The mayor of San Luis, Arizona, said city officials have canceled upcoming events honoring the late farmworker and civil rights leader Cesar Chavez following a New York Times report that Chavez, who was born near Yuma and died in San Luis, abused and raped women and girls.
Chavez has long been revered as a hero in farming communities, including Yuma and San Luis, where he has deep roots.
The city of San Luis has honored him with annual marches and celebrations, even naming Cesar Chavez Cultural Center and Cesar Chavez Boulevard after him.
The city was planning a celebration Monday for the Cesar Chavez Boulevard Multimodal Improvements Project, with community leaders and transportation officials expected to attend. The project is designed to transform the rural roadway into an urban, multimodal corridor with new pedestrian, bicycle and transit infrastructure.
However, that celebration will no longer take place.
San Luis Mayor Nieves Riedel confirmed with KAWC that she made the call to cancel the groundbreaking ceremony scheduled for Monday.
"I'm heartbroken at what happened to these girls and women," Riedel said. "He was an iconic figure... but everything was a lie."
Riedel said councilmembers will meet in the near future to discuss possible decisions on what to do with the Chavez statue and his name on the cultural center and the boulevard that cuts through the center of San Luis.
