Civil rights icon Dolores Huerta and other women in the United States have spoken out against sexual violence they allegedly endured at the hands of labour leader Cesar Chavez. Huerta, nearly 96 years old, revealed a 60-year secret, fearing that exposing the truth would harm the farmworker movement she dedicated her life to. She decided to share her experiences after a multi-year investigation by The New York Times, which also involved other women.
Chavez, who died in 1993, co-founded the National Farm Workers Association with Huerta and other advocates. They rose to fame during the US civil rights movement of the 1960s, using nonviolent protest techniques similar to those of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. They highlighted abuses facing vulnerable immigrant farmworkers, particularly in Hispanic and Filipino American communities.
In her statement, Huerta explained that the first time she had sex with Chavez, she was "manipulated and pressured" during a trip to San Juan Capistrano. She said, "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." The second time, she claimed she was "forced, against my will." The New York Times investigation includes a summary of what Huerta says happened: Chavez parked in an isolated grape field and raped her. Both instances resulted in pregnancies, which Huerta kept secret, with the children given to other families.
Other women echoed these accounts. Ana Murguia stated that at age 13, a 45-year-old Chavez kissed her, removed her clothes, and tried to have sex with her in his locked office. Debra Rojas said she was 12 when Chavez began groping her and 15 when he raped her at a motel near Stockton, California. Esmeralda Lopez, aged 19, refused his advances when he offered to use his influence in her honour.
United Farm Workers, the group that emerged from the National Farm Workers Association, announced it would not participate in events on Cesar Chavez Day due to the widening scandal. They denied receiving direct reports of abuse but pledged to create an external channel for submissions. Politicians, such as Texas Governor Greg Abbott and New Mexico Representative Ben Ray Lujan, called for Chavez's name to be stripped from public buildings and roads. Huerta emphasized that community advocacy remains crucial in the wake of the investigation.
Source: www.aljazeera.com