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In a podcast interview with Latino USA, a show by Futuro Media, revered labor leader Dolores Huerta speaks out about the allegations of sexual abuse against acclaimed civil rights leader Cesar Chavez.
A New York Times investigation that was published on Wednesday revealed allegations that Chavez raped and abused women and girls. The investigation included accounts from two women who allege Chavez sexually abused them when they were children in the 1970s. Huerta, 95, who co-founded a labor organization with Chavez that would later merge with United Farm Workers, has also alleged she was raped by Chavez in the 1960s, which led to two pregnancies.
In a statement, Huerta, who famously coined the phrase “Si se puede,” said she had kept the assaults a secret for the last 60 years because she believed “exposing the truth would hurt the farmworker movement I have spent my entire life fighting for.”
Huerta said she had experienced two separate encounters with Chavez. “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 wrote. “The second time I was forced, against my will, and in an environment where I felt trapped.”
In response to The Times’ investigation, the Chavez family called the allegations “deeply painful.” They said they wish peace and healing to the survivors and commend them for their courage to come forward.
“We remain committed to farmworkers and the causes he and countless others championed and continue to champion,” the statement said. “We ask for understanding and privacy as we continue to process this difficult information.”
In her first public interview since the allegations surfaced, Huerta told Maria Hinojosa, executive producer and anchor from Latino USA, that at the time of the incidents, she felt alone and that she didn’t have anyone close by to reach out to help.
CBS LA has reached out to the Chavez Foundation for a comment in response to Huerta’s interview.
“It never would have happened in the first place if I had not had this great admiration for him and he was my employer, he was my boss,” Huerta said.
Huerta told The New York Times she had two daughters who were raised by other family members.
“The one thing I do feel good about today, I still, I have strong relationships with all of my children,” Huerta said. “I have very, very strong and proud relationships of the two daughters that came from these incidents with Cesar.”
Huerta said she never confronted Chavez about the alleged incidents, and that’s one thing she is sorry about.
“I guess that’s the one thing that I’m sorry about, because God knows, had I done that, maybe in some way, it would have prevented other women and girls, who knows,” Huerta said.
Huerta said she is still trying to process the news that Chavez allegedly hurt others, but she applauds the other women for having the courage to share their stories. When asked if she’s spoken to the other alleged victims, Huerta said she has not.
Huerta explained that although Chavez had a “dark side,” it should not take away from the work the movement was able to accomplish for so many people.
“I think we just have to look at the accomplishments that were made, the things that farm workers have today, that they never had, the things that inspired so many people to get involved,” Huerta said.
When Huerta was asked how she’s taking care of herself, she said she has a strong support system helping her move forward.
“We’re not going to let anything stop our progress, that we’re going to continue to go forward until we get to the respect and the equity that our community and especially the women, deserve,” Huerta said.
