Linea Abierta Programming: October 14, 2024

Special Election Coverage. This week, as part of our “Hacia el Voto 2024” series, Línea Abierta continues offering an expanded two-hour program block to offer news and analysis on the November election, with a focus on the Latino vote, the top issues driving the vote, key races in battleground states, and the most relevant state ballot propositions.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 14

PROGRAM #10546 11:00 AM PT

Indigenous Farming in the US. Hundreds of thousands of migrant workers have come from indigenous regions in Mexico to toil the fields in the US. Besides their labor, they bring with them their experience as farmers and their ancestral knowledge about the land, the crops and the environment. How can their traditional farming practices and techniques help US agriculture mitigate the ravages of climate change? How can those farming traditions help develop a sustainable food system? Is the US prepared to recognize the indigenous traditional knowledge of the migrant farm worker communities?

Guests: Dr. Bonnie Bade, Professor of Medical Anthropology, California State University-CSU at San Marcos, San Marcos, CA; Dr. Gaspar Rivera-Salgado, Professor of Work, Labor and Social Justice in the US at the University of California Los Angeles-UCLA, Los Angeles, CA.

Regenerative Farming: Tale of Two Towns. A social researcher tells the story of two towns. Located near Tulare Lake in California, Allensworth was the first community founded by formerly enslaved African Americans in California. Today, the mostly Latino and Black community is facing the impact of air, water and soil pollution and the damaging consequences of extractive, single-crop farming. Leaders in the community are now working on a plan to turn Allensworth into a hub for regenerative agriculture. Community activists in Firebaugh, another disadvantaged farming town in the same valley, are struggling to find support for revitalization zones, access to land for small farmers, pesticide-free zones around communities, and incentives for climate-smart transitions for small farmers. This is a special Indigenous People’s Day edition.

Guests: Dr. Ángel Fernández-Bou, Western States Senior Climate Scientist, Union of Concerned Scientists, Merced, CA; Jose Armando Munguia, Project Manager, Agriculture Enterprise Development, Los Angeles, CA.

PROGRAM #10547 12:00 PM PT

Chumash Marine Sanctuary. The US government is a step closer to designating a large area of more than 100 miles along California’s central coast as the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary, the third largest national marine sanctuary in the National Marine Sanctuary System. Advocates are also pushing for four other sites with indigenous leadership as national marine sanctuaries. This would help conserve and restore coastal lands and waters and contribute to environmental justice, they say. On National People’s Indigenous Day, political and tribal leaders reflect on the area that would become the first Tribally-nominated sanctuary in the United States.

Guests: Ruben Tapia, Reporter, Los Angeles, CA; US Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA), Washington, DC; US Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-CA), Washington, DC.

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15

PROGRAM #10548 11:00 AM PT

Disasters and Disinformation. When Hurricane Milton moved toward Florida’s west coast, a wave of misinformation about FEMA’s response and the role of climate change in fueling these disasters put Latino families at risk, since those families are bearing the brunt of climate disasters. Advocates warn that Latino communities are also vulnerable to the threat of politicization of disaster relief. How are Latino communities being impacted by extreme weather disasters and by false rumors? This and other stories are discussed in this edition.

Guests: Frances Colón, Senior Director for International Climate Policy, American Progress, Miami, FL; Felipe Sousa-Lazaballet, Executive Director, The Hope Community Center, Orlando, FL; Ana Navarro, Political analyst, republican strategist and television commentator, Miami, FL.

PROGRAM #10549 12:00 PM PT

Immigration Edition. Immigration Edition. Amid high expectation, the New Orleans Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held a hearing on DACA to consider the lawsuits against the DACA program (Texas v. United States) and the Biden-Harris Administration’s recently announced ‘Keeping Families Together’ process (Texas v. DHS.) Experts discuss the content of the lawsuits and the legal protections that are at stake. On other news, as two hurricanes hit Florida, presidential candidate Donald Trump amplified misinformation on the response to Hurricane Helene, claiming that the Federal Emergency Management Agency is running out of money because funds have been diverted to address migration. FEMA felt compelled to create a false “rumor response” page. This program also includes news about tonight’s debate in Texas between Ted Cruz and Colin Allred.

Guests: Adonías Arévalo, Spokesperson, Poder Latinx. Miami, FL; Keilly León, North Regional Organizer, Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition-CIRC, Denver, CO; Roberta S. Braga, Founder and Executive Director, Digital Democracy Institute of the Americas-DDIA, Washington, DC.

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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16

PROGRAM #10550 11:00 AM PT

Medicaid Losses Hit Immigrant Communities Hard. A new analysis found that Medicaid eligibility policies and practices in Colorado resulted in leaving tens of thousands of additional people in counties with larger immigrant shares of population losing Medicaid. Advocates conclude that as states worked to “unwind” Medicaid’s pandemic-era continuous coverage requirement, immigrant families are losing health care access and this is widening racial health disparities.

Guests: Esther Reyes, Campaign Strategist, Protecting Immigrant Families-PIF, Austin, TX; Nicole Cervera Loy, Policy and Campaigns Manager, Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition-CIRC, Denver, CO.

Fighting anti-immigrant hate in Aurora. Immigrant and civil rights groups in Aurora, Colorado, come together to make it clear that people in the state will stand up for shared values of caring for their neighbors and building a state where everyone can thrive, regardless of race, income or immigration status, despite efforts by extremists to spread hate and scapegoat immigrants.

Guest: Nicole Cervera Loy, Policy and Campaigns Manager, Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition-CIRC, Denver, CO.

PROGRAM #10551 12:00 PM PT

“The Texas Debate.” US Sen. Ted Cruz and his Democratic challenger Colin Allred, who are virtually tied in the race for the US Senate, are facing off in the first and only debate of the 2024 election. Airing three weeks before Election Day on WFAA, “The Texas Debate,” as it is called, is held in Dallas. This program features highlights of the debate, a news report on the first public reactions, and commentary from political analysts.

Guests: Mariana Pineda, Reporter, Houston, TX; Ray Mancera, National Vice President for the Southwest, League of United Latin American Citizens-LULAC, El Paso, TX; John Mckiernan-Gonzalez, Supple Professor of Southwest Studies, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX.

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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17

PROGRAM #10552 11:00 AM PT

“Voces: Latino Vote 2024.” As Republican and Democratic campaigns are courting Latino voters more aggressively and earlier than ever, the stakes for both parties are rising by the day. To delve into this scenario, public television broadcasters in California are launching a new documentary examining the priorities of diverse groups of the Latino electorate in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election. The film focuses on the key issues that will drive Latino voter turnout in some of the most hotly contested battleground states, including Arizona, a state that used to be a Republican stronghold and has transformed over the last decade. It also features Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, as well as efforts by both political parties to reach the Latino electorate in California and Florida.

Guest: Andres Cediel, Documentary Producer, PBS TV Network, Berkeley, CA.

Latino Voters Town Hall with Trump. The Spanish-language media corporation TelevisaUnivision is hosting a town hall in Miami with presidential candidate Donald Trump. Selected undecided Latino voters ask questions and the Republican candidate responds. Expected highlights include topics such as the economy, health care, immigration, and foreign policy. An expert fact checks the answers.

Guest: Samuel Orozco, News Director, Radio Bilingüe, Fresno, CA.

PROGRAM #10553 12:00 PM PT

Latinos in the Fishing Sector. Latinos have been known to consider fishing part of their cultural heritage and their participation in fishing activities has been growing in the US. But what’s their role in the US fishing sector? And what are the challenges they face in the US fisheries? What’s in the future of Latino fishing? Researchers provide new insights and discuss this matter.

Guests: Sofia Barboza, Ocean Manager, Hispanic Access Foundation, New York, NY; Ana Rojas, Conservation and Research Specialist, Miami-Dade County, Miami, FL; Dr. Camila Cáceres, Fisheries Scientist and Marine Biologist, San Francisco, CA.

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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 18

PROGRAM #10554 11:00 AM PT

Are Latino Voters Targeted by Misinformation? (Program Repeat). Many Latinos live in information deserts and much of the information they rely on and trust comes from Spanish-language radio and TV stations. But some of the shows on those stations have been found to broadcast false claims about crucial issues related to the elections. How widespread is misinformation in Spanish-language media? A journalist who investigated this story ahead of the 2024 election shares her findings. This and other topics are discussed in this repeat edition of the series “Hacia el Voto 2024.” This program was originally aired on October 10, 2024.

Guest: Paulina Velasco, Investigative Journalist, Feet in 2 Worlds, WNYC, in Collaboration with the NAHJ-National Association of Latino Journalists’s palabra (www.palabranahj.org), Los Angeles, CA.

Early Voting by Mail Begins in Arizona. Early voting for the general election began on October 9 in Arizona, when ballots were mailed to voters on the Active Early Voting List. An advocate explains the key races and bills that could have the greatest impact on Latino voters in the state.

Guest: Enrique Davis Mazlum, Arizona State Director, UnidosUS and UnidosUS Action Fund, Phoenix, AZ.

TPS Mobilization and Voter Engagement. As the November general election approaches, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) beneficiaries are gearing up for coordinated action to amplify their voices. The alliance is calling to mobilize communities and increase voter turnout, emphasizing that the outcome of this electoral process will have a profound impact on those currently protected by TPS and those fighting for TPS designations.

Guest: Gustavo Torres, Executive Director, Court Appointed Special Advocates-CASA, Washington, DC.

PROGRAM #10555 12:00 PM PT

Mexico Edition. The Mexican Congress has approved a new energy reform that seeks to strengthen PEMEX and CFE. The constitutional reform would return to Pemex and CFE the status of “public companies of the State.” It also says that “in no case” will private companies prevail over the state in various activities of the electric industry. Analysts explain the content of the plan and discuss the responsibility of the State in the energy transition and the fight against pollution.