Cesar Chavez's Remote Compound Likened to a Cult

The image of labor hero Cesar Chavez continues to disintegrate. First, a New York Times investigation revealed allegations of systemic sexual abuse of girls and women. Now, a second Times investigation suggests that Chavez morphed into something like a cult leader at his haven in the California mountains. Reporters dig into La Paz, the remote Tehachapi Mountains compound that became the United Farm Workers' headquarters in the 1970s—and, according to new interviews, the setting for both troubling leadership practices and sexual abuse by Chavez. Former UFW staffers describe a leader increasingly absorbed in fringe "mind control" techniques who adopted a leadership style based on the Synanon drug-treatment program that emphasizes verbal abuse.

Chavez himself "insisted 'sacrifice' was central to the movement," the story recounts. He "fasted and marched to the point of internal injury and back pain, and demanded that residents perform extra half-days of manual labor on the compound on weekends." He also claimed to be able to heal with his hands. One woman, now 66, recounts how Chavez placed his hands on her abdomen when she fell ill. "I closed my eyes because I was embarrassed," she recalls. "It was just kind of strange." Those interviewed describe a culture of loyalty and silence that allowed Chavez to wield authority over followers. Within that environment, women and girls say they were groomed and abused, while others around Chavez either missed warning signs or felt unable to challenge him. Read the full piece.