The Cristal Experiment: A Chicano Struggle for Community Control

1. The Electoral Revolt of 1963

1 The Electoral Revolt of 1963 The Cristal experiment in community control began in 1963 in the small south Texas town of Crystal City, or Cristal, as it is called by Mexicanos. After years of living under internal colonialism, Mexicanos -who accounted for about 80 percent of the town's population of ninety-one hundred-rebelled politically against the gringo power holders. The revolt was nonviolent, and its weapons were not guns but ballots. This revolt represents the first phase of what I call the Cristal experiment in community control. For the first time in the history of south Texas, five Mexicanos, who became known as "Los Cinco," ran for city council seats and won control of that body. As a result of their unprecedented victory, Cristal became the first community to put in effect the notion of community control. Although the revolt was shortlived , it was instrumental in fostering the dialectical antagonisms that by 1970 yielded a much more powerful Mexicano takeover-the second revolt, which is the focus of the study. This chapter examines the politics of the first revolt and the six years that followed. Cristal: An Overview Cristal is located in south Texas between the Nueces and Rio Grande rivers, 120 miles southwest of the city of San Antonio, and about 45 miles from the United States-Mexico border. It is at the heart of a multimillion-dollar agribusiness area called the Winter Garden area. 17 Copyrighted Material 18 Part One. The Genesis of the Cristal Experiment Rich in soil and watered by the Nueces River, the Winter Garden area is comprised of seven counties-Zavala, Dimmit, Uvalde, Maverick, Val Verde, Kinney, and La Salle. CristaI grows various winter vegetables , but it is best known for its spinach crops. In fact, it calls itself the Spinach Capital of the World-a six-foot statue of Popeye stands in front of city hall. Cristal's history is crucial to the analysis of the Cristal experiment. Unlike numerous other communities throughout Aztlan, Cristal was not a product of either Spanish or Mexican colonization.! Following the independence of Texas from Mexico in 1850, the area where CristaI sits today was incorporated into the municipality of San Antonio de Bexar. It was not until 1858 that the Texas Legislature carved Zavala County from Maverick and Uvalde counties. The first small settlements after the Civil War were Muerlo, Batesville, and Loma Vista. In 1884 the legislature established Zavala County's government infrastructure and named Batesville the county seat.2 Large-scale farming developed in the area in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Pressured by the need for inexpensive labor, local gringo landholders encouraged immigration into the area, which brought an initial influx of mostly white immigrants. In 1907 the Cross S Ranch, a spread of about 110,000 acres, was divided into plots of ten acres each, and land was appropriated for the establishment of a new settlement in 1907. The settlement was named Crystal City, after the clear artesian water in the area. On April 12, 1910, with a population of 530, Cristal was incorporated as a municipality and adopted the city council form of government.3 Even in the 1920s Cristal appeared to be a thriving small rural town. It had telephone and electrical services, a bank, hotel, various other businesses, and a volunteer fire department. In 1928 Cristal became Zavala's new county seat, and the mayor-council form of local government was changed to the city manager form. The first city manager was A. P. Hancock, under whose administrative leadership Cristal's infrastructure experienced its greatest growth.4 From 1910 to 1929 the demand for inexpensive labor grew. The increase in the Mexicano population was dramatic. Agriculture in south Texas reluctantly became dependent on Mexicanos.5 Instead of relying on white immigration-which required much more time, effort, and money, gringos opted to use the Mexicano population, which was in greater supply because of "push" and "pull" factors. Mexico's chronic political instability and immense poverty pushed Mexicano migration into the area. From 1920 to 1929 the Mexicano population, located mostly in south Texas, nearly tripled-from 251,827 to 683,681.6 Thus Copyrighted Material The Electoral Revolt of 1963 19 south Texas agriculture, dependent on the Mexicano labor force, "pulled"-embraced-an open border position. By the 1930s Mexicanos were Cristal's new majority. According to US. Census figures, the city...