Inside Cesar Chavez’s shocking ties to bloodthirsty cult

The backlash against the late California civil rights icon Cesar Chavez has been fierce and widespread since bombshell allegations revealed Wednesday that he sexually abused children.

His reputation and legacy, however, had already taken a controversial turn in the final decades before he died in 1993, making him erratic and paranoid.

In the mid-to-late 1970s, Chavez befriended Charles Dederich, who founded Synanon. The organization started as a drug rehabilitation program but transformed into what has been described as one of the “most dangerous and violent cults America had seen.”

Dederich created Syanon in Santa Monica to help those struggling with drug addiction, but at one point, it turned into a “lifetime rehabilitation program” as he proclaimed that full recovery was impossible.

In that stage, the cult engaged in weird practices such as “The Game,” which were daily, brutal sessions where members engaged in verbal attacks on each other to break down egos. The practice ended up being a coercive tool by Dederich that turned physically abusive.

Here’s the latest on the Cesar Chavez investigation fallout

Chavez admired Dederich and reportedly described him “a genius in terms of people.” He attempted to bring Synanon’s model into his labor union, including using elements of “The Game” in his union.

He moved the United Farm Workers headquarters to La Paz, California, where he asserted his will over other union leaders. He wanted to turn the group into an “intentional community,” said Matt Garcia, who wrote the book titled “From the Jaws of Victory: The Triumph and Tragedy of Cesar Chavez and the Farm Worker Movement.”

Chavez was suspicious of anyone who shared opposing views and purged members who questioned him, Garcia said.

“Chavez saw Synanon as an unqualified success story for the financial independence it had achieved and strict obedience Dederich inspired from his followers,” Garcia wrote in his book.

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His leadership style became aggressive and autocratic, according to another book that described such purges, titled “The Union of Their Dreams: Power, Hope, and Struggle in Cesar Chavez’s Farm Worker Movement.” Many loyal staff and dedicated volunteers left, eventually crippling the organization.

Despite how his management of United Farm Workers ended, Chavez still remained an admired figurehead for many in the political left.

As recently as last year, on Cesar Chavez Day, California Gov. Gavin Newsom proclaimed that “his legacy lives on in every fiber of our state’s agricultural fabric, ensuring equal protections for all workers.”

Since the new allegations that surfaced Wednesday, many Democrats including Newsom are reevaluating their statements. Newsom said his staff has been in discussions on renaming the holiday.

“None of us knew,” the governor said.