Organizational History

Alianza Federal de Pueblos Libres (Alliance of Free City-States) was an Albuquerque based organization whose primary purpose was to secure the restoration of land grants in New Mexico and the Southwest which were guaranteed by the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Other goals of the Alianza were to gain respect and recognition for the Spanish language and culture. Alianza Federal de Pueblos Libres was formerly called Alianza Federal de las Mercedes (Federal Alliance of Land Grants). The name was changed to "emphasize the implications of the governmental characteristics of the community land grants under the Laws of the Indies as free city-states."

Reies Lopez Tijerina was the leader and founder of Alianza de Mercedes in the early 1960s. Initially, the composition of the group was primarily the landless, impoverished, aging, rural Spanish American immigrants living in the slums of Albuquerque and Santa Fe. By the mid 1960s, however, the membership had changed to include thousands of Spanish American small ranchers and village farmers, angered at the National Forest Service for forcing them to migrate or to seek employment outside of agriculture, and because they could not get a hearing from state or federal agencies. As members, they caused Alianza to become more militant.

Members of Alianza raided the courthouse at Tierra Amarilla on June 5, 1967. They intended to make a citizen's arrest of District Attorney Alfonso Sanchez, who had arrested Alianza members while they were trying to attend an Alianza meeting in Coyote, which Sanchez proclaimed was illegal. State Police Officer Nick Saiz and county jailer Eulogio Salazar were shot and wounded during the raid. Tijerina was acquitted in December 1968 of criminal charges filed against him as a result of the raid. Subsequently, he was tried and convicted on additional charges of assault and false imprisonment in November 1969. He entered state prison in June 1974, and was paroled in December 1974. In 1978, New Mexico Governor Jerry Apodoca granted Tijerina an executive pardon.

Scope and Content

"Ordenanza 99 del Rey de España Don Felipe II" (Box 1, Folder 2).

This collection contains newspaper clippings, magazine articles, pamphlets, flyers, press releases, and broadsides relating to Alianza Federal de las Mercedes, Alianza Federal de Pueblos Libres, Reies Lopez Tijerina, the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, land grants, education, employment, and discrimination. The Alianza constitution is also included in the collection. An oversized folder contains broadsides, reprints and a map. This collection is composed of materials that were formerly housed in vertical files at the Center for Southwest Research. Some of the items in the collection are written in Spanish.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research.

Copy Restrictions

Limited duplication of CSWR is allowed for research purposes. User is responsible for compliance with all copyright, privacy, and libel laws. Permission is required for publication or distribution.

Preferred Citation

Alianza Federal de Pueblos Libres Collection (MSS 628), Center for Southwest Research and Special Collections, University of New Mexico Libraries.

Related Material

Peter Nabokov Papers Center for Southwest Research, University Libraries, University of New Mexico.

Reies Tijerina Papers Center for Southwest Research, University Libraries, University of New Mexico.

Noe Tijerina Papers Center for Southwest Research, University Libraries, University of New Mexico

Carlos Espinosa Cansino collection Center for Southwest Research, University Libraries, University of New Mexico

Frances Léon Quintana Papers Center for Southwest Research, University Libraries, University of New Mexico

Access Terms

Alianza Federal de Pueblos Libres (U.S.)

Alianza Federal de las Mercedes

Land grants -- New Mexico

Mexican Americans -- Land tenure -- New Mexico

Mexican Americans -- New Mexico

Mexico. Treaties, etc. United States, 1848 Feb. 2

New Mexico -- History, Local

New Mexico -- Politics and government -- 1951-

Tierra Amarilla (N.M.)

Tijerina, Reies

Contents List