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El Plan de Aztlán
El Plan Espiritual de Aztlán In the spirit of a new people that is conscious
not only of its proud historical heritage but also of the brutal "gringo"
invasion of our territories, we, the Chicano inhabitants and civilizers of the
northern land of Aztlán from whence came our forefathers, reclaiming the land of
their birth and consecrating the determination of our people of the sun, declare
that the call of our blood is our power, our responsibility, and our inevitable
destiny. We are free and sovereign to determine those
tasks which are justly called for by our house, our land, the sweat of our
brows, and by our hearts. Aztlán belongs to those who plant the seeds, water the
fields, and gather the crops and not to the foreign Europeans. We do not
recognize capricious frontiers on the bronze continent. For La Raza to do. Fuera de La Raza nada. Program El Plan Espiritual de Aztlán sets the theme that
the Chicanos (La Raza de Bronze) must use their nationalism as the key or common
denominator for mass mobilization and organization. Once we are committed to the
idea and philosophy of El Plan de Aztlán, we can only conclude that social,
economic, cultural, and political independence is the only road to total
liberation from oppression, exploitation, and racism. Our struggle then must be
for the control of our barrios, campos, pueblos, lands, our economy, our
culture, and our political life. El Plan commits all levels of Chicano society -
the barrio, the campo, the ranchero, the writer, the teacher, the worker, the
professional - to La Causa. Nationalism Nationalism as the key to organization
transcends all religious, political, class, and economic factions or boundaries.
Nationalism is the common denominator that all members of La Raza can agree
upon.
Organizational Goals UNITY in the thinking of our people concerning
the barrios, the pueblo, the campo, the land, the poor, the middle class, and
the professional-all committed to the liberation of La Raza. ECONOMY: economic control of our lives and our
communities can only come about by driving the exploiter out of our communities,
our pueblos, and our lands and by controlling and developing our own talents,
sweat, and resources. Cultural background and values which ignore materialism
and embrace humanism will contribute to the act of cooperative buying and the
distribution of resources and production to sustain an economic base for healthy
growth and development Lands rightfully ours will be fought for and defended.
Land and realty ownership will be acquired by the community for the people's
welfare. Economic ties of responsibility must be secured by nationalism and the
Chicano defense units. EDUCATION must be relative to our people, i.e.,
history, culture, bilingual education, contributions, etc. Community control of
our schools, our teachers, our administrators, our counselors, and our programs.
INSTITUTIONS shall serve our people by providing
the service necessary for a full life and their welfare on the basis of
restitution, not handouts or beggar's crumbs. Restitution for past economic
slavery, political exploitation, ethnic and cultural psychological destruction
and denial of civil and human rights. Institutions in our community which do not
serve the people have no place in the community. The institutions belong to the
people. SELF-DEFENSE of the community must rely on the
combined strength of the people. The front line defense will come from the
barrios, the campos, the pueblos, and the ranchitos. Their involvement as
protectors of their people will be given respect and dignity. They in turn offer
their responsibility and their lives for their people. Those who place
themselves in the front ranks for their people do so out of love and carnalismo.
Those institutions which are fattened by our brothers to provide employment and
political pork barrels for the gringo will do so only as acts of liberation and
for La Causa. For the very young there will no longer be acts of juvenile
delinquency, but revolutionary acts. CULTURAL values of our people strengthen our
identity and the moral backbone of the movement. Our culture unites and educates
the family of La Raza towards liberation with one heart and one mind. We must
insure that our writers, poets, musicians, and artists produce literature and
art that is appealing to our people and relates to our revolutionary culture.
Our cultural values of life, family, and home will serve as a powerful weapon to
defeat the gringo dollar value system and encourage the process of love and
brotherhood. POLITICAL LIBERATION can only come through
independent action on our part, since the two-party system is the same animal
with two heads that feed from the same trough. Where we are a majority, we will
control; where we are a minority, we will represent a pressure group;
nationally, we will represent one party: La Familia de La Raza! Action Awareness and distribution of El Plan Espiritual
de Aztlán. Presented at every meeting, demonstration, confrontation, courthouse,
institution, administration, church, school, tree, building, car, and every
place of human existence. September 16, on the birth date of Mexican
Independence, a national walk-out by all Chicanos of all colleges and schools to
be sustained until the complete revision of the educational system: its policy
makers, administration, its curriculum, and its personnel to meet the needs of
our community. Self-Defense against the occupying forces of the
oppressors at every school, every available man, woman, and child. Community nationalization and organization of
all Chicanos: El Plan Espiritual de Aztlán. Economic program to drive the exploiter out of
our community and a welding together of our people's combined resources to
control their own production through cooperative effort. Creation of an independent local, regional, and
national political party. A nation autonomous and free - culturally,
socially, economically, and politically- will make its own decisions on the
usage of our lands, the taxation of our goods, the utilization of our bodies for
war, the determination of justice (reward and punishment), and the profit of our
sweat. El Plan de Aztlán is the plan of liberation!
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