Introduction

    Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan, or MEChA, is a Chicano group that has chapters at both the high school and college level.  These chapters are most heavily concentrated in predominantly Latino areas, especially in the Southwestern United States, but are found in other areas as well.

    MEChistas from Cruz Bustamante to Antonio Villaraigosa have dismissed their membership in the organization by characterizing it as the equivalent of a Chicano Rotary club.  While MEChA does indeed pursue community service, the founding documents of MEChA make it very clear that it is community service with only one recipient – Chicanos. 

    Unfortunately, the same founding documents of MEChA (Philosophy of MEChA in particular), also reveal that membership in MEChA requires acceptance, belief and action for MEChA goals like the “liberation of Aztlan [the Southwestern United States].” Furthermore, every chapter, including MEChA de UCLA, was and is required to hold discussions and introduce new members to the uniformly radical historical documents of MEChA.  Thus, by their own peculiar bylaws it becomes clear that MEChista alumni are lying when they claim ignorance on the topic of the following three racist documents:

    El Plan Espiritual de Aztlan

    El Plan de Santa Barbara

    The Philosophy of Aztlan