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MATA Seeks Justice
on Both Sides of the Wall
by Anthony D. Prince
MATA, Mexican Awareness Through Association, has its origins
in the turbulent early 1970s when convicts Vince Garza, Larry Ortiz and
Jose Salazar formed what was then called the "Chicano/Mexican Cultural
Organization." Twenty-five years later, MATA continues to thrive as
a prisoner self-betterment organization whose influence has punched through
the concrete and razor ribbon of the penitentiary to the surrounding community
beyond. A look through Torcido, MATA's quarterly newsletter, reveals the
broad spectrum of concerns and accomplishments that have gained national
recognition.
Pages are filled with poems, pen and ink drawings and reprints from prison
newspapers and other publications from across the USA. On one page, MATA
extends solidarity to the family of Francisco Renteria, a Mexican immigrant
workers whose death last year while in the custody of the Lincoln police
has touched off massive and continuing protests. It was MATA that first
brought the Renteria case to the national spotlight when it brought LATINO
USA, an award-winning national radio program, to Lincoln to interview the
victim's family. MATA sees the Renteria case, in which the offending police
officers have been charged only with misdemeanor counts, as part of an "open
season" declared on certain groups of people in the United States,
including immigrants, young students and prisoners.
"[The] Immigration [Service] does not belong in the domain of education
or a criminal court case when a Mexican immigrant is killed by the Lincoln
police," said Rosales. MATA, while inside the prison walls, nevertheless
sees itself connected to the broader struggle of the poor and oppressed
in America, what "with the new political views and the tightening of
the reins regarding the criminal justice system and prison corrections with
the three strikes and you're out and the 'lock them up and throw away the
key' mentality." Taking some of the credit for positively preparing
inmates for life on the outside, Rosales reports that "the recidivism
rate for the Nebraska Latino ex-offender is the lowest per capita."
Consequently, MATA is determined to continue to utilize culture, education
and self-improvement to prepare inmates not only to make the necessary changes
to survive what awaits them upon release, but to contribute to the justice
struggle on both sides of the wall.
To learn more about MATA, contact Rudy Rosales or Les Auman
at 402-471-3161, ext. 3379, or write MATA P.O. Box 2500, Lincoln, Nebraska
68542-2500
NCX Feb/Mar 1996North
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