El Congreso Tejaztlan del Sexto Sol de M.E.Ch.A.
Regional Constitution
Article I: Name of the Organization
The name of the organization shall be El Congreso Tejaztlan del Sexto Sol de
M.E.Ch.A., also known as CTSSM.
Article II: Purpose
Preamble: In the spirit of the nuevo movimiento, intent on obtaining
self-determination for our Raza, and recognizing the disfranchisement of our
people we hereby recognize the following as the purpose of El Congreso
Tejaztlan del Sexto Sol de M.E.Ch.A.:
A.
1. To recognize, study, educate, inform and promote political, cultural,
social, economic, historic and philosophical issues, achievements and
aspirations that pertain to Chicana/o community with emphasis on indigenous
Native American heritage.
2. To raise awareness of Chicanas/os who have regionalized experiences in
their identity and culture.
3. To strive to combine theory and practice in our activism for empowerment
within the Chicana/o community.
4. To seek social and economic justice and self determination through out
Aztlan as a Xicano Tiahui.
5. To demand academic freedom and artistic expression of our people on
relevant issues concerning or affecting any aspect of the Chicana/o community.
B.
1. To implement plans of action concerning Chicanas and Chicanos.
2. To affiliate ourselves to the ideology and /of M.E.Ch.A. as a national
organization while maintaining our own individuality within rules and
regulations of the M.E.Ch.A. National Constitution.
Article III. Membership
Section 1. Membership shall be open only to M.E.Ch.A. chapters
who are from the Tejaztlan Region and who are in general accord with the
above-stated purpose, and who pay the membership dues as established in
Article VI of this constitution.
Section 2. M.E.Ch.A. chapters shall only have one vote per campus.
Section 3. A M.E.Ch.A. chapter may be recalled at any meeting by a
two-thirds vote of the Congreso for one full year.
Section 4. Alumni of M.E.Ch.A. "recognized" by their perspective
chapter shall be permitted to attend the Congreso meetings.
Article IV. Officers and Elections
Section 1. El Congreso Tejaztlan del Sexto Sol de M.E.Ch.A. shall be
governed by its membership. The official statewide leadership and official
voice shall be the Congreso, which shall be composed of all the official
representatives of each M.E.Ch.A. chapter.
Section 2. The Congreso shall elect two officers for a set period of
time of one academic year. Those officers shall be the Treasurer, and
Secretary. The Treasurer and Secretary shall conduct the administrative
affairs of the organization between meetings. They must maintain a record
of what transpired and report to the Congreso.
A. The Treasurer shall open and maintain a checking account(s) in the name
of El Congreso Tejaztlan del Sexto Sol de M.E.Ch.A. with her/his signature
on file as an authorized depositor of the account, to collect and deposit
all membership dues; special assessments, to deposit all other moneys;
received fromany other source, and to pay obligations of El Congreso
Tejaztlan de Sexto Sol de M.E.Ch.A.
B. The Secretary shall keep the official minutes and membership
list of El Congreso Tejaztlan del Sexto Sol de M.E.Ch.A. as well as
copies of all correspondence and other records of the organization that do
not conflict with the Treasurer's duties.
C. All other duties shall be assigned by a simple majority vote of the Congreso to individual members in the
spirit of rotating tasks and using each member's skills.
Article V: Meetings
Section 1. Meetings shall be held at least twice per semester.
Section 2. The quorum shall consist of one half plus one of
the active membership of El Congreso Tejaztlan de Sexto Sol de M.E.Ch.A.
Section 3. Procedure shall be based on Robert's Rules of Order
as modified by the practice of El Congreso Tejaztlan del Sexto Sol de
M.E.Ch.A.
Section 4. A Regional Conference shall be held once a year in
the fall semester.
Section 5. Emergency meetings can be called by a quorum of the
Congreso chapters. Only issues pertaining to the emergency can be voted
upon. A notice of tite of next regional meeting shall be bid upon orally
and voted on by El Congreso Tejaztlan de Sexto Sol de M.E.Ch.A.
Section 6. The site of the regional conference shall be bid upon in
writing at the previous Tejaztlan Conference.
Article VI: Dues
Chapter dues shall be required by El Congreso Tejaztlan del Sexto Sol
de M.E.Ch.A. Dues will be paid every academic year. The amount of the dues
will be decided by a simple majority of the quorum present in the first
regional conference. Dues must be paid by the second regular meeting.
Failure to pay dues will mean revocation of voting rights and/or membership
status in El Congreso del Sexto Sol de M.E.Ch.A.
Article VII: The Tejaztlan M.E.Ch.A. Communication Center
Section 1. The Central is established for the purpose of
facilitating communication among the regional M.E.Ch.A. chapters.
Section 2. The Central shall publish a regional newsletter and
shall be named,by El Congreso Tejaztlan del Sexto Sol de M.E.Ch.A.
Section 3. New bids as well as votes of confidence shall be
taken at every Tejaztlan Regional conference.
Article VIII. Amendments to the Constitution
Amendments to El Congreso del Sexto Sol de M.E.Ch.A. constitution can
be carried by a two-thirds vote of El Congreso del Sexto Sol de M.E.Ch.A.
Amendments to the constitution should be proposed at least one meeting in
advance of the meeting when the vote will take place. Any amendment(s) must
be reviewed by all of the M.E.Ch.A. chapters that belong to the Congreso.
Adopted on the 26 de octubre 1996 at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Tejas by
El Congreso Tejaztlan del Sexto Sol de M.E.Ch.A.
This page was created by Lauriano Aguirre on November 06, 1996.
Last Updated: August 12, 1997.