 One individual who knew Chavez in Delano suggested to the FBI that his activism was mobilised largely by the desire for personal gain.Bruns noted that Chavez's movement was "part of the fervor of change [in the United States] of the late 1960s", alongside the African-American civil rights movement and the campaign against the Vietnam War.Pawel referred to Chavez as "an improbable idol in an era of telegenic leaders and charismatic speakers".