Revolutionary culture, culture of our people, is the only true teaching” -YLP 13 Point Program, Point 7
There remains multiple through-ties between the 13 Point Program established by the Young Lords Party and Diaspora Palante Collective’s current 13 Point Program. While some wording has changed, and DPC is less outwardly militant, the themes remain quite similar throughout the entire program.
The DPC begins exactly the same as the YLP. They demand “Independence and Self-Determination for Puerto Rico” (DPC, 13 Point Program, Point 1.) One main difference between the syntax in the two programs is the YLP’s focus on a more educational language, explaining why this demand is part of their 13 Point Program. Meanwhile, the subpoints in the DLP program are an expansion on the demand. More similarities exist between DPC point 4, Cultural Revolution and Liberation for all Oppressed People, and YLP point 3, We want liberation of all third world people. Both points tie Puerto Rican liberation into a broader third world movement against imperialism, while the DPC uses this point to also expand liberation into issues such as machismo, homophobia, anti-blackness, etc, all of which could even be found within the diasporic organizing space. The YLP instead covers this in their Point 5: We want equality for women. Down with machismo and male chauvinism. However, both groups recognize the “doctrine of machismo” and the harms that it has caused within their own Puerto Rican and broader latino communities (YLP 13 Point Program.)
As expected from the advanced popular education infrastructure within both organizations, education remains a specific point within both programs. The DPC demands “Decolonization of Education and Culture,” and the YLP states “We want a true education of our Creole culture and Spanish language.” Both state the importance of learning their own history, language, struggles, and culture as a means of liberation. The YLP states this simply: Revolutionary culture, culture of our people, is the only true teaching” (YLP 13 Point Program, Point 7.)
One of the strongest contrasts within the two programs is the use of outright militant language. The YLP states clearly: We believe armed self defense and armed struggle are the only means to liberation (YLP 13 Point Program, Point 12.) The DPC gets to this point within their 11th point: Antimilitarism and Self-Defense. Within the subpoints they write that they believe in “the right of all oppressed and colonized people to liberation by all available means, including armed struggle and self-defense against capitalism, imperialism, and patriarchy” (DPC 13 Point Program, Point 11.) While supporting armed struggle towards liberation, the DPC retains a less militant appearance on the surface by including this within the bulleted sub-points, rather than a central part of the listed 13 Point Program, representing a contrast against the very outwardly militant Young Lords Party.
