At the height of our last period of activism; late 1960's and early 1970's the Chicano community realized that only through an independent political movement would we be able to achieve "real" political representation. By the beginning of the 1970's a movement to build a true independent political party had taken hold, Raza Unida activities date back to 1968 in Tejas, Colorado and California. Although the Tejas movement to create an indepent Chicano Party has been the one most popularized, Chicano Activists throughout Aztlan were busy building Chicano Indepent political actions.
In 1972 the First La Raza Unida Party National Convention was held, and Jose Angel Gutierrez was elected as National Chair for La Raza Unida Party. From 1970 to 1980 the Partido was involved in electoral, labor and social issues. By 1980 at the Second National Convention of La Raza Unida Party much of what was La Raza Unida Party was re-evaluated. It was a tthat convetnion that Juan Jose Pena from Albuquerque, Nuevo Mexico was elected (formally) as Chairperson. At this convention we took the position that our struggle was for the Liberation of Aztlan, and that Aztlan is composed of five southwestern states; California, Arizona, Nuevo Mexico, Tejas and Colorado. The PNLRU also took the position that our movimiento needed an ideology and that ideology MUST be based on OUR Nationalism,...Revolutionary Nationalism.
At present the Partido is still dedicated to struggling for the Self-Determination of the Chicano Mexicano people and the Liberation of Aztlan.