Central Valley leaders react to Cesar Chavez abuse allegations. ‘Deeply personal’
The revelation of Cesar Chavez’s sexual abuse of underage girls in a multi-year New York Times investigation has drawn a swift response in the Central Valley, where officials have moved to rename a busy thoroughfare and remove a statue that had been prominently displayed at a university campus.
The investigation, published Wednesday morning, detailed accounts by multiple women, including civil rights leader Dolores Huerta, who said Chavez sexually assaulted them.
“I am nearly 96 years old, and for the last 60 years have kept a secret because I believed that exposing the truth would hurt the farmworker movement I have spent my entire life fighting for,” Huerta said in a statement following the New York Times’s story. In her statement, Huerta said Chavez twice forced her into having sex with him, resulting in two pregnancies that she kept secret.
“I have encouraged people to always use their voice,” Huerta said. “I can no longer stay silent and must share my own experiences.”
While Huerta has never identified herself as a victim, she said “now understand that I am a survivor — of violence, of sexual abuse, of domineering men who saw me, and other women, as property, or things to control.”
“This is a very emotional and personal time. Dolores, her children, grandchildren, and extended family ask that their privacy be respected,” said Erik Olvera, spokesperson for Huerta’s family. Olvera said the family will not comment further. .
Many local Latino leaders and organizations voiced their support for Dolores Huerta and the victims of sexual assault.
“As the daughter of immigrant farmworker parents from Mexico, this is deeply personal,” said Assemblywoman Esmeralda Soria, D-Merced. “I believe in Dolores Huerta. I believe the women who have come forward. I believe the victims.”
Fresno City council president Miguel Arias said “we have a responsibility to listen and to act in a way that honors the pain and sets a new standard for the rest of us to adhere to.”
Fresno Supervisor Luis Chavez said he admires Dolores Huerta for coming forward and the other victims as well.
“Reading the accounts of some victims and their pains and suffering was heartbreaking,” said Luis Chavez. “Often times women make the difficult choice to stay silent to protect a movement and or their families.”
“I believe them, we all should,” Luis Chavez said. “My hope is that all victims come forward and they receive the justice their deserve.”
Xavier Becerra, former California Attorney General and candidate for California governor, said while the United Farm Workers’ fight for justice for farmworkers was life-changing, “clearly, there is a painful side to this story and Cesar Chavez that we must face.”
“Iconic labor leader Dolores Huerta has come forward to tell her story and use her voice to empower other survivors to tell their story. We must stand behind the truth and those who live it,” Becerra said.
U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla said he condemned the “abhorrent actions” and stands with the survivors.
“The survivors deserve to be heard. They deserve to be supported. They deserve to be treated with dignity and respect,” Padilla said. “There must be zero tolerance for abuse, exploitation, and the silencing of victims, no matter who is involved.”
Padilla said ensuring accountability, by “confronting painful trues” is essential to honoring the values of the greater farmworker movement rooted in “dignity and justice for all.”
Huerta said she channeled everything she had into advocating on behalf of millions of farmworkers and others who were suffering and deserved equal rights and only told her story when she learned she was not the only one and there were others.
In a statement, the California Hispanic Legislative Caucus said, “Decisions made in the wake of these allegations must be guided by an unwavering commitment to those who were harmed, and not by the protection of reputation or the preservation of iconography or legacy.”
Huerta said Chavez’s actions should not “diminish the permanent improvements achieved for farmworkers with the help of thousands of people. We must continue to engage and support our community, which needs advocacy and activism now more than ever.”
“I will continue my commitments to workers, as well as my commitment to women’s rights, to make sure we have a voice and that our communities are treated with dignity and given the equity that they have so long been denied,” Huerta said. “I have kept this secret long enough. My silence ends here.”
This story was originally published March 18, 2026 at 2:41 PM.
