Activists Warn of Misleading Campaigns to Discourage Latinos from Voting – With less than a month to go before the midterm elections on Nov. 8, Latino leaders are launching a campaign to identify and counter messages that are aimed at misinforming Latino voters. Organizers warn that there are shady interests that are spreading misleading messages, mainly on social networks, that try to confuse citizens and prevent them from voting. José López Zamorano brings us the details from Washington.
Recordings of Racist Comments Shake Up L.A.’s Political Establishment – Los Angeles is shaken by political upheaval because of a leaked audio recording in which three influential Latino City Council members can be heard making racist comments insulting African-Americans, Oaxacan Indians, gays, Jews, and Armenians. In the meeting, secretly recorded a year ago, the councilpersons were discussing the apportionment of the city’s political map and appear to be trying to dilute the strength of Black districts. Oaxacan academic Gaspar Rivera-Salgado spoke about the repercussions of this political debacle shaking the largest Latino-majority U.S. city in an interview with our news director, Samuel Orozco. You can listen to the full interview in the archives of Línea Abierta for October 12 at radiobilingue.org.
Abortion Rights and Electric Cars on the Ballot in California – Initiatives that will be put before voters in the California ballot this Nov. 8 include enshrining abortion as a right in the California state constitution and having the wealthy foot the bill to boost purchases of electric cars and help fight fires. These are just two of seven proposals. Ruben Tapia reports from Los Angeles on the pros and cons of these two proposals, which have sparked national interest.
