Civil rights icon Cesar Chavez was accused of sexual abuse by over a dozen women, including minors, prompting celebration cancellations.
Chavez, who died in 1993, became an icon of Latino civil rights through his activism for farm workers and Hispanic Americans, often compared to other influential leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr., found that Chavez allegedly raped and molested several underage girls, grooming some beginning when they were eight or nine years old.
He was also alleged to have raped several women and allies, such as Dolores Huerta, his most prominent female ally in labor activism.The United Farm Workers union, the labor juggernaut founded by Chavez, released a statement on Tuesday ahead of the investigation’s release, distancing itself from its founder. “As a women-led organization that exists to empower communities, the allegations about abusive behavior by Cesar Chavez go against everything that we stand for. These disturbing allegations involve inappropriate behavior by Cesar Chavez with young women and minors, they are shocking, indefensible and something we are taking seriously,” the statement read. “Recognizing how serious the allegations are, the UFW Foundation has cancelled all Cesar Chavez Day activities this month,” it added. Governments and organizations across the U.S. canceled Chavez Day celebrations and marches after the news broke. Houston, San Antonio, and Corpus Christi all canceled marches commemorating Chavez.came forward for the story, with two of the most detailed accounts coming from Ana Murguia, a daughter of a Chavez ally who alleged the labor leader began sexually abusing her when she was 13, and Debra Rojas, the daughter of another Chavez ally who alleged he began sexually abusing her at 12. Both alleged the abuse occurred for several years during the 1970s.The women who came forward said they feared revealing their stories until now over fear of retribution, hurting the Hispanic civil rights movement, and tarnishing the widely beloved Chavez’s image. Huerta, 96, said she feared “exposing the truth would hurt the farmworker movement I have spent my entire life fighting for.”Huerta, who co-founded U.F.W. with Chavez, was his close ally for over 30 years, a relationship that helped boost Chavez’s egalitarian credentials. For the first time, Huerta revealed that the relationship was anything but, with Chavez raping her in an isolated grape field in 1966, and assaulting or pressuring her for sex at other times. She secretly fathered two children from these assaults and gave them to trusted families to raise after giving birth. At least a dozen young women in the labor movement with Chavez, many of them daughters of his allies, claimed he sexually assaulted or pressured them for sex. Esmeralda Lopez, then under one-third of Chavez’s age, was fired shortly after she refused to have sex with him in exchange for a street being named after her. The investigation also uncovered a culture of cover-up within U.F.W., with documents showing some leaders were aware of Chavez’s abuse of minors. Many of the women interviewed said U.F.W. discouraged them from speaking up to protect Chavez’s image. Chavez’s family gave an ambiguous response to the allegations, saying they were “not in a position to judge” the claims.steeped in the values of equity and justice, we honor the voices of those who feel unheard and who report sexual misconduct,” they told the outlet. “These allegations are deeply painful to our family.”interviewed over 60 people close to Chavez or U.F.W. for the investigation, and reviewed hundreds of related documents and hours of audio recordings., in an awkward spot, given the institutionalized praise and celebrations for the labor leader. His birthday, March 31, is a state holiday in California.The California legislature’s two top Democrats, Senate President Pro Tem Monique Limón and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, voiced their condolences for the victims in a joint statement. “The serious allegations involving Cesar Chavez are devastating,” they said. “The Legislature will always stand with survivors, whose courage in coming forward demands our support and unwavering commitment to justice with dignity.”
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