[1][2] Published in both English and Spanish editions, El Malcriado provided a forum for migrant workers to criticize working conditions and served as a way to organize the collective voice of Mexican American farmworkers.
[2][3] The newspaper's contents ranged from articles on union activities, coverage of labor issues, political commentary, cartoons, satire, and artwork.
[6] Initially, copies were available for ten cents only at local grocery stores in Mexican American neighborhoods in the California Central Valley.
[5][8] Although the newspaper officially became a separate entity from the NFWA after Esher arrived as editor, El Malcriado still remained politically in line with the union's goals.
[5] El Malcriado helped spread news and boost morale for protesting farm workers during the Delano Grape Strike.
[13][3] Between 1966 and 1967, the paper's main audience expanded from farmworkers to a broader coalition of sympathizers in cities from the Bay Area to Los Angeles.
[5] Despite the change in national attitude towards the war, the AFL-CIO, the UFWOC, and many farm workers were largely pro-war and supported President Lyndon B.
[5] Chavez was strategically silent on the issue, and to avoid divisiveness, he urged Doug Adair and El Malcriado to remain neutral on the Vietnam War.
[5] Going against Chavez's orders, Doug Adair and the staff of El Malcriado openly expressed their opposition to U.S. involvement in Vietnam and criticized the draft.
[5][9] In 1968, El Malcriado was purchased by the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee, the new union, which combined the NFWA and AWOC, and consequently controlled much of the newspaper's content.
[9] After numerous revivals and cessations, Chavez began to gradually phase the newspaper out after 1971, as he believed it no longer served the movement's interests.
[15][8] For example, the newspaper helped expose a corrupt labor contractor named Jimmy Hronis, who was notorious for stealing wages from underpaid sugar beet workers.
[5] The magazine frequently depicted Don Sotaco, a misfortunate Mexican American farm worker, who was repeatedly exploited by his antagonistic boss, Patroncito.
[16] The Don Sotaco cartoons informed the newspaper's audience on issues affecting Mexican-American laborers and helped raise a sense of class consciousness.
[17] In one article, the newspaper compared a rent strike occurring in Tulare County to the efforts made by Civil Rights activists in Alabama and Mississippi.
[17] After the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., El Malcriado dedicated the entire April 15, 1968 edition to his legacy, highlighting his efforts in fighting for workers rights.