Cesar Chavez - A Latin American Revolutionary Leader

Essay One

Cesar Chavez was a Latin American Revolutionary Leader who was the union leader and organizer. What is the definition of Revolutionary leader? “A revolutionary person fearlessly advocates radical change. Revolutionary people and ideas challenge the status quo and might be violent or willing to upset the natural order to achieve their goals.” (“Revolutionary”) Cesar Chavez would be described as the definition of what a revolutionary leader is due to his beliefs and the actions it brought forth. Cesar Chavez took action to stand up for what was wrong and did what he believed that he could make a difference to help others. I believe that his story greatly relates to our reading in Eduardo Galeano’s ‘Open Veins of Latin America’ in how Eduardo makes sure to to let his readers know what has happened in the history of latin american countries and how they have also been taken advantage of when it comes producing in fields but not benefiting. Cesar Chavez made the issue regarding immigrant workers being treated in a way to be shown that it is a major crisis and something needed to be changed and not repeated in history again. Cesar Chavez was born in Yuma, Arizona but moved to California as a child and worked in the fields with his parents who were immigrant workers. “From his past experience in being a immigrant farm worker he founded the National Farmer Workers Association in 1962.

Chavez dedicated himself to making a difference for immigrant farm workers who were living in wretched migrant camps, corrupt labor contractors, meager wages for backbreaking work, bitter racism, and health risks. He wanted to help farmer workers by improving treatment, pay, and working conditions that farm workers were facing during that time.” (online source) He organized the UFW (United Farm Workers) union for people working in fields . Before Chavez workers had no restrooms, no breaks, given short racks/hoes which meant they had to bend over all day, were underpaid, and cheated. The way Cesar Chavez went about bring attention to the issue by non violent boycotts, hunger strikes, and marches against grape growers. He was one of greatest leader to me because his personal experiences in working in the fields gave him the power to stand up and make difference. Cesar Chavez gave his whole life to help people he did not know. Today in the United States we celebrate who he is every March 31st.

In our society we see Cesar Chavez has an organizer and leader and honored every March to be memorized for the many great things he did in our community. I believe today famers are grateful for leadership and rights that they are given. With what he has accomplished, I do feel that if it wasn't for him that farmer workers till this day would have been still being taken advantage of and mistreated.Cesar Chavez believed the best action to have a positive solution to issues is to “fight” in nonviolence. He believed that everyone should be treated equally regardless of race. He believed that not only humans but animals have rights as well. He then became a vegetarian when he came to the conclusion that animals felt scared, hungry, cold, and unhappy. Since the animals had the same feelings and expressions as humans the animals should be on equal footing and not treated as food. He believed that kindness and compassion for living creatures was a sign of a civilized society. Cesar believed that when we are nonviolent to all life we'd then understand how to live well ourselves.The reason why I think that the farm workers, without the work of Cesar Chavez and the organizations he helped establish, would have still currently be treated wrong to extent of the harsh conditions they lived in or the exposure to the health risk involved with agricultural farming is the need to provide for his or her family.

The amount of money the workers made, hard work, and racism being major challenges that caused difficulties that made the revolutionary start to the improved conditions that are now in effect. The challenges that farm workers and owners face today is that a majority of their workers are immigrants and what is happening in our society with our president has probably affected that quite a bit. The president has cracked down of immigration reforms which has cause some fear in the people working of being captured, placed in camps and then deported which has probably in my opinion would ultimately cause field owners to lose workers which causes the price of there product to go up. I do believe that if Cesar Chavez was still alive today he would be like Eduardo Galeano speaking on what is going on with latin american people and countries. Eduardo Galeano’s book to me relates to Cesar Chavez story in how he talks about how crop owners are doing the hard work but not benefiting from there work. The people that are benefiting are the third party who are selling the product for a better price.

The beginning of Galeanos book speaks strongly latin american he states “ It continues to exist at copper and meat, of fruit and coffee, the raw materials and foods destined for rich countries which profit more from consuming them than Latin American does from producing them.” What he means by is that laborers are workers specialized in losing an not benefiting to express how Latin American gets taken advantage. He makes sure to inform his readers all the things that has happened in history from beginning to end. Galeano is get relation to Cesar Chavez in how they both strongly want to express to the world the disadvantages that is happening and make people aware of the situation that is happening to be able to make a difference in history. They are both passionate and inspiring has a reader and Latin American Woman makes me want to make sure that i'm aware of what is happening and make a difference.

History can always be repeated but can be changed and is alway great to be aware of what has happen to learn an make sure it does not repeated but changed in correct ways. That's what Galeano express in his reading to be informed and make change.Cesar Chavez was a Mexican American farmer and activist who, along with a partners founded the National Farm Workers Association and The United Farm Workers . He strongly supported the Delano grape strike, initiated by a group of Filipino workers, who demanded for the higher wages, equal to the federal minimum wage. Cesar Chavez, along with the National Farm Workers Association, asked the general population to boycott table grapes to show support for their movement. This strike lasted five years and was even supported by Robert F. Kennedy, when he was a member of the Subcommittee on Migratory Labor. Cesar Chavez helped to improve the working and living conditions of farm workers regardless of race. He used a nonviolent approach, and spent the majority of his life improving conditions for laborers. For thirty years, Cesar Chavez steadfastly devoted himself to the problems of some of the poorest workers in America. The movement he inspired succeeded in raising salaries and improving working conditions for farm workers in California,Texas, Arizona and Florida.