Raza Unida Party and Other Third Political Parties
Brief History
The Raza Unida Party (RUP), was first organized in Crystal City, Texas in January of 1970 by José Ángel Gutiérrez and Mario Compean, was the first political party of its kind in the US as it was formed entirely by a single ethnic group, Mexican-Americans, or Chicanos. Both Gutiérrez and Compean had previously founded a political organization for Mexican-American youth in Texas known as the Mexican-American Youth Organization (MAYO). MAYO was similar to RUP in that both were formed with the goal of seeking social justice for an often marginalized group of people in the US, particularly Texas.
The party's overarching goal was to improve the lives of their people via politics. In other words, the necessity for RUP originated from Chicanos feeling like they were continuously excluded and unrepresented in American politics, and as a result of that, in daily life. For example, although Chicanos formed the majority, population wise, in various counties throughout Texas, it was often the case that they held little to no political power within their respective local and/or county jurisdictions.
Anyone committed to RUP's goals was allowed, and encouraged, to join the party. Eventually, the RUP was able to gain enough support in Texas to establish itself as an official third political party. The RUP then began to endorse and provide its own candidates for public office positions, such as those within city councils and school boards. Members would then vote for the candidates during elections via the same process as if voting for a candidate within the Democratic or Republican parties. The party saw some success from the beginning as they were able to vote some of their candidates into public office positions. Thus, it seemed as if slowly but surely Chicanos were finally beginning to gain representation in politics.
Over the years, support for RUP grew, with its strongest support coming from rural and South Texas cities. However, although its support was quite strong among activists on college campuses and many politically engaged youth, in addition to some politicians, support for the party was lacking in urban settings. Ultimately, this lack of support went on to cause a serious threat to the RUP. As the RUP candidates lost one election after another on the state level, the party continued to dominate many of Texas's county elections throughout the 70s.
The party's ultimate downfall was due to a variety of factors, one of which was a decline in support. Still, the Raza Unida Party, aside from having been formed by an ethnic group, was unique from other third political parties seen in both the past and present.
A Unique Third Political Party
In a country with a poweful two-party system in which the Democratic and Republican parties dominate the political realm, from local to national elections, any effort made by a third political party to displace the power possessed by either of the two parties mentioned above may seem rather futile. Third parties have come and gone since RUP. As such, unlike RUP, most efforts made by third parties have come to seem rather useless as many of these more well-known parties have chosen and/or choose to focus on some of the most powerful political office positions, such as the presidency. Although RUP did aim for a few high political offices, such as gubernatorial positions in Texas, much of their success as a third political party during their time can be attributed to their focus on Texas's local and county elections. In other words, RUP was heavily focused on effecting change on a local level. However, it should be noted that RUP was aware of the power of the Chicano vote on a national level and thus made several efforts to bring this to the attention of the Democratic Party. In the National Chicano Political Caucus's meeting in April of 1972, Gutiérrez, one of RUP's principal organizers, stated that the party's mission was to create a national balance of power. They would do this by winning local elections in which Mexican-Americans were the majority, thus creating change in this country to ensure the needs of Mexican-Americans, as well as other marginalized and oppressed peoples, were being met.