Remembering César Chávez

By Armando García

On March 31, 1927, Cesáreo Estrada Chávez, son of immigrants from the state of Chihuahua in Mexico, was born in Yuma, Arizona, who fled persecution and exploitation that existed in his country in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

The story recognizes Cesáreo as the agricultural union leader, César Chávez, who founded in 1962 the only successful farm workers union in the history of the United States. That struggle was not easy, there were sacrifices, achievements and failures, resulting in five martyrs, killed for their participation for a decent life for the farm workers of the 60s and 70s in the fields of California, Florida and Arizona.

Cesar could lead a fight without violence, similar to the one Mahatma Gandhi led in India with the boycott of salt production, for the benefit of the British. César successfully persuaded the American consumer not to buy grapes, vegetables, or bananas among other products produced by grower companies, whose labor force was mainly immigrants represented by the United Farm Workers of America, led by Chavez.

César succeeded in forcing the large agricultural companies to bow to the pressure of the boycott of agricultural products, an inexpensive, infallible weapon that directly affected the wealth of the powerful, the untouchable, of the influential in all aspects of our society.

Through the boycott of agricultural products tainted with exploitation, marginalization and humiliation, American society became involved in this movement.

After those triumphs, Cesar took all the decade of the 80, until his unexpected death in 1993, strengthen the union, prepare his board of directors, in management and administration, to the latest in social marketing, to merit a cause , an idea, a thought, a solidarity, a dignity towards the agricultural worker.

For those of us who work alongside with him, it was an experience that changed our lives, defining for many the line of struggle for social justice that many of us undertook in our professional life.

Every time I have the opportunity to write about Cesar, I have always said that every people, every nation, every impoverished sector has had a caudillo who has fought for justice to reach the needy, the outcast, the hopeless, those who with their sweat and their work build the wealth of the societies in which they lived.

The Mexican farm workers had their Emiliano Zapata, the indigenous Mayans had Jacinto Canek, the Nicaraguans had Sandino, the Cubans had Martí, and so on. Some of those caudillos triumphed, others were blinded at the beginning or the middle of the road and many with eagerness raised the flag of their struggle and have moved on.

The German playwright Bertolt Brecht said that there are men who fight one day, and they are good. There are others who fight many days, and they are better. But there are others who fight all their lives, those are the indispensable.

César Chávez was one of the indispensable ones, and his legacy is still alive thanks to those who have taken the leadership of his struggle and others who, thanks to his example, walk the path of the endless social struggle.

Almost 26 years after his death, César Chávez's struggle fortunately continues to be heard in many corners of the country, and in others he has wanted to be erased from the books of history.

The Mexican filmmaker Diego Luna, took to the American celluloid, part of the trajectory of Chávez. His film may be the first in its category, but it will never be compared to the 16-millimeter footage made during the farm workers movement. A movement that set the example of the style of struggle necessary in this country to achieve labor conquests, worthy of a human being.

They have named schools, avenues, schools, painted murals, remembering the farm workers struggle in California, which was known in the country, Europe and Latin America.

California celebrates every March 31, as a holiday in honor of César. It is still necessary to see when the country manages to have its National Farm workers Day honoring the memory of Chávez.

Cesar managed to open the eyes to a society that the food that one takes every day to the mouth, was harvested by someone who does not have enough to feed his children and less to support his family.

César said that the farm workers’ suffering is priceless, but he managed to make farmers give in to compensate for this suffering by improving working conditions and obtaining union benefits.

Cesar is no longer physically with us. He no longer leads the marches, nor the boycotts, nor the fight for immigration reform, nor against racism, and nacist statements by President Donald Trump. Instead, Cesar left us a method to follow, without violence. The slogan of ¡Sí Se Puede! It can be done! that was heard from the furrows of the countryside to the cities, it was heard around the world when the former President Obama used it extensively in his election campaign.

Obama, went to the site where César is buried, in La Paz, Keene, located in the mountains of Tehachapi, California, declaring the site as a National Park. Cesar died in Yuma, Arizona on April 23, 1993 at the age of 66. In 2019, he would be 92 years old.

His struggle should not be forgotten, it should be known in all corners of the country and also the fight should continue, since the farm workers that Cesar organized, and many are not with us either.

New generations of young labor arrive in the fields, in the factories, in the cities, from Latin America and other parts of the world. Some will pick up Cesar's conquests, others will unfortunately be exploited and humiliated by their bosses and discriminated against by the society that has always looked upon him with bad eyes. Now more because of the xenophobic and racist expressions of President Trump against Mexican and Central American migrants. But the teachings of what to do, and how to win, are already written, they simply have to be put into practice, both by the new wave of immigrants who make a pilgrimage to the United States and by the new agricultural workforce, as the new and future leaders of the United Farm Workers Union.

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