Latin American Herald Tribune

CHICAGO – Mexican-born immigrant rights activist Jorge Mujica plans to challenge incumbent Rep. Dan Lipinski in next year’s Democratic primary for Illinois’ 3rd congressional district.

Mujica, 54, is currently an advisor to the Institute for Mexicans Abroad and is an immigrant candidate who wants to take the struggle for immigration reform “to the next level.”

A resident of Chicago for 22 years, Mujica gained notoriety as coordinator of the March 10 Movement and organizer of the historic immigrant marches of 2006 in this city.

“At that time, we were fighting against the appalling proposal (of Republican lawmaker James) Sensenbrenner, who wanted to penalize those who helped undocumented people,” he recalled in an interview with Efe.

“We said then that first people had to march and then to vote. Well, the time has come to give battle in the elections with our candidate. We don’t want to give anyone a hard time, but rather be responsible for our own problems and participate in their solution,” he said.

Before coming to Chicago, Mujica worked in California in workplace health and safety programs, and in Mexico he was involved in struggles in different social sectors ranging from students to peasants and indigenous peoples.

Mujica on Monday in Springfield, the state capital, presented 2,000 signatures – 1,200 more than required – in support of his candidacy in the 2010 vote.

His aim is to challenge Dan Lipinski in the primary, a lawmaker who in 2004 succeeded his father as the representative from District 3, where there are 75,000 immigrants who are registered to vote, including Mexicans, Chinese, Arabs and Lithuanians.

Lipinski, 43, inherited the Democratic nomination that year without a contest, but did overcome primary challenges in 2006 and 2008.

Mujica says that Lipinski “never represented us or responded to the needs of the district.”

Despite being a Democrat, Lipinski “is one of those who vote against (President Barack) Obama on important issues such as health care reform,” Mujica said, and has been involved in past activities that he considers to be “anti-immigrant, anti-civil rights, anti-gay rights, anti-lesbian, etc.”

“There are people who say that you have to get the congressman to change his opinion, but I say that what we have to change is Lipinski and that’s it. That’s how we’ll solve the problem,” Mujica said.

Because of his past as a union organizer and community activist, Mujica gained the support of several unions in Chicago and pro-immigrant organizations in Illinois.

He said that his campaign will be a grassroots affair, with a $10 ceiling on contributions and a series of fundraising events, as well as efforts to distribute flyers on the streets and get the support of volunteers to go door to door to convince voters.

Mujica admitted that in District 3, despite the large Hispanic population, there is a lack of pro-immigrant Latino organizations, a situation that will force him to create a structure to urge Latinos to vote.

Another obstacle is the possibility that Chicago’s powerful Democratic mayor, Richard M. Daley, will throw his political weight behind an ally to help Lipinski win the primary, a move that would convert the district contest into a struggle of two non-Hispanics against a Mexican.

Mujica said that he will campaign in favor of legalizing all undocumented people “because they are people who came to work, pay taxes and that’s not recognized.”

Also, he wants the federal government to “guarantee the right to work” and he demands universal health care and freedom for workers to form unions. EFE