Aztln del Noroeste Region

Party-building is defined as using our Movimiento to pull away membership from our
organization to work for another organization. One example, is organizations, groups and/or
individuals who seek to come into MEChA for the purpose of inviting our members to work on
certain issues and then attempting to convert them into members of the outside organization.
Historical Examples of Infiltration into MEChA, MEChA National Website
It has come to our attention that a new organization within the Portland-Metro Area has
surfaced and is beginning to use Movimiento Estudiantil Chicanx de Aztln (M.E.Ch.A.) as a
basis to gain legitimacy. The Willamette Chicano Alliance, Chicano Mentoring Program,
Chicano Leadership Institute, and Chicano Caracol is one that, since its inception, has utilized
founding M.E.Ch.A. documents to build their organization, something we all condemn at the
National and Regional level of governance. Willamette Chicano Alliance also stands accused of
holding preliminary meetings at the campus of Portland State University and calling them
MEChA meetings by graduated members of the Portland Community College (PCC) and
Portland State University (PSU). One member in particular, Miguel Moreno (now known as
Miguel Cuetzpalin), has even been barred from the M.E.Ch.A. Organization and because of this,
has influenced the detachment of the PSU and PCC M.E.Ch.A. Chapters.
It is from our understanding, based on our own internal investigation, that Miguel
Moreno has begun to use the legitimacy PSU MEChA has made for itself, since its inception, to
build coalition for Willamette Chicano Alliance and its branched programs. In doing this, he has
taken membership from M.E.Ch.A. at PSU and given Board Positions to members interested in
the Willamette Chicano Alliance to influence choice over the two organizations. Miguel has also
established networks within those mentioned organizations in places like Portland Community
College, Portland State University, the University of Portland, and Benson Polytechnic High
School, driving younger students to be more heavily influenced by their presence and deriving
membership into the Willamette Chicano Alliance from Bensons M.E.Ch.A. Chapter, in
addition to M.E.Ch.A. de UP, PSU, and PCC Cascades.
It has also come to our attention that the Willamette Chicano Alliance also lists
M.E.Ch.A. as a formal component of their program on their Chicano Caracol website, something
that has never been approved by the Region or National M.E.Ch.A. body. If any M.E.Ch.A.
Chapter wishes to claim Willamette Chicano Alliance, Chicano Mentoring Program, Chicano
Leadership Institute or Chicano Caracol as a parental organization, we require them to renounce
their charter status and work with the listed Organizations to claim chapter status through them.

For the safety and continual growth of our organization, we thus call for all M.E.Ch.A.
Chapters within the Aztln del Noroeste Region (State of Oregon) associated with the
Willamette Chicano Alliance, Chicano Mentoring Program, Chicano Summer Leadership
Institute and Chicano Caracol, to cease all relationships with the listed organizations or to
discontinue using Movimiento Estudiantil Chicanx de Aztln (M.E.Ch.A.) as the name of the
organization. As a Region, we renounce partnership with the listed Organizations as their
founding went against our National Constitution and its membership recruitment falls out of line
with our Organizations parameters.
Though we recognize that not every single M.E.Ch.A. Chapter within the Aztln del
Noroeste Region are recognized within our Region, it is our name that is at stake. We do not
know what this organization does nor how it operates. We cannot place the name of our
organization at the Regional and National level at stake and allow another organization to come
into our space and take membership away from our Movimiento. We are in no way asking the
Willamette Chicano Alliance, Chicano Mentorship Program, Chicano Summer Leadership
Institute or Chicano Caracol to disband in any way, we are simply asking that they step away
from using our organization to gain membership and gain legitimacy.
We are all working towards similar movements, but we must respect the sanctity of each
different organization and recognize that we must at the very least, try to form a partnership to
work with one another to establish common ground and communication between us all, because
the listed Organizations within this document disregarded the process to gain affiliation and used
M.E.Ch.A. as a cover to gain initial membership within Colleges and Universities and now High
Schools, the collective collegiate chapters of the Aztln del Noroeste Region, M.E.Ch.A. de
University of Oregon, Oregon State University, Western Oregon University and Lane
Community College, renounce a partnership between the organizations and Movimiento
Estudiantil Chicanx de Aztln, Aztln del Noroeste Region and continue to uphold their decision
on barring Miguel Moreno (Miguel Cuetzpalin) from the M.E.Ch.A. Organization.

Angel Mandujano-Guevara (OSU)

Regional Representative
Aztln del Noroeste

Evelyn Guzman (WOU)

Regional Representative
Aztln del Noroeste