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Axios Latino summarizes the key news for Latino communities in the hemisphere;
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You will always find it in Spanish on Noticias Telemundo.
1 theme to highlight: Criticism for changing the station on the radio
Cuban-American congressmen are criticizing the recent purchase of several Spanish-language radio stations in the United States, such as Radio MambĂ in Miami, by a media group led by women who were part of Democratic political campaigns.
Why it matters:
The purchase of the 18 radio stations, announced in early June, is one of the largest acquisitions of its kind by a company with Latino directors (the company is called Latino Media Network).
Given the number of stations and that until now they were more conservative, the adjustment could generate transformations in how people from coast to coast access certain types of media.
News push
: The communications regulator (FCC) has yet to give the go-ahead for the acquisition.
The senators and representatives of Cuban descent who oppose it sent a letter to the commission, arguing that the group that wants to buy those radio stations "is run by partisan operators with zero experience in radio broadcasts" so, according to them, it will seek to silence certain Political Views.
Marco Rubio, Republican senator from FloridaAnna Rose Layden-Pool/Getty Images
If the acquisition goes through, the Latino Media Network "will exert virtually unchecked influence over nearly a third of Hispanics in the country," they said.
Among those who signed are Florida Senator Marco Rubio and Republican representatives from that state Carlos GimĂ©nez, MarĂa Elvira Salazar and Mario Diaz-Balart.
Part of the controversy revolves around Radio MambĂ, 710 AM, which is very popular among Cuban exiles in Miami.
The station has been accused in the last year of spreading disinformation about the assault on the Capitol.
FCC chief Will Wiquist declined to respond to requests
for comment from Axios Latino.
For its part, the Latino Media Network indicated that they have a "commitment to freedoms in all instances, a concept that we know is very close and appreciated by the many communities of Miami, whether they are Cuban, Colombian, Haitian, Venezuelan, Nicaraguan and other people. ".
Background
: Latina activists and businesswomen Jess Morales Rocketto and Stephanie Valencia raised $80 million to launch the Latino Media Network.
Valencia was an aide to former President Barack Obama, and Morales Rocketto worked for various non-profit associations and participated in Democratic campaigns.
The 18 stations that the Latino Media Network is seeking to buy are scattered throughout cities such as Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Houston, Chicago, San Antonio and Las Vegas.
2. High health risk in exchange for money
Many Latinos—including migrants, both legal and undocumented—participate in clinical trials because they are offered money in exchange, but say they are not properly warned about the risks, and an investigation by Noticias Telemundo shows that many of the private clinics that conduct clinical trials studies lack sufficient supervision.
Several of the 14,000 clinics conducting phase 1 trials, which test possible new treatments in healthy participants, are not reviewed often enough, specialists say.
Still, out of financial necessity, many of the immigrants exposed in the studies end up being frequent participants, possibly creating health sequelae.
Many Latinos time and again participate in clinical trials for money.
They do not always explain the risks
June 14, 202200:48
What is happening
: Migrants who have been part of these trials report that they now have health problems that the informed consent forms did not make clear could happen, according to the investigation by Noticias Telemundo.
The family of MarĂa Elisa Rangel next to her tombAna M. RodrĂguez/Noticias Telemundo
One woman, MarĂa Elisa Rangel, died in 2015 from an adverse reaction related to a drug she was participating in phase 1 trials on.
The clinic that conducted the tests and the pharmaceutical company that developed the drug reached a legal settlement with Rangel's family in March, after the family sued in 2016 alleging that they were not told that such a reaction was a possible risk when signed up for the tests.
An immigrant woman told Telemundo that, in 2017, a clinical trial in which she participated changed the rules in the middle of the process: according to the woman, the clinic adjusted the informed consent form, which according to her many felt forced to sign under threat that if not they were not paid.
The clinic then doubled the dose the participants received and several fell ill, the interviewee said.
Several experts pointed out that clinics often publicize the amount of money they will pay participants over details about what they will be subjected to.
Clinics pay an average of $250 per day per study, although in some cases the amount reaches up to $19,000 for the entire clinical protocol.
Overview
: Phase 1 trials are key to reviewing what doses of a possible drug are safe and what adverse effects may occur, before moving on to the following phases where it is already reviewed if the drugs are effective.
But specialists told Noticias Telemundo that the branch of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that audits clinics has few staff and therefore often does not detect some suspicious practices.
An investigation by the journal
Science
in 2020 also found that the FDA has lax oversight of clinical trials.
At the time, the FDA said it intended to focus its reviews on "high-risk facilities."
Studies show that Latinos tend to be overrepresented in phase 1 trials. In contrast, they have little participation in later phase studies, when the efficacy of drugs and new therapies is tested in patients with diseases that may benefit from it.
3. And Hispanics in science?
Latinos say the key to improving
Hispanic participation in science lies in having more role models from scientists, as well as students and teachers from STEM fields, according to a Pew Research Center report released Tuesday.
The survey found that nearly 30% of Latinos in the United States see the scientific field as not very open to people of Hispanic origins, which could hinder efforts to diversify the field.
Big
picture : Latinos make up 17% of all workers in the United States, but only 8% of people in the science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) field.
The percentage of Latino college students earning a bachelor's degree in a STEM field increased from 8% in 2010 to 12% in 2018, according to the latest data available.
[This Honduran scientist developed a COVID-19 vaccine in a Texas hospital: she was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize]
In numbers
: Only 26% of Latinos surveyed by Pew feel that scientists, as a profession, are welcoming to Hispanics.
81% of those surveyed said Hispanic youth would be more likely to pursue STEM degrees if they saw more examples of Hispanic high achievers in the field.
75% said there would be more Latinos in STEM if affordable colleges had already admitted Latino students to that field.
In her own words
: Erika Tatiana Camacho, a professor of applied mathematics at Arizona State University, told Axios Latino that educating more parents about STEM and the jobs it offers could help attract more Latino students.
Camacho is a program director at the National Science Foundation, which is promoting new programs at institutions focused on Hispanic populations (that is, colleges that serve at least 25% full-time Hispanic students) to foster a culturally appropriate perspective for Latinos when teaching STEM subjects.
4. Empowering Hispanic LGBTQ+ People
The Hispanic Federation, a leading non-profit organization dedicated to Latino communities in the US, announced Tuesday a new initiative called Advance Change Together.
With it, he will allocate one million dollars to various groups dedicated to the well-being of LGBTQ+ people of Latino origin.
Why It Matters
: More Latino youth identify as LGBTQ+ than any other demographic in America today.
In contrast, several conservative politicians have pushed for anti-gay and transgender rights measures.
It is therefore of the utmost importance that more organizations address LGBTQ+ issues as matters of relevance to Latinos, and vice versa, Frankie Miranda, president of the Hispanic Federation, told Axios Latino.
Details
: The Hispanic Federation will dole out between $25,000 and $50,000 to each of some twenty organizations focused on the rights and well-being of Hispanic LGBTQ+ people.
Miranda says these groups are in dire need of funds.
Jose Cabezas/AFP / via Getty Images
The objective is to strengthen the agenda, tools and resources of the organizations, as well as to promote a collective way of fighting harmful laws and measures.
The initial investment will be for two years, in hopes of attracting more funders and other groups that may benefit from keeping it going, the Hispanic Federation said.
The ACT initiative also has the support of figures such as Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ricky Martin, actress MJ RodrĂguez (Emmy nominee) and
drag
artist Valentina.
It was announced in Orlando on
Tuesday, following the sixth anniversary of the Pulse nightclub shooting that killed 49 people.
It is the deadliest attack against the LGBTQ+ community in the country.
In his own words
: Frankie Miranda, who claims to be the Hispanic Federation's first gay president, said the Supreme Court's possible reversal of abortion rights "could open the door to attacking LGBTQ rights."
“As
Latinx
LGBTQ individuals, how can we contribute to this fight?” he said, explaining the motivation behind the ACT initiative.
Beyond
: Other organizations working to advance LGBTQ+ rights have begun to expand to have a better reach among Latino people.
The Trevor Project, a group with crisis intervention and suicide prevention programs for LGBTQ+ youth, recently announced that it will begin offering more services in Spanish and will expand its helpline to Mexico City.
5. Summary of key news in Latin America and the Caribbean
1. Indigenous groups in Ecuador
began a road blockade on Monday to protest mining developments and rising gasoline prices.
The leader of the commission organizing the protest, Leonidas Iza, was arrested in the early hours of Tuesday.
But the protesters say they plan to continue protesting indefinitely until the government of Guillermo Lasso passes policies to ease the effects of inflation on their mostly impoverished communities.
Women from the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador participate in a strike with roadblocks on June 13 Cristina Vega Rohr/AFP / via Getty Images
2. The Cuban regime reported that 381 people
have been sentenced so far for the massive protests almost a year ago, one of its first revelations about the secret trials.
Advocacy groups had previously put the number of people jailed and convicted at around 560.
Most of the convictions are on charges of sedition and sabotage, with prison sentences of between 5 and 25 years, the island's attorney general's office said yesterday.
6. Exercising the other senses
The members of a photography workshop for people with blindness in Mexico City have had such a good turnout that they are about to complete their second year of activities.
Behind the photo: David is blind and this is how his other senses allow him to be a photographer
May 16, 202201:50
More Details
: Classes are offered once a week.
In the workshop photography tips are given to people with visual disabilities.
For example, how the sun feels on their hand affects how the light will look in a photo and how they can compose the image.
The students practice with a dark box camera, just like in the old days.
That makes it easy to feel the trigger and gauge distances by how the sound echoes off the snare.
When they get used to it, they start using handheld cameras.
The classes are taught by the photojournalist JesĂşs Villaseca and are free through the Pohualizcalli Community Film and Photography School community center, located in the Iztapalapa district, in eastern Mexico City.
Thank you for reading!
We will be back on Thursday.
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