A key change in the fight against diabetes that can make a world of difference, and other stories you need to know

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1 topic to highlight: The political lag in California with Latinos

The political power of Latinos

 in California continues to be less than the weight of the Hispanic population, according to data and studies.

News push

: They are barely present on executive boards and state commissions, according to a study by the Latino Policy & Politics Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles.

• Only 18% of members are Latino, despite the fact that four out of 10 Californians are Hispanic.

  Non-Hispanic whites, who are 36.5% of the population, account for 48% of appointments.

• State boards and commissions determine budgets and regulation in the state, from prisons to agriculture. 

Why It Matters

: The latest Census shows that the Latino population has been on the rise across the country, and especially in areas where they hadn't had as much of a presence as North Dakota or Pennsylvania.

California, where they have long had a strong demographic presence, illustrates the challenges of achieving political parity.

In his own words

: "Boards and commissions are a path to political power," UCLA report co-author Paul Barragan-Monge told Axios Latino.

He added that Latinos need to be "activated" more at the community and group level to exercise more "intentionality" in their demands for positions of authority.

• The report proposes for this to require daily reviews of the demographic composition of the positions appointed by whoever is governor;

  seek that the same people are not always appointed again, and ask for proportional representation according to race/ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation.

Big picture

: 11% of California judges are Hispanic, according to the Judicial Council, compared to 64% who are non-Latino white.

California has not had a Latino governor since 1875, when Mexican-American Romualdo Pacheco served as interim governor.

• Senator Alex Padilla (Democrat) became just in January 2021 the state's first Latino US senator.

• California does have Latino representation on the state Supreme Court: Patricia Guerrero was nominated last week to be the court's first Latina presiding justice.

• 17 of the 53 state representatives in Congress identify as Hispanic, and the state assembly has been led since 2016 by Latino Anthony Rendon. 

2. A small change against diabetes

Latino, black, and Asian adults

 are more likely to have diabetes with lower body mass indexes than non-Hispanic white adults, but so far it's the white measure that's used to decide when to test and screen diabetes.

Doctors should lower the threshold for testing when it comes to other demographic groups, a new study says. 

Big picture

: The estimated rate of undiagnosed diabetes among Latino adults is 4.4%, compared to 2.7% among non-Hispanic whites, CDC data shows.

• For blacks and Asians, the rate is 4.7% and 5.4%, respectively.

Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios

What you should know

: National recommendations for when to screen for type 2 diabetes, which should begin regularly at age 35 if overweight or obese, primarily reflect studies with white participants, the researchers say.

• Instead of using a body mass index of 25 kg/m2 as the marker for testing, the authors recommend screening blacks and Hispanics from 18.5 kg/m2 and Asians from 20 kg/m2. m2.

In their own words

: "Repairing the health disparities of people in the United States with diabetes will require a variety of strategic investments in health care and efforts to reduce structural inequalities," author Rahul Aggarwal, associate cardiology, said in a statement. at Harvard.

• "Making screening more equitable is a good starting point," he added.

Current situation

: Insulin, a key to treating diabetes, has doubled in cost in recent years, making it particularly unaffordable for people of Black, Latino, Asian descent or Native American descent because they are less likely to have health insurance give them cover.

• Earlier this month, Senate Republicans blocked a provision in the Inflation Reduction Act that would have capped prices for people with private insurance. 

• About 14% of people who need insulin injections to control their blood sugar levels spend "catastrophic" amounts of their income on them, according to a study.

3. Battle against misinformation on YouTube

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus campaign group is turning to YouTube amid growing concerns from Democrats about misinformation against Latinos.

News Momentum

: Bold PAC is producing videos for a new YouTube channel.

The actress Gabriela Fresquez was recruited to present the series 

in English/Spanglish, and all his videos are also summarized in Spanish "so that he can show them to Uncle Jorge who always says barbaric things," according to the hosts of the Spanish-speaking version.

• The first video, published last week, focuses on economic issues.

  Others will address gun violence, education and access to health care.

The data

: Democrats and Republicans seek to appeal to the Latino vote ahead of the midterm elections in November;

polls indicate that Hispanics have shifted their political preferences slightly to the right.

Shoshana Gordon/Axios

• Some Democrats said part of their motivation for creating the videos is that their internal polling shows Latino voters don't credit President Joe Biden or the Democratic Party for gains in the economy and jobs.

Big Picture

: Democrats say they are focused on disinformation in four battlegrounds this November: Texas, Florida, New Mexico and Arizona.

• The most popular websites and apps among Latinos, like WhatsApp and YouTube, often attract the wrong information — and make it easier to share, according to a Nielsen report.

In her own words

: “Republicans have been targeting our community for some time with a lot of misinformation and lies,” Bold PAC executive director Victoria McGroary told Axios. “Over time, if the lies are not checked, at some point people really start to believe them,” he added.

4. Accusation against the tenor Placido Domingo

As part of the investigation in Argentina against the Yoga School of Buenos Aires, which according to the authorities was a front for a sex trafficking network, audios were leaked this Wednesday that seem to indicate that the Spanish tenor Plácido Domingo contracted services with the network .

In figures

: Argentine authorities carried out 50 raids on Sunday as part of the investigation, in which they obtained audios made by the yoga group, according to Argentine media.

• 19 people were arrested and 37 properties seized.

• The voice in one of the audios – taken on an undisclosed date – is attributed by the authorities to Domingo, 81, who allegedly organizes a date with a young woman identified as Mendy.

  In the recording, the man's voice tells Mendy how to get to her hotel and how to avoid security personnel.

• In another audio, the woman tells the leader of the sex trafficking network, Juan Percowicz, that she has an appointment with "Plácido".

They filter audios that link Plácido Domingo with the Villa Crespo sect, a sex trafficking network

Aug. 18, 202201:03

Backstory

: Domingo faces allegations of misconduct throughout his career.

In 2020, an investigation by the American union representing opera artists accused him of sexual harassment of 27 women when he held directing positions at the Washington and Los Angeles National Operas.

• Domingo resigned from his position at the Los Angeles Opera and withdrew from performances at the Met Opera in New York following the revelations.

• Although representatives of Domingo have denied the allegations of harassment.

  So far they have not ruled on the accusations in Argentina.

5. Summary of key news in Latin America and the Caribbean

1. Cuba will allow foreign investment

 in wholesale and retail businesses for the first time since 1969.

The shelves of a pharmacy in Havana, in July 2021Natalia Favre/Bloomberg via Getty Images

• The regime is trying to remedy drug and food shortages amid an economic crisis aggravated by the pandemic.

• Until now, foreign investment was only allowed for production, and state-owned companies were the only ones that could sell essential goods.

2. There are already 14 Mexican journalists murdered

this year.

• The body of Juan Arjón López was found on Tuesday after the man from Sonora was reported missing a week ago.

• Arjón López directed a security blog and citizen complaints in San Luis Río Colorado, on the border with Arizona.

• So far this year, the same number of journalists have been killed in Mexico, one of the deadliest places in the world for reporters, as in the previous two years combined, according to the defense organization Article 19.

Pachanga Thursday

Congratulations to Maria Pacheco!

Our reader tells us

that in September she celebrates her first anniversary running Storyful, a news and intelligence agency founded by journalists.

Axis chart.

Photo courtesy of Maria Pacheco

He previously helped run News Corp.

Thanks for following Axios Latino!

We will be back on Tuesday.

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