The August 29th Movement (or August Twenty-Ninth Movement, ATM), was a

Chicano Chicano or Chicana is a chosen identity for many Mexican Americans in the United States. The label ''Chicano'' is sometimes used interchangeably with ''Mexican American'', although the terms have different meanings. While Mexican-American ident ...

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

organization that lasted from 1974 to 1978. It formed out of the Labor Committee of

La Raza Unida Party Partido Nacional de La Raza Unida (National United Peoples PartyArmando Navarro (2000) ''La Raza Unida Party'', p. 20 or United Race Party) is a former Hispanic political party centered on Chicano (Mexican-American) nationalism. It was created in 1 ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, and other collectives, officially forming at a Unity Conference in May 1974. It was one of several organizations that were part of the

New Communist Movement The New Communist movement (NCM) was a diverse left-wing political movement principally within the United States, during the 1970s and 1980s. The NCM were a movement of the New Left that represented a diverse grouping of Marxist–Leninists and ...

, which were influenced by the thought of

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...

and

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

's theories on the National Question. The ATM published a manifesto, "Fan The Flames: A Revolutionary Position on the Chicano National Question," in 1975. In it, the organization articulated the view that Chicanos living in the

Southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, Ne ...

were an oppressed nation due to the annexation of northern

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

in the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

of 1846–48, and had a right to independence. The strategy of ATM, like other NCM formations, was to build a multinational communist party. The August Twenty-Ninth Movement published a newspaper, ''Revolutionary Cause'', and a theoretical journal, ''The Red Banner''. In

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

, the ATM chapter entered into the

Chicano Communications Center Chicano or Chicana is a chosen identity for many Mexican Americans in the United States. The label ''Chicano'' is sometimes used interchangeably with ''Mexican American'', although the terms have different meanings. While Mexican-American ident ...

, a media organization founded by Elizabeth "Betita" Martinez. They were responsible for the destruction of an entire edition of her book ''450 Years of Chicano History'', one of the first Chicano histories, due to disagreement of how ATM saw the books portrayal of the Chicano National Question.Martinez, Elizabeth Betita. "A View from New Mexico: Recollections of the Movimiento Left." ''Monthly Review''. July–August 2002. http://www.monthlyreview.org/0702martinez.htm. In 1978, ATM merged with

I Wor Kuen I Wor Kuen () was a radical Marxist Asian American collective that originally formed in 1969 in New York City’s Chinatown, Manhattan, Chinatown. Borrowing from the ideologies of the Young Lords and the Black Panthers, IWK organized several com ...

, an

Asian-American Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous people ...

Communist organization, to form the

League of Revolutionary Struggle League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Leagues (band), ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full ...

.https://www.marxists.org/history/erol/ncm-1a/index.htm#a29m

Publications

* ''Dasco Strike: Lessons for the M-L Movement''. August 29 Movement, 1974?, 7p. * ''Unity Statement'', 1974. * ''Fan the Flames: A Revolutionary Position on the Chicano National Question'', 1975. * ''Selected speeches presented at forums by the August 29 Movement 1974–1975 : Marxist-Leninists unite!,'' 1976?. * ''The Red Banner: The Theoretical Journal of the August Twenty-Ninth Movement (ML).'' * ''Revolutionary Cause=Causa Revolucionaria''. Newspaper.

References

Sources

Bill Gallegos: They Wanted to Serve the People

External Links

Mexican-American history Defunct Maoist organizations in the United States 1978 disestablishments in California 1974 establishments in California {{US-party-stub