This document was written by a member of the Communist Collective of the Chicano Nation (Marxist-Leninist) early in 1973. The position outlined in it of the existence of a Chicano Nation in the Southwest, which was presented at the Conference of North American Marxist-Leninists held in Chicago in May, 1973, has received local and national interest.
The Southwest Region (including the area that has been described as the Chicano Nation) is an annexed territory of USNA imperialism. It was annexed by the USNA during the colonial war of l8h6. With the consolidation of USNA imperialism, beginning in 1880, the economy of the region was made to serve the needs of the USNA imperialists. In the era of imperialism nations, and not individuals or groups of individuals, are enslaved. At the same time, imperialism, in its oppression, welds people together resulting in nations which are needed in order to capture markets, raw materials and cheap labor. This kind of oppression is further justified and reinforced by the ideology of white chauvinism (e.g., the Negro and Puerto Rican nations). Under such circumstances the unity of the class in opposition to imperialism can only be realized with our full support for the demand of the right of secession of the peoples of the Southwest.(“Report on the Southwest Question,” Conference Paper, 1973, p. 3)
In the Marxist-Leninist analysis of the Southwest region, there is the recognition of specific characteristics and a specific historical development of certain areas within the Southwest. The area which has been described as the “Chicano Nation” is one such area: Southern Colorado, New Mexico and Southwest Texas.
This area was first settled by Spanish and Mexican settlers in the l600s without much resistance on the part of the Pueblo Indians. The area was extremely isolated from the rest of Mexico mostly because of its great distance from the more central zones and the difficulty of reaching the area by land. In Northern New Mexico and Southern Colorado particularly, the language, customs, farming methods, etc of the people changed very little even as they changed throughout Mexico and North America. And even such a minor thing as the predominance of certain surnames in certain areas, and the network of relations many New Mexicans have in the area testifies to the fact that the people of New Mexico are not newly-arrived immigrants, but rather have a long history of oppression and development in this general area.
Another peculiarity of this section of the Southwest is the peasant question. Here perhaps more than anywhere else in the USNA there is a historically stable peasantry which has systematically been oppressed by the imperialists, denied their lawful land claims and rights, taxed, cowed, forced, overcharged and beaten into submission. And although many peasants have been forced off their land and into the cities, their ties with the land are still strong, and demands concerning the land are dear to the ears of nearly every native in the area. Any thoroughgoing analysis of this area must recognize the importance of the question of the peasantry and of the strategy which seriously takes into account the peasantry as an ally of the proletariat.
One thing in general is certain: this area of the Southwest has a very specific historical development which distinguishes it from the rest of the Southwest. The Anglo-American occupation was not accompanied by a huge influx of Anglo-Americans, as was the case in California; the majority of the Spanish-speaking peoples here have ties which go back for over 200 years, although a substantial minority has come from Mexico and Central America. The peasantry, semi-proletariat and rural proletariat are extremely important potential forces in the area. And the people in particularly Northern New Mexico consider themselves neither Mexicans nor Americans, but somewhat distinct, be it called Spanish, Chicano, Hispano-Indio or whatever.
It is clear, however, that the question needs more study. We must redouble our efforts to apply the Marxist-Leninist theory of the national question to the situation in the “Chicano Nation” area so as to be able to formulate a correct strategy in this area. Such a formulation is not an idle task; the results of our research and conclusions will shape the success of failure of our work in this area. Marxist-Leninist analysis is not an easy thing, but it is essential for the victory of the revolution. A Marxist-Leninist analysis of the national question in the Southwest will not be easy to work up; but it must be done, and done well and correctly. A correct understanding of this question may prove to be the key to uniting the proletariat of the USNA with the peoples of the colonies and dependent countries of Latin America.
Precisely because the “Chicano Nation” area is a region with a specific history of development and oppression, there is a pressing need for communists there to unite with communists in the rest of the USNA. A major part of the strategy for socialist revolution in the USNA is the uniting of the national liberation struggles of the people of the Negro Nation and Puerto Rico with the struggle of the Anglo-American proletariat, just so is there the great necessity to link up the liberation struggles of the peoples of the Southwest, of the Indian peoples, and of the other people of the “Chicano Nation” area with the struggle of the Anglo-American proletariat for socialism. This is accomplished concretely by the call for regional autonomy for the Southwest and for the Indian peoples being raised by the Anglo-American working class; but also by communists and working people in the “Chicano Nation” area joining organizationally and politically with communists and working people in the rest of the USNA. This proletarian internationalism expresses itself in two ways: l) by the Anglo-American proletariat fighting for the freedom and democratic rights of the oppressed peoples of the Southwest, and 2J by the proletariat and oppressed peoples of the Southwest joining the Anglo-American proletariat in the common struggle against the USNA imperialist state.
The following paper is the first thorough attempt by this collective to study the national-colonial question in the “Chicano Nation” area as Marxist-Leninists. Already numerous weaknesses in the paper are recognized: the lack of full consideration of events in Mexico that have affected the political and economic developments in the Chicano Nation; limited evaluation of the effect of USNA imperialism on the area in the last 200 years; inadequate “proof” to unite all of the area claimed by the “Chicano Nation” as one, etc. Still we are presenting this paper to encourage discussion and further research into the question. Suggestions, criticisms and comments on the ideas, statistics, etc being presented are encouraged.