Labor Icon Cesar Chavez Accused of Sexual Abuse by Dolores Huerta and Others

Shocking Revelations Rock Labor Movement

In a stunning development that has sent shockwaves through the civil rights community, labor rights activist Dolores Huerta revealed she was among women and girls who say they were sexually abused by César Chavez, the widely admired Latino icon who brought to light the struggles of farmhands while leading the United Farm Workers union . The 95-year-old co-founder of the United Farm Workers broke decades of silence Wednesday, detailing two separate encounters with Chavez in the 1960s that she described as coercive and forced.

"I am nearly 96 years old, and for the last 60 years have kept a secret because I believed that exposing the truth would hurt the farmworker movement I have spent my entire life fighting for," Huerta stated. The first time I was manipulated and pressured into having sex with him, and I didn't feel I could say no because he was someone that I admired, my boss and the leader of the movement I had already devoted years of my life to . Huerta told the newspaper that he raped her in a car in 1966, when "Mr. Chavez drove her out to a secluded grape field in Delano, Calif., parked and forced her to have sex inside the vehicle" .

Huerta revealed that she had two children from her encounters with Chavez and arranged for them to be raised by other families . She chose not to tell anyone about the rape because "she feared that no one within the union would believe her" .

Pattern of Abuse Emerges

The New York Times spoke with more than 60 people and reviewed documents and other materials bolstering his accusers' stories . One of the women, Debra Rojas, told the outlet that Chavez first touched her inappropriately when she was 12 and raped her when she was 15. The other, Ana Murguia, alleged to the Times that Chavez began abusing her when she was 13 . Both were daughters of organizers within the United Farm Workers, and Chavez was in his 40s and was the union's president .

Ana Murguia said she was 13 when a 45-year-old Chavez kissed her, took off her clothes and tried to have sex with her in his locked office. He had known her since she was eight years old, and the abuse at his hands prompted her to attempt suicide . Debra Rojas was 12 years old when Chavez began groping her, and described being 15 when she was raped by him at a motel near Stockton, California .

Huerta acknowledged that other women have come forward with allegations that Chávez sexually abused teens, saying "The knowledge that he hurt young girls sickens me. My heart aches for everyone who suffered alone and in silence for years" .

Swift Institutional Response

Fallout from the abuse allegations has been swift, with the United Farm Workers announcing that it would not be participating in events for Cesar Chavez Day, a state holiday celebrated in California each March 31, Chavez's birthday . The 29th annual Cesar E. Chavez March for Justice in San Antonio was canceled on March 6, 2026, the citizens' march to be held in Laredo on the last Saturday morning of March has also been canceled, and annual parades in Tucson, Ariz. and San Francisco, Calif. are also canceled .

Chávez died in 1993, and his family told reporters that they are "devastated" by the reporting, which is "deeply painful" to the family. "We wish peace and healing to the survivors and commend their courage to come forward," they wrote. "We remain committed to farmworkers and the causes he and countless others championed and continue to champion" .

On social media, some Latinos have been calling for the many murals of Chavez to be painted over, and for schools and boulevards bearing his name to be renamed after Huerta . California Governor Gavin Newsom said "We're going to have to reflect on a labor movement that was much bigger than one man and celebrate that" when asked about renaming streets, schools and other tributes to Chavez across the state .

Legacy Under Scrutiny

The stunning allegations against Chavez, who died more than three decades ago, drew immediate calls to alter memorials honoring the man who in the 1960s helped secure better wages and working conditions for farmworkers and has been long revered by many Democratic leaders in the U.S. These revelations are going to up