FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 22, 2012

Contact: María de Jesús Gómez

(559) 455-5782, chuyag@radiobilingue.org

Radio Bilingüe broadcasts and webcasts citizen-sponsored Mexican presidential debate on Sunday, June 24th

Radio Bilingüe will broadcast and webcast tape-delayed the third Mexican presidential debate on Sunday, June 24^th, from 2 PM to 4 PM PDT. The debate took place in Mexico City’s Human Rights Commission office on June 19th, with participation of presidential candidates Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Josefina Vazquez Mota and Gabriel Quadri. Enrique Peña Nieto, candidate for the former ruling party PRI, declined to participate.

This historic debate was sponsored by the Yo Soy # 132 movement, a pro-democracy student movement that has been referred to as the Mexican Spring. The movement has been targeting the two broadcast media network giants Televisa and TV Azteca, urging for public access to the airwaves. This is the first time a presidential debate in Mexico is organized by citizens, without intervention of the election authorities. During this two-hour debate, candidates answer questions addressed by selected students and online visitors.

Radio Bilingüe will be broadcasting the third debate on a tape-delayed basis on Sunday, June 24^th from 2 PM to 4 PM PDT. The broadcast will also be streamed online on www.radiobilingue.org .

As part of its coverage of the Mexican presidential elections, Radio Bilingüe will continue offering news and analysis on Línea Abierta’s Mexico Edition on Fridays, as well as programs on the presidential candidates and the Mexican vote from abroad. The series will culminate with an extended three-hour coverage edition on Election Day, Sunday July 1st.

Radio Bilingüe is a national Latino-controlled non-commercial radio network and the prominent producer of Latino-oriented programming in public broadcasting.  Funds for Radio Bilingüe and Línea Abierta are provided in part by The Ford Foundation, The Open Society Foundation, The James Irvine Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, The California Endowment, the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund, The California Wellness Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.