Nuestra Familia: the Constitution

The Supreme Power Structure of Nuestra Familia

Article 1: Supreme Commander

Section I. The Nuestro General (NG) is the supreme power in the organization known as La Nuestra Familia. His power shall have no limit (within Art. I, II, III). Solely he can declare war for the entire O and once in a state of war, peace shall not prevail until the announcement from the NG. (1, 3)

Section II. NG will be automatically released from any duties and responsibilities upon receiving a date of one year or less. (1)

Section III. NG will be a seasoned experienced warrior. This qualification is mandatory in order to hold this high office. When the time comes for the NG to pick a successor, he will do so from the ranks of commanders at his disposal. (1, 3)

Section III (a). In case of emergency and the NG is downed, the captain at the pinta will take over and automatically declare war until the first captain can automatically assume the rank of NG. In this emergency, the home captain will have no power to appoint or replace any or all positions in the high command of La Nuestra Familia. (1, 3)

Section IV. NG has the power, in the state of war conditions (as regards to structure), to appoint captains. In peace time, he will retain the power to discharge any commander that is negligent in the functions of his position; however, he will relinquish his power to appoint captains if the familia where the captain has been discharged has no reserve captain to take command. The familia body of said disposed captain will elect a successor. (3)

Section IV (a). A discharged commander will lose his rank of captain and said authority of that rank. (1, 3)

Section V. Only applies in time of peace [sic]. (1)

Section V (a). NG, upon receiving a complaint from one of his soldados that the authority of which he is under is unjustly using their power over him due to personal conflict, he (NG) will appoint a committee of no less than three soldados from that particular clan to investigate said charges, and each is to report to the NG. (3)

Section VI. NG will always keep in touch with all familianos leaving to the streets, until a branch in union of La Nuestra Familia is established. (2)

Section VII. NG can have as many as ten (10) active commanders at one time. He will grade them as 1st , 2nd , 3rd , and so on according to their leadership abilities and their overall foresight. (1)

Section VIII. NG will appoint a first captain or commander who will be his successor, and if the NG becomes incommunicado, the first captain of the Nuestra Familia will have the responsibility to see that every captain of said O works and governs within this constitution. (1, 3)

Section IX. The successor only applies as far as the first captain is concerned. The NG has the right to select the first captain. (1, 3)

Article I (a). Discharge of all duties from NG.

Section I. NG may be impeached from office where it is the opinion of all commanders holding office at that time that he isn’t working in the best interest of the organization. This can be derived from a petition or document with signatures in each captain’s own writing. (3)

Section II. Upon receiving the document, the NG will automatically lose all power, but he may challenge the legality of the signatures, in which case a soldado will be appointed by the body to write to the captains and verify their votes. (3)

Section III. Upon confirmation of a discharge of the NG, he will lose all rank, power, and the successor will move into that position. (3)

Article II. Objectives and bylaws of Nuestra Familia

Section I. The primary purpose and goals of this O is for the betterment of its members and the building up of this O on the outside into a strong and self-supporting familia. (1)

Section II. All members will work solely for this objective and will put all personal goals and feelings aside until said fulfillment is accomplished. (1)

Section III. A familianos will not be released from his obligation towards the O because he is released from prison, but will work twice as hard to see that a familia is established and works in hand with the O already established behind the walls (pinta). (1)

Section IV. A familianos will remain a member until death or otherwise discharged from the O. He will always be subject to put the best interest of the O first and always above everything else, in prison or out. (1, 3)

Section V. An automatic death sentence will be put on a familianos that turns coward, traitor or deserter. Under no other circumstances will a brother familiano be responsible for spilling the blood of another familiano. To do so will be considered an act of treason. (1, 3)

Section VI. In order for (Art. II, Sec. V) to be invoked, the regimental governing body will hold a vote amongst themselves and pass sentence. Majority rules. In the case of a tie vote, the decision will lie with the captain, and his decision shall be final. (3)

Section VII. All present familianos in said O La Nuestra Familia acknowledge said constitution upon reading it and will be held accountable for his actions if said constitution is not followed. (1)

Article III. Regimental Captains

Section I. A captain is the regimental commander of La Nuestra Familia and holds the rank just below el NG. Their responsibilities are to lead and direct La Familia regiments under his care to successfully accomplish the goals set forth in (Art. I, Sec. V). (1, 3)

Section II. For this purpose, he (captain) shall have the choice of selecting his own lieutenants (tenientes) and shall have the power to dismiss the lieutenant if he (captain) feels that they are not accepting or handling their responsibilities of leadership. In times of peace, a dismissed lieutenant has the option to invoke (Art. I, Sec. V). (1, 3)

Section III. Due to circumstances beyond our control, it may be that there will be more than one captain in a regiment at the same time. If a captain is transferred from a familia regiment to another where there is already a captain, the captain with the highest rank will take command, and the others will be in reserve according to their ranks. (1, 2, 3)

Section IV (a). A captain will have a grade rating of 1st , 2nd , 3 rd and so forth, as (Art. III, Sec. III) can be invoked. Also, the lower the numbered rating, the greater their authority. No captain can override or contradict the orders of a higher-ranking commander without direction of Nuestra Familia’s NG. (1, 3)

Section IV (b). All other captains in a regiment other than the governing captain will be classified as reserves and will act as advisors, although they will not have any powers as to the running of the regiment. (1, 3)

Section V. There shall never be more than ten (10) captains in the O at any time. This includes reserves. If there are already ten captains in the O and a regiment is without a captain or commander due to (Art. III, Sec. III), the 1 st lieutenant will run the familia (regiment) temporarily until a commander arrives or there is an opening in the ranks of captain. (1, 3)

Section VI. The reserve captains will only take power if the governing one is downed or discharged by the NG. It will be the duty of the governing commander to take and show him the internal functions of the regiment in order that the reserve captain will be qualified to govern the regiment if need arrives. (1, 3)

Section VII. All captains will hold equal rank and therefore one cannot order the other, except under (Art. III, Sec. III), or where the reserve captain is hindering the rules and orders that the governing captain has set forth efficiently running the familia (regiment). In that case, the reserve captain will cease to interfere or he will be brought before the NG. (1, 2, 3)

Section VIII. The reserve captain only has as much power as the governing commander wants bestowed on him and not more. The familia body, should at all times know the structure of the reserve captain. (1, 3)

Section IX. In time of war, the captain is only answerable to the NG, and no soldado shall question the orders set forth by him personally or one of his tenientes. To question said orders could be a treasonable act, as outlined in (Art. I, II, Sec. V), depending on the seriousness of the offense, which will lie with the captain to determine. (1, 2, 3)

Section X. In time of peace, as in time of war, a captain is answerable to the NG; however, in time of peace, if a familianos soldado feels that the power or powers of the structure in the regiment is misusing their appointed authority against him due to conflicting personalities, he has a right as an honorable member of this O to appeal to the supreme commander NG, as per (Art. I, Sec. V). (3)

Section XI. The commander shall be responsible for the welfare and lives the soldados under his command at all times, and there shall be no suicidal missions ordered by a commander. A suicidal mission shall be translated as an act where the soldado has no chance of survival. (3)

Section XII. Home captain where NG has his headquarters shall be held responsible if anything should happen to the NG. It will be the duty of the captain to personally see that two of his best warriors be with the NG whenever possible. If the NG is downed, the captain will be stripped of all rank after the state of war is over (Art. I, Sec. III a). (3)

Article IV. Functions and qualities of a lieutenant

Section I. A lieutenant is third in the power ladder of La Nuestra Familia, he is under the captain. He’s the representative of La Nuestra Familia, as he will be in contact with familianos at all times and, therefore, he should at all times set a good example for the soldados to follow. (1)

Section II (a). While in a state of war, and the arms quota drops below the specified requirement, it shall be first priority of the lieutenant to restore to restore to par as outlined in (Art. V, Sec. II) [sic]. (1, 2, 3)

Section III. Each lieutenant shall have a certain number of soldados assigned to him. He shall be responsible for their schooling and basic needs and conduct. (1, 3)

Section III (a). Whenever one or all of his soldados goes into combat with any of the enemies of La Nuestra Familia, he (lieutenant) shall present the captain with a full report of what occurred. (1, 3)

Section IV. The lieutenants shall have ratings of 1st , 2nd , 3rd . This rating shall be given to them by the captain according to their experience and leadership abilities. (1, 3)

Section V. It shall be the duties of the lieutenants to keep a record of all known names and numbers of La Nuestra Familia. Each day, he shall check all new arrivals who entered his territory against his record book and make a report to his captain. (1)

Section V (a). All lieutenants shall question all new familianos assigned to him for information as to unknown enemies of La Nuestra Familia. New information shall go into the record book and whenever one of his soldados is transferred to another pinta, a copy of the record book shall be sent with the soldado. (1)

Section V (b). It shall be the responsibility of the lieutenant to inform the captain of the departure of his soldados in order that the familia of the other regiment can be informed. (1, 2)

Article V. Familiano Soldado

Section I. All requests for membership into this O shall be made to the captain. Any member can make such a request for any individual providing such requesting familiano is will to accept full responsibility for said individual. (1, 2)

Section II. Final decision for membership shall not be made until 30 days have elapsed from such a request, and the governing body of the regiment must approve the request for any new membership. (1, 2)

Section III. No applicant will be considered for membership if he (applicant) misrepresents his qualifications. Also, once a member and soldado misrepresents his actions in battle for the benefit of making his actions seem more valorous, he will be subject to be disqualified under (Art. II, Sec. V b), a minor offense, or (Art. I, Sec. V), expelled from the O, depending upon the circumstances and seriousness of the lie. (1, 2)

Section IV. Membership of this O shall be restricted only to those of Latin extraction. No maximum or minimum shall be invoked by this constitution in so far as membership in this O is concerned; however, such limitations may be established by NG as to be necessary to maintain proper control, although others of other extractions (races) will be considered with the consent of both the captain and the NG. (1, 2)

Article VI. Discipline and Conduct.

Section I. The regimental captains shall pass sentence for all minor infractions of conduct. In time of war, there will be no appeal to NG. (1, 3)

Section II. Punishment shall be administered by the regimental lieutenant (Art. IV, Sec. III) or by the regiment as a whole, when ordered by the familia commander. (1, 3)

Section III. All familianos shall be subject to disciplinary action or immediate expulsion from this O (Art. II, Sec. V). In the case of misconduct or behavior unbecoming of a member, said conditions shall prevail with regards to the individual towards another member, the O as a whole, or his superiors. (1, 2, 3)

Section IV. Under no conditions will there be fighting between familianos. To do so will bring on disciplinary action and if blood is spilled, it will result in the expulsion of one or all parties involved (Art II, Sec V). (1, 2)

Section V. No member of this O shall put material things, whether it be drugs, money, women, or punks (as related to the pinta) before the best interest of La Nuestra Familia or a familianos. (1, 2)

Section V (a). No familiano shall lie about his position in La Nuestra Familia nor when discussing familianos business to a superior or a brother member. There shall be no lying or giving false impressions. (1, 2)

Section VI. It is the sacred duty of a familianos guerrero to do battle for La Nuestra Familia, and no soldado should feel that because he fought for his O that he is entitled to special privileges. All that matters is that you as a guerrero of La Nuestra Familia are living up to your responsibilities. Remember that a true guerrero does not need to boast of his accomplishments. (1, 2)

Section VII. Under no circumstances is any of this constitution to be altered without notification of el NG and one third of his captain’s staff, nor shall a familiano or familianos regiment put their own interpretations upon said constitution. It is to be read in its entirety. All sections that relate to one concept are to be read as such. (1, 2)