The US-Mexico Border Treaty 175 Years Later: What Is its Significance Today?

175 years ago, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo officially ended the Mexican-American War, doubled the size of the U.S. territory, and forever changed the lives of Mexicans north of the Rio Grande. On this anniversary of the treaty, veteran Chicano intellectuals and activists reflect on the significance and validity of the treaty’s guarantees for the Mexican people in the occupied territories. Writer Armando Rendón, author of the seminal book Manifiesto Chicano, says the treaty is still a living document and puts his argument to the test by taking it to the United Nations Human Rights Council. In contrast, pioneering civil rights advocate Jose Angel Gutierrez asserts that lawsuits invoking the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo have not proven viable and suggests other avenues for seeking justice. You can listen to the full interview in the archives of Línea Abierta for Thursday, February 2nd at radiobilingue.org.

This entry is available only in Español.