By Matthew Holloway |
Arizona will not recognize Cesar Chavez Day this year following allegations detailed in a report by The New York Times that labor leader Cesar Chavez sexually abused girls and assaulted women connected to the United Farm Workers movement.
According to a FOX 10 Phoenix report, the state will not observe the March 31 holiday in response to the allegations. Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs honored Chavez as recently as 2022 in a post on X, writing, “Today, we celebrate and honor the life and legacy of civil rights and labor activist Cesar Chavez.”
In a statement released March 17, the governor’s office said:
“The Governor’s Office is deeply concerned by the troubling allegations against César Chávez. As a social worker who worked with homeless youth and victims of domestic violence, Governor Hobbs takes allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior against women and minors very seriously. The Governor’s Office has decided to not recognize César Chávez Day this year. Our thoughts are with the victims and all those affected.”
The Times reported that two women, Ana Murguia and Debra Rojas, said Chavez sexually abused them for years when they were minors associated with the United Farm Workers’ La Paz compound in California. Murguia said Chavez was 45 and she was 13 when he began summoning her to his office for sexual encounters, which she said continued dozens of times over four years. Rojas said Chavez first touched her inappropriately when she was 12 and later had sexual intercourse with her at age 15 during the union’s 1975 1,000-Mile March—conduct the Times noted constituted rape under California law due to her age.
The investigation also reported that longtime labor activist Dolores Huerta, a co-founder of the United Farm Workers, said Chavez sexually assaulted her. Huerta told the Times that Chavez raped her in 1966 in Delano, California, and described an earlier 1960 encounter in which she said she felt pressured into sex during a work trip.
According to the Times, the findings were based on interviews with more than 60 people, including former aides, relatives, and union members, as well as a review of hundreds of pages of union records, emails, photographs, and audio recordings. The accounts of Murguia and Rojas were corroborated through interviews with individuals they had confided in and through contemporaneous documents and records, the report said.
The fallout was immediate. The United Farm Workers canceled its annual Cesar Chavez Day celebrations after learning of the allegations during the reporting process. In a statement cited by the Times, the organization said the “troubling allegations” were incompatible with its values and that it would take time to ensure support services were available for those affected.
Chavez’s family said it was “not in a position to judge” the claims, according to the Times, adding that the allegations were “deeply painful” and that they support individuals who report sexual misconduct.
The investigation further reported that some relatives and former union leaders had been aware of allegations of sexual misconduct for years, but there was no evidence of efforts to fully investigate or publicly address the claims. Internal communications reviewed by the Times included discussions of Murguia’s allegations dating back more than a decade. The report also cited a social media post by Rojas in a private group years earlier in which she alleged Chavez had molested her.
Additional allegations included an account from Esmeralda Lopez, who told the Times that Chavez made a sexual proposition to her in 1988 while she was working within the movement. Lopez said she refused. Her account was corroborated by her mother, according to the report.
The Times also reported that some individuals who worked closely with Chavez denied the allegations, while others who lived at La Paz said they did not experience misconduct.
Chavez, who died in 1993, remains a prominent figure in American labor and civil rights history, with his name attached to schools, public buildings, and annual observances nationwide. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by former President Bill Clinton in 1994, and a bust of Chavez was displayed in the Oval Office of former President Joe Biden in 2021.
Arizona’s decision not to recognize Cesar Chavez Day this year marks a direct response to the findings outlined in the Times investigation.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
