“It Was Time”: Dolores Huerta’s First Interview After “Devastating” Cesar Chavez Expose

About this episode

Dolores Huerta discusses her experiences and the impact of allegations against Cesar Chavez in her first interview following a major expose.

For decades, Cesar Chavez's name has been synonymous with workers’ rights. School buildings and streets bear his name. Alongside Chavez always stood Dolores Huerta. She’s a co-founder of the National Farm Workers Association and together they led a movement that profoundly transformed working conditions for farmworkers in the U.S.  Now, Dolores speaks to Latino USA about being sexually assaulted by Cesar Chavez in her first interview after the New York Times revealed allegations of abuse of young victims, including minors, and the sacrifice she felt she had to make for the well-being of the movement. Trigger Warning: We should mention that parts of this story might be disturbing for some of our listeners. Latino USA is the longest-running news and culture radio program in the U.S., centering Latino stories and hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Maria Hinojosa. Follow the show to get every episode. Want to support our independent journalism? Join Futuro+ for exclusive episodes, sneak peeks and behind-the-scenes chisme on Latino USA and all our podcasts. Follow us on  TikTok  and  YouTube . Subscribe to our  newsletter .   See…

People in this episode

Host: Maria Hinojosa

Guest: Dolores Huerta

Topics covered

• workers' rights
• sexual assault
• movement leadership
• abuse allegations
• Latino culture

Keywords

• Cesar Chavez
• National Farm Workers Association
• sexual assault
• abuse allegations
• workers' rights movement

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Pulitzer Prize

Places: U.S.

More episodes of Latino USA

• Mon Laferte & Francisca Valenzuela Speak Up About Music and Feminism · June 12, 2026 · 29 min
• Mon Laferte: Una conversación con la femme fatale de la música y su nuevo álbum, ya disponible · June 12, 2026 · 32 min
• Rosie Perez Traces the Birth of Salsa in Nueva York · June 7, 2026 · 36 min
• A Decade After Pulse: The Quest for Accountability · June 5, 2026 · 29 min
• Tab Ramos and the Rebirth of U.S. Soccer · May 31, 2026 · 27 min
• The Game We Love · May 29, 2026 · 29 min