 1972, they ran a candidate, Secundion Salazar, in a competitive U. S. Senate race in Colorado. Salazar received 1.4% of the vote, as victory went to the Democrat Floyd Haskell. == 1972 Texas elections ==

at the party's 1972 convention: Reies Lopez Tijerina, New Mexico (second from left), Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales, Colorado (center), and José Ángel Gutiérrez, Texas (far right). Cesar Chavez, California, did not attend. After initial successes where Chicanos were elected in the South Texas counties of Dimmit, La Salle, and Zavala, La Raza Unida Party decided to be more ambitious for the 1972 gubernatorial elections. Its campaign was extremely controversial because it was entirely racially based. The party leaders believed that change could only occur by appealing to the cultural and familial values shared by Mexican Americans. They also asserted that racism against Mexican Americans was so prolific that the entire political system would have to be reevaluated. In a speech at Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, he said, Ya basta. Raza Unida offers the people an alternative and the days of being led to the polls to vote straight ticket for these two other parties are over… if it is not done this year, it will come next year or the next… as long as there are Mexican Americans there will be persons to replace people like me" == Electoral results ==

Gubernatorial Class II Senate U.S. House == Women's involvement ==

Women played a growing role in the party in Texas in the 1970s, holding party offices at various levels and running as political candidates, as well as doing campaign work in many localities. Women wanted to become involved in the decision-making process in LRUP. Founding party member, Luz Gutierrez wanted to be involved in the political organization of the party. In an interview, she said,[Women] actually had a walk-in to one of their meetings and said… “We really want to be part of the decision-making process." At that time, half the men broke off of Raza Unida, and they said they didn’t want to be a part of it if women were gonna be involved. After the formation of Mujeres Por La Raza, some factions of LRUP did focus on challenging machismo and patriarchal practices within the party and society. Mujeres Por La Raza Mujeres Por La Raza is a women's caucus associated with the Raza Unida Party which developed in 1973. Its creation has been credited to three women: Evey Chapa, Ino Alvárez, and Marta Cotera. Mujeres Por La Raza was conceived in conjunction with the Chicana feminist movement of the 1970s. Many women were involved in the RUP since its creation in 1969. Regardless of their participation in the movement, women were sometimes referred to as “groupies” by men in the party. Mujeres Por La Raza focused primarily on women and family life. They held many conferences with seminars that focused on community building and political organization. Mujeres Por La Raza had many local communities based in cities such as Houston, Dallas, Corpus Christi, Laredo, San Antonio, Crystal City, Mercedes, Austin, and Temple. Alma Canales, a member of the organization, received the endorsement from the Texas Women's Political Caucus (TWPC) on her 1972 campaign for lieutenant governor. However, the TWPC failed to commit on Canales's political campaign. A year later, Mujeres Por La Raza unanimously voted to remove themselves from the TWPC. == Crystal City indictments ==

In 1976, 11 officials in Crystal City, Texas, were indicted on various counts. Angel Noe Gonzalez, the former Crystal City Independent School District superintendent who later worked in the United States Department of Education in Washington, D.C., upon his indictment retained the San Antonio lawyer and later mayor, Phil Hardberger. Gonzalez was charged with paying Adan Cantu for doing no work. However, Hardberger documented to the court specific duties that Cantu had performed and disputed all the witnesses called against Cantu. The jury acquitted Gonzalez. Many newspapers reported on the indictments but not on the acquittal. John Luke Hill, the 1978 Democratic gubernatorial nominee, had sought to weaken RUP so that he would not lose general election votes to a third-party candidate. However Victory went to his Republican rival, Bill Clements. Compean received only 15,000 votes, or 0.6%, just under Clements's 17,000-vote plurality over Hill. == Final years ==

During the late 1970s, La Raza Unida Party decided to change tactics from a "get out the vote" organization to a more community-based, grassroots, revolutionary nationalist format seeking the unity of all Chicanos, other Latinos, and Native Americans in the American Southwest, commonly called Aztlán. Xenaro Ayala was voted in as the national party chairman in 1978. The party held a second national convention in which Juan Jose Pena was elected chairman in 1980. By the year 1974, Crystal City was the only city La Raza Unida Party still had political power in. In 1976, Ramsey Muniz pled guilty to one count of drug charges. He was apprehended and convicted to 15 years in prison. Mario Compean's 1978 gubernatorial campaign ended poorly, with only 15,000 votes in his favor. After these events, morale in RUP decreased. On election day in 1978, RUP was eliminated as a political party and lost its state funding. By 1981, the Democratic and Republican parties banned RUP from its ballot status. == Legacy ==

The Raza Unida Party left many contributions to the political structure of the state of Texas. Some argue that this impact is also felt at a national level. Since the 1970s, RUP allowed Mexican Americans who are interested in politics to be involved in them. Chicano politicians who continued their political careers after the disbanding of RUP learned how to organize politically during the active years of the party. == Notable members ==

• Carmen Roybal Arteaga, activist • Herman Baca (1943–present), activist • Alma Canales (1947–present), candidate for lieutenant governor of Texas (1972) • Eddie Canales (1948–2024), labor organizer • Rosie Castro (1947–present), candidate for San Antonio City Council (1971) and mother of Democratic politicians Joaquin and Julian Castro • Martha P. Cotera (1938–present), candidate for Texas State Board of Education (1972) • Ricardo Cruz (1943–1993), activist and attorney • Maria L. de Hernández (1896–1986), Mexican-American rights activist • Deborah Mora Espinosa (1951–present), activist • Ricardo Falcón (1945–1972), activist • Rodolfo Gonzales (1928–2005), boxer, poet, political organizer, and activist • Raúl Grijalva (1948–2025), Democratic representative in Congress from Arizona (2003–2025) • Albert Gurule (1944–present), candidate for governor of Colorado (1970) • José Ángel Gutiérrez (1944–present), co-founder, Zavala County Judge (1974–1981) • Maria Martin (1951–2023), journalist • José Montalvo (1946–1994), candidate for Texas House of Representatives (1974) • Ramsey Muñiz (1942–2022), candidate for governor of Texas (1972, 1974) • Aurora Estrada Orozco (1918–2011), activist • Raul Ruiz (1940–2019), candidate for California State Assembly (1971, 1972) • Manuela Solis Sager (1912–1996), labor organizer • Martín Serna (1944–1978), candidate for Congress (1970) • Reies Tijerina (1926–2015), activist • Willie Velasquez (1944–1988), co-founder == See also ==