The Mexican American Political Association (MAPA) is an organization based in California that promotes the interests of
Mexican-Americans,
Mexicans
Mexicans ( es, mexicanos) are the citizens of the United Mexican States.
The most spoken language by Mexicans is Spanish, but some may also speak languages from 68 different Indigenous linguistic groups and other languages brought to Mexi ...
,
Latinos,
Chicanos,
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...
s, and Latino economic refugees in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
. Founded in 1960, their goal was to further incorporate Mexican-Americans into American politics and society through increased voter turnout and election to public office.
MAPA, alongside the rest of the member organizations of the
Political Association of Spanish-Speaking Organizations The Political Association of Spanish-Speaking Organizations (PASSO) was formed as an outgrowth of the success of the Viva Kennedy Clubs in the 1960 United States Presidential Election. PASSO, which comprised several Mexican-American activist groups, ...
(PASSO), developed from the
Viva Kennedy Campaign to elect
John F. Kennedy president.
History
The Mexican American Political Association (MAPA) was organized by 150 volunteer delegates (previously involved in the
Viva Kennedy Campaign) at Fresno in April 1960
as a means to elect Mexican American candidates to public office.
Edward R. Roybal, later elected to the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together the ...
, served as its first chair/president. During the 1960 election, MAPA campaigned heavily on behalf of the Kennedy campaign.
Throughout the 1960s, MAPA was active in the
Civil Rights Movement
The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...
and the
Chicano political movement, joining the short-lived
Political Association of Spanish-Speaking Organizations The Political Association of Spanish-Speaking Organizations (PASSO) was formed as an outgrowth of the success of the Viva Kennedy Clubs in the 1960 United States Presidential Election. PASSO, which comprised several Mexican-American activist groups, ...
. MAPA members also aided
Cesar Chavez and the
United Farm Workers in political and labor negotiations.
From 1960 to 1964 the organization grew over twelve times in size, with 36 total chapters. That year, MAPA endorsed
Lyndon B. Johnson for president and became part of the Viva Johnson movement. Also in 1964, the organization influenced California governor
Pat Brown
Edmund Gerald "Pat" Brown (April 21, 1905 – February 16, 1996) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 32nd governor of California from 1959 to 1967. His first elected office was as district attorney for San Francisco, and he w ...
to abolish the
Bracero program in California, with some MAPA members appointed for the sake of coordination.
In the late 1970s, MAPA became increasingly involved with California governor
Jerry Brown
Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected Secretary of S ...
, gaining appointments to his administration.
In 2009, the group fell under scrutiny after MAPA president,
Nativo Lopez, was charged with voter fraud.
In recent years, MAPA has been on the decline, with subsiding membership and political activity.
The organization is viewed by many as having outlived its usefulness, as with the increasing involvement of Mexican Americans in American politics, its founding goals have been achieved. In 2009 MAPA clashed with other Latino political organizations after Nativo Lopez voiced support for a boycott of the 2010 census.
Structure
MAPA is a grass roots-based coalition with an organizational structure that functions as a collective of communal circles working together, at different levels, towards political empowerment, self-determination and sustainability of the Latino community’s future. Its primary goal is community-focused political action.
MAPA is officially a non-partisan organization and welcomes members of any political affiliation.
Tactics
To accomplish the goal of political empowerment for Mexican Americans, MAPA focuses on electing Mexican Americans to public office, registering voters, and raising political awareness and involvement from a grassroots level of community organizations.
Presidents
*
Edward Roybal, 1960–1962
* Julius Castellum, 1962
* Eduardo Quevedo, 1963–1966
*
Bert Corona, 1966–1971
* Armando Rodriguez, 1971–1973
* Margaret Cruz, 1973–1975
* Manuel Lopez, 1975 – 1977
* Eduardo Sandoval, 1977 – 1981
* Julio Calderon, 1981 – 1983
* Fernando Chavez, 1983 – 1985
* Beatriz Molina, 1985 – 1989
* Ben Benavidez, 1989 – 1995
* Hector Brolo, 1995 – 1997
* Ben Benavidez, 1997 – 1999
* Gloria Torres, 1999 – 2001
* Ben Benavidez, 2001 – 2003
*
Nativo Lopez, 2004–2012
* Juan "Ralphy" Avitia, 2013–2015
See also
*
List of Mexican-American political organizations
*
MALDEF
*
William C. Velasquez Institute
The Southwest Voter Registration Education Project (SVREP), founded in 1974, is the oldest and largest non-partisan Latino voter participation organization in the United States. SVREP was founded by William C. Velasquez Jr. SVREP has registered ...
*
Brown Berets
The Brown Berets (Spanish: ''Los Boinas Cafés'') is a pro-Chicano paramilitary organization that emerged during the Chicano Movement in the late 1960s. David Sanchez and Carlos Montes co-founded the group modeled after the Black Panther Par ...
*
Political Association of Spanish-Speaking Organizations The Political Association of Spanish-Speaking Organizations (PASSO) was formed as an outgrowth of the success of the Viva Kennedy Clubs in the 1960 United States Presidential Election. PASSO, which comprised several Mexican-American activist groups, ...
References
External links
*
{{authority control
Mexican-American organizations
Political advocacy groups in the United States
Politics of California
Organizations established in 1960