Thread: Mexican Political Convention—Coming To LA

Mexican Political Convention—Coming To LA
by Allan Wall 9/25/07

During this exciting and unpredictable political season, there is a political convention scheduled for September 30th, in Los Angeles, California.

It’s not the Democratic Party, nor the Republican Party. Nor is it the Libertarian Party, the Green Party or the Constitution Party. It’s not even the Labor Party, the Marijuana Party or the Socialist Alternative Party.

No, the party holding its convention on that date is the PAN—the Partido Acción Nacional, the National Action Party of…Mexico. (It’s the party of Felipe Calderon and Vicente Fox).

Now this is not an ordinary PAN convention, as they would hold here in Mexico. No, this is a convention specifically designed for Mexican PANistas living in the U.S.A.—some of whom are American citizens!
What’s going on here?

What’s going on is that the political worlds of the U.S. and Mexico are becoming more and more intertwined. Without debate, the U.S is marrying Mexico—or, perhaps more accurately, Mexico is marrying us. With the growth of dual citizenship, and our failure to plug our anchor baby loophole, we can expect more and more of this.

This is a rather recent phenomenon. If I may quote myself from a previous article:

"There was a time, not long ago, when the Mexican government preferred not to mention nor even to acknowledge the existence of American citizens of Mexican ancestry. Was their existence not evidence that Mexican revolutionary nationalism had failed—the fact that some Mexicans were voting with their feet for the United States?

“However, in the waning years of the PRI, (the party that controlled Mexico throughout most of the twentieth century) this orientation began to change. The pochos or chicanos (slang terms for Mexican-Americans) in the United States began to be viewed not as an embarrassment or a sign of Mexico’s economic failure, but as an opportunity –– an opportunity for the Mexican government to gain influence in the United States over migration policy, and thus keep the gates open for continued emigration.

“This change in orientation coincided with the rise of multiculturalism and ethnic identity politics in the United States. A number of links already exist between the Mexican government and U.S. Mexican-American and Hispanic activist organizations such as LULAC, MALDEF, and the National Council of La Raza. "[ Undue Influence -- the Government of Mexico and U.S. Immigration Policies, The Social Contract Press, Winter 2002]

Mexican meddling also goes hand in hand with the democratization of Mexico, which was a gradual process. In just a few decades, Mexico transformed itself from a one-party state to a pluralistic political system. Now, there are three political parties (the PAN, the PRI and the PRD—Party of the Democratic Revolution), which have about equal power.

But Mexican pluralism provides more reasons for friction with the U.S. Nowadays, the Mexican parties compete with each other as to who can stand up to the gringos, who can defend Mexico’s sovereignty, and who can better stick up for the poor mistreated migrants in Gringolandia. That’s why neither the Mexican Congress nor the Mexican president can afford to ignore the Elvira Arellano melodrama, and why Felipe Calderon felt the need to bash U.S. immigration policy in his State of the Union address. If he doesn’t, the opposition parties will call him a gringo lackey.

In the 2000 Mexican election, candidates Vicente Fox (PAN) and Cuauhtemoc Cardenas (PRD) both traveled to California to campaign among Mexicans there. There was not a peep of protest from our government.

Back in 1996, Mexico legalized dual nationality to allow Mexicans to have their cake and eat it too, and to better influence the U.S. political process. That meant there was no legal impediment to Mexicans voting in both countries.

There was a physical impediment, however. Mexico lacked an absentee ballot system. The Mexican government was dragging its feet on this one. Finally, in 2006, Mexicans in the U.S. were allowed to vote in the Mexican presidential election with absentee ballots, but the system was complicated and comparatively few registered, much less voted.

In the future, though, that could change, especially with Mexican political parties recruiting voters.

The first party to really start moving in the U.S. was the PRD under the party leadership of AMLO (Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (1996-1999). The PRD, by the way, has proposed in the past that the entire U.S.A. be converted into Mexico’s 6th circunscripción (electoral super-district). Under that plan, Mexicans residing in the U.S. would directly elect Mexican senators and representatives to specifically represent them.

The PAN saw how the PRD was organizing north of the border, and in 2005 began its own organization stateside.

In the ceremony held to set up a U.S. branch of the PAN, then-party leader Luis Felipe Bravo stated that the objective was not to meddle in U.S. politics:

"We are a party committed to the work for Mexico and in Mexico. In that sense, we neither commit ourselves nor will we commit ourselves to any political agenda abroad. Let it be clear, our only agenda is a Mexican political agenda, and we will not take action in U.S. politics." [PAN Press Release, February 6, 2005]

That all sounds fine and dandy…maybe. However, given the dynamics of the current situation, and the profile of some of the PAN activists in the U.S. (more on that later), that commitment might be taken with a grain of salt.

In two years the PAN has done a lot of organizing, and now has chapters in Chicago, Washington, D.C., Texas, Colorado, Philadelphia, Arizona, New York, Georgia, Delaware, Oregon , Minnesota, and Wisconsin.

Mexican political parties are more tightly-run than American political parties. And within Mexico , the PAN is better organized than the PRD. So it’s not surprising that the PAN already has a network of 10 party committees in the U.S. , ruled by a 9-man general consultative council and a General Representative, who is the party leader in the U.S. In addition, there are officially-designated "state" and "county" representatives. Those "states" are American states, not Mexican states. And Mexico doesn’t even have counties, so you know they’re talking about American counties. See list here,

The PAN convention is scheduled for September 30th, at the Plaza Mexico, in the chambers of the Restaurant Huasteca. The stated goal of the PAN is to increase membership in the U.S.A. in the wake of the legalization of Mexicans voting in the U.S. It’s possible that PAN chairman Manuel Espino is going to attend. [PAN intenta posicionarse entre paisanos en EU mediante congreso, Lilia Saúl, El Universal, Sept. 4th, 2007]

In theory, I wouldn’t object to foreigners meeting with fellow party members inside the U.S., as long as their meetings were all directed toward politicking in their country.

After all, as an American Republican in Mexico I vote in U.S. elections by absentee ballot and I appreciate that right.

The GOP has its "Republicans Abroad" organization, and the Democrats their "Democrats Abroad " organization . But these groups exist to help American expatriates register and vote while living abroad, and to support the party from afar.

I should also add, in the interests of full disclosure, that my Mexican wife and my in-laws vote for the PAN. My mother-in-law is an especially loyal PANista. So I’m not against the party itself.

However, we must face the reality of the present situation. We have millions of Mexicans, growing numbers of dual citizens, an assertive Mexican identity which resists assimilation and even fantasizes about reconquista, and a Mexican government claiming these emigrants’ loyalty, agitating in favor of illegal aliens, and meddling.

So it would behoove us to take note of any Mexican political activity on U.S. soil.

A look at a few of these PAN activists in the U.S. shows you why.

One of the members of the U.S. PAN consultative council is none other than Juan Hernandez, of Dallas , Texas .

You may recall Mr. Hernandez, of whom I’ve written before.

Hernandez is a dual citizen of the U.S. and Mexico. In the 1990s, he set up the first meeting between the future presidents George Bush and Vicente Fox.

When Fox became president of Mexico in 2000, Hernandez became chief of the Presidential Office for Mexicans Abroad, serving in that position until forced out in a turf battle with Jorge Castaneda.

But while heading up the Mexicans Abroad office, Hernandez tirelessly made the rounds in the U.S., agitating for illegal alien amnesty and for the non-assimilation of Mexican immigrants and their continued loyalty to Mexico. In a 2001 Nightline interview Hernandez famously remarked that

"We are betting that the Mexican American population in the United States … will think Mexico first."[Nightline With Ted Koppel, June 7, 2001]

Yes, that Juan Hernandez—Mexican agitator, dual citizen, PAN activist. We need to continue to keep an eye on this guy.

Another active PANISTA in the U.S. is Juvencio Rocha Peralta. Rocha resides in North Carolina, where he has managed to establish himself as a Mexican activist as leader of the Mexican Association of North Carolina. Rocha has naturalized as a U.S. citizen, but apparently didn’t take the oath of citizenship seriously, as he is still acting as a Mexican citizen active in Mexican politics.(This is the sort of activity that at one time caused citizenship to be revoked.) And he’s a PAN activist and "county representative" in North Carolina. Here are a few Rocha quotes so you can see where he’s coming from:

"We are talking about civil rights, and we feel like it’s time for us newcomers across the U.S. to play a civic role. Mexicans have been waiting for a long time for immigration, and the debate has just gone on and on and on."

And

"The work force in our state depends a lot on us, especially in the farm, poultry and construction industries. North Carolina has a lot of rural communities and much of that work force are Latinos." [Quoted at Thinkexist.com]

Yes sir, this fellow has really assimilated, hasn’t he?

Juvencio Rocha was even quoted in the New York Times last year, in a nauseating pro-illegal alien agitprop piece by Julia Preston, entitled "Rules Collide with Reality in the Immigration Debate". (May 29th, 2006)

Here’s what Julie said about Juvencio,

"Juvencio Rocha Peralta, the president of the Mexican Association of North Carolina, an advocacy group, said Mexicans felt trapped in a system that seemed contradictory.

“‘You make us break the law because you don’t give us an opportunity to be legal,’ said Mr. Peralta, who came here as an illegal farm worker years ago but was granted amnesty in 1986 and is now a naturalized American citizen. ‘You take my labor, but you won’t give me documents.’ "

Yeah, that’s the attitude of Juvencio Rocha Peralta, dual Mexican-U.S. citizen. Do you have any doubt what sort of causes he’ll be promoting as a PAN activist? CRO

copyright 2007 Allan Wall

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Contributor AllanWall

Allan Wall recently returned from a tour of duty in Iraq. He currently resides in Mexico, where he has lived since 1991. He can be reached via e-mail at allan39@prodigy.net.mx [go to Wall index]
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http://www.theonerepublic.com/archives/ ... ntion.html

Latino National Congreso Convention
Los Angeles, CA

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DATE
Saturday October 6

TIME
9:30 - noon

LOCATION
Downtown Sheraton Hotel
711 S Hope St
Los Angeles, CA

http://www.latinocongreso.org/


Latino organizational leaders, elected officials, and activists-
more than 2,000 leaders from 20 states and 700 organizations
and elective offices will convene October 5 - October 9th for the
purpose of planning the Latino political agenda.


During the Saturday, October 6 morning session, patriots will
stage a peaceful sidewalk rally outside of the hotel convention
site.

The National Latino Congreso's primary purpose is to create a National
Latino Community policy agenda by bringing in as many people as possible
as Voting Delegates to vote on policy resolutions. The 2006 National Latino
Congreso considered 70 Resolutions submitted via the Internet and the
floor of the Plenary Sessions. The 2007 National Latino Congreso will work
to refine and expand the policy platform that currently exists.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


2007 Organizational Endorsers (181)
A Day Without a Mexican
Academia Semillas del Pueblo Xinaxcalmecac
Advancement Project
ALAS para tu Salud
Aliados con AI Network
American Leadership Institute
Amigos De Los Rios
Anahuak Youth Soccer Association
Arizona Hispanic Community Forum
Arizona State Senate
ASOCIACION DE INMIGRANTES DE INDIANA
Association of Mexican American Educators
Association of Salvadoran American Professionals
Bienestar Human Services, Inc.
Brave New Foundation
Brazilian Immigrant Center
Bread for the World
Break the Chains: Communities of Color and the War on Drugs
Cal. Federation of Teachers
California Latinas Reproductive Justice
California Latino School Boards Association
California League of Conservation Voters Education Fund
California Legal Assistance Foundation
Californians for Electoral Reform
Camacho, Santos and Yepes
CARECEN SF
Center for Responsible Lending
Central American Resource Center
Cesar Chavez Youth Leadership Conference - Sierra College
Cesar E. Chavez National Holiday
Chicano Consortium de Sacramento
Chicano Latino Intersegmental Convocation
Chicano Latino Youth Leadership Project, Inc.
Clinica Maritin-Baro at SFSU- UCSF
Coalition Against Militarism in our Schools
Coalition for a Safe Environment
Coalition for Clean Air
CODO Verde / Orange County Greens
Comision Cubana-Americana Por Derechos Familiares, Inc.
Committee to Close the SOA
Communist Party USA
Community News Publisher
Comunidades Por La Democracia Participativa en El Salvador
Consejo Para la Cultura y las Artes
Cuba Travel Services, Inc
Cuban American Alliance Education Fund
DFW Mega March Coalition
Dolores Street Community Services
Drug Policy Alliance
Earthjustice
El Centro Del Pueblo
El Comite Consultivo de Padres MEChA JFK
Emigrantes Sin Fronteras
Enlaces America
Espresso Mi Cultura
FairVote
Families In Schools
Federacion Mexico Unido
Federacion Yucateca de California INC.
Film Inquiry Research and Media Education
Finding Productions
Finis Productions
Friends of the Southwest Museum Coalition
Fuerza Mundial
GalerÃ*a de la Raza
Garcia Research
Global Exchange
Greater Fontana Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Green Dot Public Schools
Green Stage Alliance
Heal the Bay
Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities
Hispanic Empowerment Association of Roseville
Hispanic National Mortgage Association
Historic Highland Park Neighborhood Council
IHCenter/Election Defense Alliance
InnerCity Struggle
Institute for Community Justice
Instituto de Educacion Popular del Sur de California
International Committee for the Freedom of the Cuban Five
J Perez Associates, Inc.
Kucinich For President 2008
L.A. Community Legal Center and Educational
L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center
La Peña Cultural Center
La raza Network - Sacramento
LA-32 Neighborhood Business and Economic Council
Lambda Legal
Latin American Student Association at UC Riverside
Latin Business Association of the Inland Empire
Latina and Latino Roundtable, Pomona and San Gabriel Valleys
Latino Health Institute at Charles R. Drew University School of
Latino Social Justice Foundation
Latino Theater Company
LatinoCare Management Corp.
Latinos for Education
Latinos for Peace
Latinos Por la Democracia Participativa
LCLAA - Sacramento Chapter
LCLAA - San Gabriel Valley and Inland Empire Chapter
LCLAA ROCK CO. WI
LCLAA, Massachusetts
LCLAA-L.A. Chapter
League of United Latin American Citizens, District 1, Maricopa
Long Beach LULAC Council 3088
Los Angeles College Faculty Guild, AFT 1521
LULAC Arkansas
LULAC Council # 3122
LULAC Council #1111, Maricopa County, AZ
LULAC Council 120- Las Cruces, NM
LULAC Council 3033 Duarte
LULAC Sacramento - Lorenzo Patino Council No. 2862
LULAC Southwest Regional V.P.
LULAC Youth Organization
LULAC-Lynwood
Luna Realty & Loans
M.A.P.A de UCR
MAIZ
MAIZ
MAIZ
MAPA San Diego
Medifam of California
Mr. Latino Magazine
Mujeres De La Tierra
Mujeres de la Tierra - El Sereno
Mundo Maya Foundation & Federacion de Clubes Yucatecos-USA
NAID Center, UCLA
National Alliance of Craftsmen Associations
National Hispanic Environmental Council
National Hispanic Medical Association
National Image, Inc.
National Latino Farmers & Ranchers Trade Association
National Organization for Mexican American Rights, Inc.
National Parks Conservation Association
National Urban Fellows, Inc.
Natural Resources Defense Council
New America Foundation
New American Foundation
New Mexico LULAC
North County Forum (San Diego)
Northeast Community Clinic
Orange County Recruitment Awareness Project (OC-RAP)
Organizacion en California de Lideres Campesinas, Inc.
Palisadians for Peace
Parent Institute for Quality Education
Patrick Henry Democractic Club
People for Parks
Planning and Conservation League
PODER (People Organizing to Demand Environmental and Economic Ri
PolicyLink
Pomona College
PowerPAC
Progressive Democrats of America
Protect California Ballots
Proyecto Guerrero Azteca por la Paz
Puerto Rican Alliance of L.A.
RCC SIFE
Riverside Latino Voter Project
Sacramento Unified School District
Salvadoran American Leadership and Educational Fund
Salvadoran American National Association
Salvadoran American National Network
Santa Monica College/ MECHA
Servicio Particular Alacran
Somos America Coalition, Arizona
South Central Farmers Health and Education Fund
South Central Farmers' Cooperative
Stage of the Arts Inc.
The Children's Nature Institute
The City Project
The Coalition for Latino Political Action
The Peace Alliance
The Verde Group
TreePeople
U.S. PIRG
Un Solo Sol Food Services
Urban Semillas
UTLA- March 25th Coalition
Vote Hope
Voter Education Project, Inc.
Watts Century Latino Organization
2007 Elected Official Endorsers (42)
The Honorable Ruben Abrica, Councilmember, City of East Palo Alto
The Honorable Felipe Agredano, President, Garvey School Board
The Honorable Yolie Flores Aguilar, Board Member, Los Angeles Unified School District, Board of Education
The Honorable Rene Aguilera, School Board Member, Roseville City School District
The Honorable Jennifer Baker, Board Member, Natomas Unified School District
The Honorable Hector Balderas, State Auditor of New Mexico, State Auditor'S Office
The Honorable Karen Bass, Majority Leader, CA State Assembly
The Honorable Salud Carbajal, Supervisor, Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors
The Honorable Pablo H. Catano, Mayor Pro-Tem, City of Hawthorne
The Honorable Gil Cedillo, Senator, CA State Senate
The Honorable Xilonin Cruz-Gonzalez, School Board Member, Azusa Unified School District
The Honorable Mike Davis, Assemblyman, California Legislature
The Honorable Ignacio De La Fuente, Council President, City of Oakland
The Honorable Rocky Delgadillo, City Attorney, Los Angeles City Attorney's Office
The Honorable Steve M. Gallardo, State Representative, Arizona House of Representatives-House Minority Whip
The Honorable Martha Garcia, AZ STATE REPRESENTATIVE, AZ HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
The Honorable Francisco Garcia, Board Member, North Sacramento School District
The Honorable Josie Gonzales, 5th District Supervisor, County of San Bernardino
The Honorable Manny Hernandez, School Board Member, Sacramento Unified School District
The Honorable Delicia Herrera, Councilwoman, City of San Antonio
The Honorable Jesus Holguin, Vice-President, Moreno Valley Unified School District
The Honorable Abelina Jaime, School Board Member, Gadsden Elementary School District No 32
The Honorable Maria G. Lopez, School Board Member, Lynwood Unified School District
The Honorable Paul D. Lopez, Denver City Councilman District 3, City & County of Denver
The Honorable David Lujan, State Representative, Arizona House of Representatives
The Honorable Grace Napolitano, Congresswoman, U.S. House of Representatives
The Honorable David Olivas, Councilmember, City of Baldwin Park
The Honorable Jesse Ortiz, Board Member, Woodland Joint Unified School District
The Honorable Ricardo Pacheco, Council Member, City of Baldwin Park
The Honorable Art Pimental, City Council Member, Woodland City Council
The Honorable Kathryn Ramirez, Board Member, Salinas Union High Schol District
The Honorable Phil Reyes, Mayor Pro Tem, Duarte City Council
The Honorable Ed P. Reyes, Concilmember, City of Los Angeles, First District
The Honorable Kyrsten Sinema, Arizona State Representative, Arizona State Legislature
The Honorable Paul Solano, Vice President, Bassett Unified School District
The Honorable Nell Soto, Assemblymember, 61st District
The Honorable Heredia Susan, Board President, Natomas Unified School District
The Honorable Phillip Tabera, Vice-President, Salinas Union High Schol District
The Honorable Esteban Torres, Former Congressman, United States House of Representatives
The Honorable Leticia Vasquez, Council Woman, City of Lynwood
The Honorable Rogelio Villagrana, Board Member, Woodland Joint Unified School District
The Honorable Maxine Waters, Congresswoman, U.S. House of Representatives
2007 Individual Endorsers (16)
Yareli Arizmendi
Jean Jacques Barrera
Arlene Cano
Omar X Castro
Cathleen Chavez
Erika Espinoza
Pete Gonzalez
Lydia Guzman
Elena Herrada
Heinrich Keifer
Esther Lopez
Lee Martinez
Carlos Munoz
Jacob Noah
Sanho Tree
Maria Elena Yepes