A major investigation by The New York Times has raised child asexual abuse allegations against Cesar Chavez, the leftist labor activist long celebrated as a civil rights figure.
The report outlines claims from multiple women who say Chavez abused them while they were minors during the 1970s, when he was at the height of his national influence.
Two women, Ana Murguia and Debra Rojas, allege they were targeted as young teenagers while their families were closely involved in the United Farm Workers, the organization Chavez co-founded.
Both described a pattern of manipulation and abuse, they say, that continued over a number of years.
According to the investigation, their accounts are supported by interviews with more than 60 individuals, as well as internal union records, emails, photographs, and archival materials.
The report suggests the allegations were not isolated incidents but part of a broader pattern of behavior involving women connected to the movement:
Ms. Rojas said she was 12 when Mr. Chavez first touched her inappropriately, groping her breasts in the same office where he’d meet with Ms. Murguia.
When Ms. Rojas was 15, he arranged to have her stay at a motel during a weekslong march through California, she said, and had sexual intercourse with her — rape, under state law, because she was not old enough to consent. (Ms. Murguia said Mr. Chavez molested her but never had intercourse with her.)
The abuse allegations appear to be part of a larger pattern of sexual misconduct by Mr. Chavez, much of which has never been publicly revealed.
The Times investigation found that Mr. Chavez also used many of the women who worked and volunteered in his movement for his own sexual gratification.
In a separate allegation, his close ally and longtime activist Dolores Huerta said Chavez assaulted her in the 1960s.
“Unfortunately, he used some of his great leadership to abuse women and children; it’s really awful,” she said.
“I can no longer stay silent and must share my own experiences.”
Dolores Huerta, the labor activist who co-founded the United Farm Workers with Cesar Chavez, said Wednesday she was “manipulated and pressured into having sex” with him.
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— ABC News (@ABC) March 18, 2026
The United Farm Workers has since announced it will cancel events honoring Chavez, describing the allegations as “profoundly shocking.”
The organization said it would take time to review the claims and ensure support is available for those affected.
Public officials have also begun reassessing Chavez’s legacy. Streets, schools, and institutions bearing his name are now under review in several states as pressure builds for a broader re-evaluation.
Chavez, who died in 1993, remains one of the most prominent figures in modern American left-wing activism.
As co-founder of the United Farm Workers, he led high-profile strikes and national boycotts that brought widespread attention to the conditions of agricultural laborers across the United States.
Over time, his image became heavily institutionalised through school names, public holidays, and political recognition, cementing his status as a central figure in progressive politics.
He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton and has been widely honored by Democratic leaders, including having his likeness displayed in the Oval Office.
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