In a revelation that shakes the foundations of the U.S. civil rights movement, iconic leader Dolores Huerta has broken a 60-year silence. Now 95, Dolores Huerta accuses the late Cesar Chavez of sexual abuse, confessing that she kept the secret for six decades to protect the integrity of the farm workers union they both founded.
The 95 year old leader’s revelations came in the midst of an investigation by The New York Times, which revealed the accusations of two Latinas who claim to have been abused by Chavez (1927-1993) when they were minors.
Silence for the sake of the movement
“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.
Read more: https://t.co/nksKYb7eNX pic.twitter.com/IMpxdVelUF
– ABC News (@ABC) March 18, 2026
Dolores Huerta said she kept the secret for more than six decades because she believed that exposing the truth would “damage the peasant movement” for which she has fought all her life.
“The development of the union was the only vehicle to achieve and secure those rights and I wasn’t going to let Cesar (Chavez) or anyone else stand in the way,” delved the UFW co-founder.
Details of the aggressions and the weight of leadership
The leader affirmed that at least twice she was victimized by Chavez, who at that time was the face of the movement.
“The first time I was manipulated and pressured to have sex with him, and I felt I couldn’t say no because he was someone I looked up to: my boss and the leader of the movement I had already devoted years of my life to.
“The second time I was forced, against my will and in an environment in which I felt trapped,” the union leader detailed in a statement.
Personal consequences: Pregnancies and deliveries in secret
🚨NEW: Dolores Huerta tells the NYT she was sexually abused by fellow farmworker leader Cesar Chavez, breaking more than 60 yrs of silence. She says two of his children were conceived during what she described as non-consensual encounters, including an alleged 1966 assault. pic.twitter.com/HhUT1Owpbz
– John-Carlos Estrada 🎙️ (@Mr_JCE) March 18, 2026
Both encounters resulted in pregnancies that Dolores Huerta kept secret, to later give the children to different families “so they could give them a stable life”.
He explained that over the years he was fortunate to develop a deep relationship with these children, who are now very close to his other children.
However, he noted that even so, “no one knew the full truth” about how they were conceived until a few weeks ago, when he told his family about the New York newspaper’s investigation, which ultimately helped him share his experiences.
The Trigger: The New York Times investigation
New:
Gov. Newsom signals he’s open to renaming Cesar Chavez day in California to something else that reflects the farm worker movement.He says he hasn’t spoken to CALeg leaders directly yet but there are staff level convos happening and everyone is processing. pic.twitter.com/c0nTreS7jo
– Ashley Zavala (@ZavalaA) March 18, 2026
Huerta also acknowledged that she had “never” identified herself as a victim, but when the statements of the two women came to light it helped her understand that she was “a survivor” of violence, sexual abuse, and “manipulative” men who saw her and other women as “property and objects” of control.
Dolores Huerta said she was enraged to hear the testimonies of Ana Murguia and Debra Rojas, who detail how they were abused by Cesar Chavez when they were just children.
“There are no words strong enough to condemn the deplorable actions he committed.”
After breaking her silence, the leader has been embraced by a large number of women leaders who have shown their support for her.
Huerta culminated her statement by saying that she will continue her commitment to workers, as well as women’s rights, to ensure that they have a voice, and that Latino communities are treated with dignity and equity.
Archived as: Dolores Huerta accuses César Chávez
With information from EFE
