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La Raza Unida Party

The La Raza Unida party was founded in Crystal City, Texas, located in the southeastern portion of the state approximately forty miles from the Mexico-Texas border. This locale and the emergence of the party played an important role in the long struggle of Chicanas/os (persons of Mexican origin) against racism, discrimination, and inequality, as shown in this entry.

Crystal City Background

The roots of Crystal City extend back to 1884, when the first artesian well was discovered in the area. During the early part of the 20th century, Whites migrated to the region and transformed the economy from ranching to farming. The native Mexican-origin population became essential to the development of farming in the region. Thus, White farmers, despite their deep animosities toward Mexicans, saw them as a limitless source of cheap labor. With the proliferation of farming, Mexicans—who where clearly marked as a subordinate racial group—continued to migrate to Crystal City so that by 1930 Crystal City's population was majority Mexican.

Even though Mexican Americans constituted the overwhelming majority of Crystal City residents, Whites had controlled the city—its political and educational systems—since its inception. However, in the early 1960s, this Texas town witnessed a complete turnover from an all-White to an all-Mexican American city council. The 56-year White leadership ended when five Mexican Americans, known as Los Cinco, won in 1963. Their sweeping victory was fueled by the long history of discrimination and oppression in Crystal City.

Jose Angel Gutierrez, a nineteen-year-old Crystal City high school student at the time, later founded La Raza Unida Party. Although many claimed there was no discrimination, he says, one had only to look around to know the truth. Los Cinco's reign was shortlived and struggled against many challenges, including retaliation from the entrenched power structure. Nonetheless, although Whites regained power, the success of Los Cinco aided in the formation of the political consciousness of the Mexican Americans of Crystal City.

The Chicano Movement

During the 1960s, a significant social change took place in U.S. politics. The Civil Rights Movement stimulated similar activities in the United States, including the Chicano movement. The goals of the movement included ethnic pride, autonomy, and the improvement of the standing of the Chicano community. It was during this era that the terms Chicano and Chicana, which connote a cultural identity of pride associated with the group's indigenous roots, were popularized. Events surrounding the Chicano movement provided the social and political context for the rise of the La Raza Unida party.

Crystal City and its native son, Gutierrez, took center stage in the development of the party and the building of Chicana/o political muscle. Even though Chicanas/os comprised 85% of the population of the city, they did not hold political or school administration offices after the short-lived victory of Los Cinco. Young Chicanas/os faced similar treatment within the schools. For example, custom dictated that the high school's cheerleading squad be made up of four White females and one Chicana, a rule established by the White power structure. When a qualified Chicana was bypassed in favor of two less qualified White girls, the student body clearly saw the system of discrimination that Chicana/o students were forced to endure. Given the increasing political consciousness of Chicanas/os in the community, many students and parents took their grievances to the school board. The group was assisted by Gutierrez, who was now the president of the Mexican American Youth Organization (MAYO) at St. Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas.

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