DIY History | Transcribe | Campus Culture | Chicano conference programs and speeches, April 1973-May 1974 | 1973-04-14 Workshop II, Chicanos: Political Process Page 7

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Chicano conference programs and speeches, April 1973-May 1974

1973-04-14 Workshop II, Chicanos: Political Process Page 7

excluded, and I know that to be true, you have a extremely difficult situation. That's putting it very mildly. People are subjected to a criminal justice system that maybe is unfair in its application and yes they do not have accessibility with a very few exceptions to any of the means of changing that system.

Now what I am really getting around to is that in appraising the operation of the political system, I think it might be of great importance to this conference to focus not only on the traditional approaches to political accessibility, but to those aspects of the political process that will alleviate or change these kinds of inequities that are immediate and have probably the greatest impact on hundreds and thousands of people that are subjected to that kind of system. These are perhaps somethings you would like to do.

Ricardo Zavala: I would like only to point out that in Fort Madison, Iowa, which is a community about 100 miles fro here, there is a Mexican-American, interrelated with LA RAZA. He was elected councilman in 1973 in the city of Fort Madison.

Also, in Madison City another Spanish surname was name to the city council. There are some people here in Iowa that have achieved some sort of success though a political system other than La Raza Unida.

Audience Response: I come from the state of Wisconsin, Wisconsin University in La Crosse. I am an attorney, I practiced law in Cuba for a period of 40 years. Also I am a teacher. I have listened very carefully to what seems to be a general idea in the Raza Unida to establish or form a political party. 

I am going to explain to you my political experience concerning the formation of a political party because I was candidate for congressman in Cuba.

Now, in my understanding the formation of a political party requires:

1) That out of 1 million Latinos you claim we have here in the state of Illinois, the first step should be to get those who are of legal age to be naturalized. You cannot exercise the right to vote unless you are an American citizen. So that will, in my opinion be the first step.

2) The second step in a political process will be to have these people who are naturalized registered to vote. Because if they do not register, they cannot vote.

3) The third step will be to teach these Latinos, and we have over 1 million in Chicago. I am sure that if you ask a large majority of the Latinos what human rights are, they do not understand them fully.

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excluded, and I know that to be true, you have a extremely difficult situation. That's putting it very mildly. People are subjected to a criminal justice system that maybe is unfair in its application and yes they do not have accessibility with a very few exceptions to any of the means of changing that system. Now what I am really getting around to is that in appraising the operation of the political system, I think it might be of great importance to this conference to focus not only on the traditional approaches to political accessibility, but to those aspects of the political process that will alleviate or change these kinds of inequities that are immediate and have probably the greatest impact on hundreds and thousands of people that are subjected to that kind of system. These are perhaps somethings you would like to do. Ricardo Zavala: I would like only to point out that in Fort Madison, Iowa, which is a community about 100 miles fro here, there is a Mexican-American, interrelated with LA RAZA. He was elected councilman in 1973 in the city of Fort Madison. Also, in Madison City another Spanish surname was name to the city council. There are some people here in Iowa that have achieved some sort of success though a political system other than La Raza Unida. Audience Response: I come from the state of Wisconsin, Wisconsin University in La Crosse. I am an attorney, I practiced law in Cuba for a period of 40 years. Also I am a teacher. I have listened very carefully to what seems to be a general idea in the Raza Unida to establish or form a political party. I am going to explain to you my political experience concerning the formation of a political party because I was candidate for congressman in Cuba. Now, in my understanding the formation of a political party requires: 1) That out of 1 million Latinos you claim we have here in the state of Illinois, the first step should be to get those who are of legal age to be naturalized. You cannot exercise the right to vote unless you are an American citizen. So that will, in my opinion be the first step. 2) The second step in a political process will be to have these people who are naturalized registered to vote. Because if they do not register, they cannot vote. 3) The third step will be to teach these Latinos, and we have over 1 million in Chicago. I am sure that if you ask a large majority of the Latinos what human rights are, they do not understand them fully.