A cult of personality around Cesar Chavez shatters with sexual assault allegations
Your morning catch-up: UFW leaders long protected Cesar Chavez, Edison executive pay soars and more big stories
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For many Mexican Americans and Californians of a certain age and political stripe, Cesar Chavez had long since secured his standing as a kind of secular saint.
He had all the markers for beatitude: helping form a union to represent poor and mistreated farm workers; insisting on non-violence, even in the face of anti-union thuggery; fasting for weeks on end to bring attention to mostly forgotten field hands.
But reporters who spent time probing more deeply into Chavez’s United Farm Workers of America also came to understand that the union’s co-founder was abundantly flawed and frequently not held to account by his allies, a recipe that could lead to trouble.
The depths and depravity of those flaws only came into full view this week, with the New York Times’s publication of an expose, which revealed that the iconic human rights champion had been accused of sexually assaulting two under-aged girls in the 1970s as well as fellow farmworker leader Dolores Huerta in the 1960s.
Chavez’s dark side began to show
The persuasive evidence of Chavez’s wrongdoing landed as both a shock and as sadly in keeping with what has been revealed in recent years about how powerful men abused their positions of authority to assault and rape women and girls. That knowledge comes atop earlier warning signals: Chavez became increasingly paranoid and autocratic, particularly in his later years with the union. (He died in 1993 at age 66.) He purged many of the UFW’s most persuasive and popular organizers, after deeming they insufficiently willing to bend to his directives. Chavez even employed teachings from Synanon, the substance-abuse recovery organization that devolved into an abusive cult.
Days before his legacy took its biggest hit, the UFW’s legion of followers on the political left began exchanging messages about the rumored New York Times investigation. On Wednesday, a few activists who I talked to already whipsawed through the stages of grief — with very little denial, given the evidence, but heaping portions of anger and depression.
“I left high school to go work for the union,” one told me. “This is terrible, just terrible.”
Many of the disenchanted sounded like they might have been channeling Esmeralda Lopez. She is one of the women who told the New York Times about her ordeal. She described how, as a 19-year-old, a 61-year-old Cesar Chavez tried to persuade her to have sex with him. She found herself alone with the union leader in a camper attached to a pickup truck and said she rebuffed his overture. Ten months later, she said she lost her job at a union health clinic.
“It makes you rethink in history all those heroes,” Lopez said. “The movement — that’s the hero.”
What is left of the movement?
The “movement” meant the cause of getting better pay and working conditions for not just farm hands, but all working people. “La causa” produced scores of leaders who would go on to prominence in California unions, nonprofits and politics.
What I recall from reporting about the UFW back in the 1990s is how members spoke about Chavez with reverence. And how some close to him bristled when asked questions about his authoritarian streak and his departure from organizing, distractions that left the union’s power flagging.
They made it clear that the UFW’s co-founder was not to be questioned, even after his death, even as membership declined from its high about 80,000 in the 1970s. Those declines have been fairly steady since then, with a 2023 news story putting the union ranks at just 5,500. At that time, the union had about two dozen contracts with agricultural growers, a huge decline from about 150 in its heyday.
For the time being, the work of reinvigorating the union takes a backseat to new calls to divulge once unspeakable secrets. The UFW offered mental health counseling. The Cesar Chavez Foundation told other possible victims to come forward. The union also included a message — that may struggle to get traction in the midst of this crisis.
“The United Farm Workers is fighting to protect immigrant communities from the wage cuts, violence and attacks farm workers face today,” the message reads. “The work to support the farm workers who feed our nation is more important than ever, and this work will continue.”
Here’s more on the Cesar Chavez allegations:
‘We’re in shock’: Farmworkers grapple with Cesar Chavez sex abuse allegations
As she and Cesar Chavez made history, Dolores Huerta carried a horrifying secret
Cesar Chavez’s name is on buildings, parks, roads and calendars. Some are demanding change
And just like that, the Cesar Chavez myth is punctured. What’s next?
‘My silence ends here’: The heartbreaking burden of Dolores Huerta
Today’s top stories
Edison executive pay soars
- Edison’s chief executive received a $16.6-million pay package — a 20% rise — despite the company’s suspected role in the deadly Eaton fire that killed 19 people.
- Edison ties most executive compensation not to safety but to its financial performance. Last year, its profit soared 200% to $4.5 billion.
California’s proposed billionaire tax gains majority support
- New polling shows just 52% of California voters support a one-time 5% tax on billionaires to fund healthcare, leaving proponents in a precarious position.
- The measure divides sharply along party lines: 72% of Democrats support it while 72% of Republicans oppose it.
Judges in L.A. County courts are using AI
- Judges in one of the nation’s largest court systems have started using an artificial intelligence tool that can help them summarize motions and draft rulings in civil court.
- The announcement has drawn concern from some members of the county’s legal community who fear the technology could create errors and erode public trust in the legal system.
What else is going on
- LAUSD teacher and service worker unions announced a massive April 14 strike if no deal is reached.
- California used faulty DUI tests for nearly 10 years, the state Justice Department says.
- Schools are left wondering how to proceed after the Supreme Court’s ruling on transitioning students.
- Industry groups sue California over its Truth in Recycling law.
- Polyamorous couples win protection against discrimination in West Hollywood amid a growing movement.
- Gamified math. Video read-alouds. Why parents are saying no to screens in class.
Commentary and opinions
- Ted Cruz and his GOP colleagues are pushing yet another tax break for the 1%, writes columnist Michael Hiltzik.
This morning’s must reads
Pasadena Playhouse producing Artistic Director Danny Feldman, Geffen Playhouse Artistic Director Tarell Alvin McCraney and Center Theatre Group Artistic Director Snehal Desai reveal how they’re confronting the challenges of a field in crisis.
Other must reads
- Taco Bell wants to help with your under-eye circles and wrinkles — no, really.
- Shakira on her groundbreaking Rock Hall nomination: “A highlight of my life.”
- The WNBA and players reached a historic deal. Here’s what needs to happen next.
For your downtime
Going out
- Gardens: Get ideas for your home garden at these 19 spring garden tours around L.A.
- Art and museums: LACMA’s David Geffen Galleries, the Lucas Museum and Meow Wolf are set to open during a huge year for art in L.A.
Staying in
- Books: Photographer Reynaldo Rivera’s new book, “Propriedad Privada,” compiles intimate photographs exploring desire, love and vulnerability across decades of personal archive.
- Recipe: Here’s a recipe for a spring crab sandwich.
- ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and jigsaw games.
A question for you: What are some of your favorite things to do during spring in California?
Email us at essentialcalifornia@latimes.com, and your response might appear in the newsletter this week.
And finally ... from our archives
On March 19, 2003, President George W. Bush ordered the invasion of Iraq, to oust Saddam Hussein who was believed to be manufacturing weapons of mass destruction.
Times columnist Robin Abcarian wrote in March 2023 about the 20th anniversary of the Iraq war, which also marked a colossal failure of the mainstream media.
Have a great day, from the Essential California team
Jim Rainey, staff reporter
Hugo Martín, assistant editor, fast break desk
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew Campa, weekend writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
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