May 12, 2005

Has Antonio Villaraigosa renounced MEChA?

I had no idea this was going on, but UCLA's Bruin Alumni Association has been going to Los Angeles mayoral candidate Antonio Villaraigosa's campaign appearances trying to get him to renounce the racial separatist organization MEChA. AV was president of the UCLA chapter of that group. There's much more on their attempts and AV's militant past here.

It's finally had an effect:

On May 11, 2005 at a morning campaign press conference in Pacific Palisades, Antonio Villaraigosa was asked for the second time in three days about his ties to MEChA. Two days earlier on Monday at a North Hollywood press conference, Villaraigosa responded flippantly, "I was in the Boy Scouts, too." This time, with the Bruin Alumni Association banner "Renounce MEChA" pressed up against the window of the restaurant where the press conference was occurring, Villaraigosa answered more seriously.

[translation of a La Opinion article:] While Villaraigosa was speaking inside the restaurant, Mort's Palisades Deli, Andrew Jones, alumnus of the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA), demanded with a poster that Villaraigosa reject the principles "of reconquista" of the Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan [MEChA], that the councilman belonged to during his university years. "Most of the young Latinos who attended universities belonged to MEChA," Villaraigosa said. "I am not in agreement with most of its precepts. But in the university, we were all part of that organization. Of course I renounce its philosophy," he said. "I am absolutely surprised," responded Jones. "Cruz Bustamante did not want to do it, and he was attacked for months about it," he added, referring to the recall campaign of 2003.

Somehow, considering his more recent activities, I'm not entirely convinced.

Posted to Los_Angeles at May 12, 2005 05:16 PM

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