Linea Abierta Programming: January 6, 2025

Happy New Year to all!

MONDAY, JANUARY 6

PROGRAM #10645 12:00 PM PT

Mike Johnson re-elected as speaker of House of Representatives. Republican Mike Johnson was re-elected speaker of the House of Representatives, beating out far-right members of the Republican Party and boosted by support from President-elect Donald Trump. This and other news of the day is reported in this program.

Guest: José López Zamorano, News Rerpoter, Washington, DC.

Cuba Braces for Trump’s Return. Cuba has been under US economic sanctions for more than 60 years. The blockade may now get worse, after US Sen. Marco Rubio, a champion of the embargo, is about to become Secretary of State under Donald Trump. Political analysts comment about this as well as the meaning of Cuba joining this week the BRICS alliance. And, after the recent passing of President Jimmy Carter, they also reflect on the impact of his foreign affairs policy towards Cuba and his post-presidency efforts to bring the two countries together.

Guest: Dr. Uriel Ramirez, Founder, Pan American Medical Association-PANA, Promoter of the humanitarian aid caravan to Cuba January 13th, Los Ángeles, CA.

Massive Blackout Hits Puerto Rico. Nearly all of Puerto Rico was left without power on New Year’s Eve. This collapse of the power grid brought memories of the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. Why is Puerto Rico’s electricity system so unreliable? Who is the company running the electric power system?

Guest: María Cristina Muñoz Vega, Journalist, San Juan, PR.

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TUESDAY, JANUARY 7

PROGRAM #10646 11:00 AM PT

Extra Edition: Radio Educacion at 100. (Program Repeat). On the 100th anniversary of Radio Educación, Mexico’s premier public radio station, leading figures of the radio’s news services discuss the importance of public media in Mexico and the critical role audiences play in shaping its programming content. They also talk about the challenges ahead to continue airing voices that are often hardly heard in the media and recount their experience in the cross-border collaboration with Radio Bilingüe. This program was originally aired on December 26, 2024.

Guests: Manuel Bobadilla, Deputy News Director, Radio Educación; Lenica Avila, News Anchor and Producer, Pulso Newscast, Radio Educación; Graciela Ramirez, Producer, “El Fin Justifica los Medios,” Radio Educación, Mexico City, MX.

PROGRAM #10647 12:00 PM PT

Immigration Edition. Mexico is testing a cellphone app that will allow migrants to send alerts warning relatives and Mexican consulates if they are about to be detained and deported. The measure is in response to President-elect Trump’s threats to carry out mass deportations. How will the app work? In more news: Schools and colleges around the country are preparing to support undocumented students and their families who live in fear in the face of threats of mass deportation. Some school leaders have released statements reassuring students and promising they will not share student data with federal agencies. What are school leaders doing to prepare to respond to mass deportation plans? Finally, advocates say immigrant families are afraid the new Trump administration will use financial aid data that was submitted to the US Department of Education. Are these fears founded?

Guests: Valeria Solorio, Consul for Protection and Legal Affairs, Consulate of Mexico in Fresno, Fresno, CA; Julia Barajas, Community Colleges Reporter, Southern California Public Radio-SCPR / LAist.com, Los Angeles, CA.

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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8

PROGRAM #10648 12:00 PM PT

Fire and Evacuations in the Los Angeles Area. California firefighters are battling high winds and the four fires they spawned: the Hurts, Woodley, Palisades and Eaton fires. Flames from the fire were generated Tuesday, increasing rapidly with high Santa Ana winds and leaving behind at least two deaths, dozens injured, thousands of residents evacuated from their homes and thousands of acres and buildings burned.

Guests: Ruben Tapia, Reporter/Producer, Los Angeles, CA; Alejandro Maciel, Reporter, Los Angeles, CA.

Children in Gaza. Children continue dying and being displaced in gruesome numbers after the Israeli army continues to raid and bomb Gaza, including hospitals and refugee camps. The United Nations calls the toll on children “catastrophic.” What’s happening in Gaza? What are the living conditions of the population? What’s the state of the ceasefire talks? What to expect from the last days of the Biden administration and the first days of the Trump presidency?

Guests: Medea Benjamin, Co-founder, Codepink, Washington, DC; Pietro Ameglio, Peace activist, Professor, Faculty of Philosophy and Letters, National Autonomous University of Mexico-UNAM, Mexico City, MX; Gilberto Conde, Professor, Center for Asian and African Studies, El Colegio de México, Mexico City, MX.

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 9

PROGRAM #10649 11:00 AM PT

Extra Edition: New Laws in California. A number of new laws are taking effect in California on 2025. Reporters give an overview on some of the most prominent laws, including a new law that will help more doctors from Mexico practice in California; another one targeting retail crime and property theft, including shoplifting, car break-ins and smash-and-grab robberies, and one more that could help tenants facing eviction stay in their homes. In addition, a measure would block medical debt from affecting credit scores, and a new voter ID law will ban local governments from compelling voters to show ID to cast a ballot in an election. These and other laws are examined in this edition.

Guests: Araceli Martinez, Reporter, Los Angeles, CA; Christian De Jesús Betancourt, Bilingual Community Issues Reporter, The Merced Focus/El Enfoque de Merced, Merced, CA; Ana Ibarra, Health Reporter, CalMatters, Sacramento, CA; Felicia Mello, California Divide Reporter, CalMatters, Sacramento, CA.

PROGRAM #10650 12:00 PM PT

The Calls on Biden to Free Peltier. Members of Congress and human rights organizations are renewing their call on President Biden to grant Leonard Peltier clemency before leaving office.  Peltier is a renowned Native American rights activist who has been in prison for nearly 50 years despite being convicted in a controversial trial.

Guest: Dr. Alfredo Cuéllar, Retired Professor of Education, Consultant, Fresno, CA.

The Fentanyl Blame Game. After a leading US newspaper ran a story from an alleged fentanyl lab in the Mexican state of Sinaloa, Mexico’s President Sheinbaum questioned the credibility of the news reporting. An intense exchange of cross-border accusations has inundated the court of public opinion, many pointing to the little-scrutinized US role in the trafficking of fentanyl, including the role of US banks in fentanyl’s money laundering scheme. A journalist that has investigated the networks of drug trafficking in the US examines the issue.

Guest: Jesús García, Reporter and Editor for Politics, Immigration and National Affairs, La Opinión/El Diario, Nueva York, NY.

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FRIDAY, JANUARY 10

PROGRAM #10651 12:00 PM PT

Mexico Edition. A USMCA panel ruled against Mexico in the GM corn case, claiming that Mexico’s ban is not based on science and undermines market access agreed in the USMCA. In response, Mexican President Sheinbaum highlighted corn’s cultural and biological heritage relevance, the risks it faces due to the transgenic varieties, and pushed for legislation to prohibit the growing of transgenic corn in the country. “Without corn, there is no country,” she said. Experts discuss the next steps.

Guest: Mercedes López, Director, Vía Orgánica, Representative of the Maize Collective Demand, Member of the national campaign “Without Maize There is No Country”, Mexico City, MX; excerpts from recent statements by Mexico’s President, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo.