LULAC Reps Gambi Gamboa & Joe Ortiz bring home National support for Local LULAC humanitarian issues

Local LULAC issues favored

Support for soldiers, Ramsey Muniz passes

By Anthony Martinez Beven Caller-Times
July 2, 2006

Locally supported resolutions What passed An initiative calling for the humanitarian release of former area lawyer Ramsey Muniz. A call for community support, particularly among area employers, for soldiers returning from the war in Iraq. What was tabled A resolution asking for a boycott of Telemundo after former television host Johnny Canales claimed the network canceled his program because of his Mexican origin. Area advocates say talks between LULAC and Telemundo are currently under way; however, if talks fail, advocates expect a resolution in favor of Canales to be passed.

Both local LULAC chapters reveled in support shown Saturday by the national organization for two resolutions tied to Corpus Christi.

Delegates at the national League of United Latin American Citizens convention passed without dissent a resolution calling for the release of Ramsey Muniz, a former area lawyer and candidate for governor in the early 1970s.

Muniz, 64, is serving a life sentence in federal prison after three drug-related felony convictions during a 17-year period. Arguing his health is failing and adequate health care services are lacking, LULAC approved a call for his release during the national convention in Milwaukee. The convention ended Saturday.

LULAC Council 1, based in Corpus Christi, had been leading the initiative, and chapters across Texas have passed a similar statewide resolution.

"For the state of Texas, I was very happy. For the national level, I was very surprised because 1,000 members voted unanimously for the humanitarian release of Ramsey," said Gambi Gamboa, Council 1 civil rights chairman.

The organization wants to see, for humanitarian reasons, that he gets let out and spends the last few years with his family, Gamboa said from Milwaukee. He said the national council is requesting the U.S. Justice Department intervene and help facilitate the release of Muniz.

Another resolution passed that seeks community support, particularly among employers, for soldiers coming back from the war in Iraq.

Nancy Vera, president of LULAC Council 4444, said national support for the resolution highlights that though LULAC is a Hispanic civil rights organization, it stands behind the United States.

"We hold true our traditions and our heritage, there's no question of our loyalty to the United States," Vera said. "This is our home. This where we were born, many of us."

Vera said Council 4444 is working closely with the local chapter of Blue Star Mothers, a national group of moms whose sons and daughters are soldiers in Iraq and other places who offer support to families whose children have been killed in the war.

A third resolution regarding the boycott of Telemundo television network and its advertisers after TV personality Johnny Canales claims he was discriminated against for his Mexican origin was tabled, said Gonzalo Tamez, Council 4444 vice president and a convention delegate.

Joe Ortiz, district director for area LULAC chapters, recently said discrimination prompted Canales' music show to be canceled earlier this year.

"Because it's under negotiation they think they are going to be able to come to some kind of agreement," said Tamez, who attended the convention on behalf of Council 4444. However, if negotiations fail, LULAC may consider a national resolution in favor of Canales, he said.

Contact Anthony Martinez Beven at 886-3792 or bevena@ caller.com