It鈥檚 tempting in Miami to blame the dominance of right-wing Spanish-language media 鈥� and its disinformation 鈥� on some intrinsic reactionary mania in the Cuban, Venezuelan and other Latino communities. But liberals and moderates who go that route can sound as narrow-minded as some of the talk-show hosts they decry at outlets like Radio Mamb铆.
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True, Mamb铆 (WAQI AM) is one of South Florida鈥檚 highest-rated radio stations because it perfected the art of McCarthyist mendacity long before Fox News ever hit cable. But Mamb铆鈥檚 had something else going for it: the fact that the Latin American left, especially in Cuba, so often can be as extremist as Mamb铆鈥檚 on-air personalities rant that it is. Unfortunately, that reality also helps them convince their listeners that anyone Mamb铆 decides is a 鈥�socialista鈥� 鈥� a Democratic presidential candidate, a critical journalist, a Black Lives Matter activist 鈥� is Fidel Castro in sheep鈥檚 clothing.
We鈥檙e reminded again this week, at the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, of how eagerly the Latin left services right-wing radio like Mamb铆 鈥� thanks to leftist-populist-narcissist Mexican President Andr茅s Manuel L贸pez Obrador, known as AMLO.
READ MORE:If Biden keeps the D铆az-Canels out of the summit, he should keep the D铆az-Balarts out, too
L贸pez Obrador is staying away from the summit President Biden is hosting. The reason: he鈥檚 protesting Biden鈥檚 eminently understandable decision not to invite the repressive left-wing dictatorships of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua to a gathering of hemispheric democracies. But while L贸pez Obrador wants you to think he鈥檚 a principled liberal, he looks instead like the sort of petulant lefty whose affronts help sell abogado de accidente ads on Miami radio.
For starters, L贸pez Obrador is declaring to the world that his jaded Che Guevara ideology matters more than the outrage of Cubans today being sentenced to one, two or even three decades in prison for merely protesting their communist government. Or that a fifth of Venezuela鈥檚 population has fled the country thanks to a socialist regime the U.N. has accused of crimes against humanity. Or that Daniel Ortega, Nicaragua鈥檚 own blood-stained leftist caudillo, 鈥渨on鈥� re-election last fall by tossing every one of his election opponents in jail for 鈥渢reason.鈥�
AMLO and the Latin American left are taking advantage of this week's Summit of the Americas to once again show us how eagerly they service right-wing radio like Miami's Mamb铆.
But here鈥檚 what else should make L贸pez Obrador the Halfwit of the Hemisphere award winner at the L.A. summit鈥檚 closing ceremonies: by promoting those three tyrannies, he鈥檚 also helping stoke the desperate migration that鈥檚 flowing out of or through them in unprecedented waves today, exacerbating an immigration crisis not only at the U.S. southern border but across the Americas.
That crisis, in fact, is arguably and rightly the most urgent item Biden鈥檚 etched into the summit agenda this week. And because Mexico, like the U.S., feels the brunt of it, L贸pez Obrador was supposed to be one of the heads of state leading plans to confront it.
THE BIG LIE
Instead, he鈥檚 sitting with his arms folded in Mexico City 鈥� and so are some other leftist leaders, including Honduran President Xiomara Castro, whose benighted country discharges its own mother lode of migrants. Meanwhile, they鈥檙e keeping call screeners at Mamb铆, La Poderosa, Actualidad and Miami鈥檚 other Spanish-language broadcasters working overtime.
All of which is why the mostly Democratic investors of the new Latino Media Network (LMN) 鈥� which surprisingly announced last Friday that it鈥檚 buying Radio Mamb铆 鈥� need to be scrutinizing L贸pez Obrador鈥檚 theatrics themselves.
It will, of course, be a welcome development if the new Mamb铆 that results from the sale shelves the extreme right-wing and sometimes racist programming that critics say so often devolves into disinformation and lies. Those include former President Trump鈥檚 Big Lie 鈥� a reminder that some in Miami's Spanish-language radio have done their own radicalizing part to undermine American democracy.
But if LMN wants to keep Mamb铆 a profitable concern 鈥� if it wants to be the long-term caretaker of a more mainstream, balanced and responsible Miami medium 鈥� the dumbest thing it could do is turn a Spanish-speaking Fox into a Spanish-speaking MSNBC. Into a voice that finally challenges the MAGA excesses of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis 鈥� who鈥檚 already got a new re-election ad out warning the Mamb铆 sale is part of a 鈥淢arxist scheme鈥� 鈥� but goes softball on the knee-jerk antics of the L贸pez Obradors in Latin America or left-wingers in the U.S.
Into a station that鈥檒l be up for sale again soon 鈥� because Miami will have changed the dial.
