Villaraigosa Renounces MEChA Past After Bruin Alumni Association Campaign May 12, 2005; Los Angeles, CA – Los Angeles mayoral candidate Antonio Villaraigosa yesterday renounced the militant Chicano college organization MEChA he once led at UCLA, following a campaign by the Bruin Alumni Association to publicize his radical ties. As reported in today’s La Opinion by reporter Jazmin Ortega, Villaraigosa stated “I am not in agreement with most of [MEChA’s] precepts. … Of course I renounce its philosophy.” The comment was in response to a reporter’s question at a press conference and stemmed from four days of sustained demands by the...