Dolores Huerta speaks out in first public interview since sexual assault allegations against Cesar Chavez surfaced

In a podcast interview with Latino USA, a show from Futuro Media, revered labor leader Dolores Huerta talks about the sexual abuse allegations against the famous civil rights leader Cesar Chavez.

A New York Times investigation published Wednesday revealed allegations that Chavez raped and abused women and girls. The investigation included testimony from two women who allege Chávez sexually abused them when they were children in the 1970s. Huerta, 95 years old, who co-founded with Chavez a labor organization that would later merge with the United Farm Workers, also claimed she was raped by Chavez in the 1960s, leading to two pregnancies.

“We have to remember that Dolores Huerta, like all of us, reads the New York Times at the same time as all of us,” said Maria Hinojosa, the Latin American journalist who interviewed Huerta. “If we are in shock, imagine the shock of Dolores Huerta.”

In a statement, Huerta, who famously coined the phrase “Si se puede,” said she had kept the assaults a secret for the past 60 years because she believed “revealing the truth would harm the farmworker movement that I have spent my entire life fighting for.”

Huerta said she experienced two separate encounters with Chavez. “The first time I was manipulated and pressured into having sex with him, and I didn’t think I could say no because he was someone I admired, my boss and the leader of the movement I had already devoted years of my life to,” Huerta wrote. “The second time, I was forced, against my will, and in an environment where I felt trapped.”

In response to the Times investigation, the Chavez family called the allegations “deeply painful.” They said they wished the survivors peace and healing and praised them for their courage in coming forward.

“We remain committed to farmworkers and the causes he and countless others have championed and continue to champion,” the statement said. “We ask for understanding and confidentiality as we continue to process this difficult information.”

In her first public interview since the allegations surfaced, Huerta told Hinojosa that at the time of the incidents, she felt alone and had no one nearby to help her.

CBS LA has reached out to the Chavez Foundation for comment in response to Huerta’s interview.

“This would never have happened if I didn’t have this great admiration for him and if he had been my employer, my boss,” Huerta said.

Huerta told the New York Times that she had two daughters raised by other family members.

“The only thing that makes me feel good today is that I still have strong relationships with all my children,” Huerta said. “I have very, very strong and proud relationships with my two daughters, born from these incidents with Caesar.”

Huerta said she never confronted Chávez about the alleged incidents, and that’s something she’s sorry about.

“I guess that’s the only thing I’m sorry about, because God knows, if I had done that, maybe in some way it would have stopped other women and girls, who knows,” Huerta said.

Huerta said she is still trying to process the news that Chavez hurt others, but she commends the other women for having the courage to share their stories. When asked if she had spoken to the other alleged victims, Huerta said she had not.

Huerta explained that although Chavez had a “dark side,” it should not detract from the work the movement was able to accomplish for so many people.

“I think we just have to look at the accomplishments that have been made, the things that farmworkers have today, that they never had, the things that inspired so many people to get involved,” Huerta said.

When Huerta was asked how she takes care of herself, she said she has a strong support system that helps her move forward.

“We will not let anything stop our progress, we will continue to move forward until we achieve the respect and fairness that our community and especially women deserve,” Huerta said.