MRC Latino director Jorge Bonilla says George Soros, Jill Biden have put a spotlight on Hispanic conservatives
Radio Mambi saw an exodus of staffers as Hispanic journalists forced coverage of the first lady’s ‘taco’ gaffe.
Hispanic journalists have been at the forefront of the media industry this week as Miami’s iconic conservative, Spanish-language radio station saw an exodus of on-air talent who refuse to work for a liberal group backed by billionaire George Soros.
As conservative radio hosts walked away from their jobs out of principal, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists forced an apology from first lady Jill Biden for her now-infamous "tacos" remark, but the newfound spotlight on Latinos will force media organizations to attack them "more than ever" ahead of upcoming elections, according to a prominent watchdog.
"We saw Hispanic conservatives drive two stories in the media, not just one, because we're talking about Radio Mambi and about the mass exodus of Radio Mambi. But we're also talking about Tacogate, which was happening simultaneously," Media Research Center Latino director Jorge Bonilla told Fox News Digital.
Conservative hosts Nelson Rubio, Dania Alexandrino, and Lourdes Ubieta have all fled Radio Mambi before the Soros-linked liberal group takes control and proceeds with its plan to put staffers of former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama in charge of the operation.
Former Radio Mambi hosts Nelson Rubio and Dania Alexandrino left the station instead of working for a group linked to liberal billionaire George Soros. (Americano Media )
"I don't agree with, nor do I share the ideology of the group of purchased Radio Mambi… very simply, George Soros represents the extreme left," Rubio told Fox News Digital through a translator, while Alexandrino and Ubieta expressed similar views.
"I would never cut a deal with these people," Ubieta told Fox News Digital. "Never, never, never."
The looming ownership change at Radio Mambi – along with 17 other talk radio stations across America – has already upended the Spanish-language talk radio industry. After quitting Radio Mambi, Rubio, Alexandrino and Ubieta all agreed to deals with Americano Media, a recently launched conservative news organization that has been aggressively pursuing personalities who refuse to work for the Soros-backed group. Americano Media held a press conference in Miami on Tuesday to formally announce the programming changes.
"The purchase of Mambi by Soros indicated to us that the left is trying to silence truth and the conservative narrative, and we offered an opportunity to these great hosts and talent to come to Americano and continue their work," Americano founder and CEO Ivan Garcia-Hidalgo said.
As the press conference in Miami was set to kick off, Jill Biden’s press secretary Michael LaRosa tweeted the first lady’s apology for the viral "breakfast tacos" comment she made a day prior during her speech at the 2022 UnidosUS Annual Conference, while talking about UnidosUS President Raul Yzaguirre’s work in the organization.
Bonilla believes that the breakfast taco story would have been viral anyway, but the pressure from the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) forced mainstream organizations to cover the gaffe.
"It would have run on conservative media. It would have been, as it was, the subject of memes, and it would have been a goof. But the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, in my opinion, in my assessment, pushed the story to the moon when they said in the statement, ‘We are not tacos,' and encouraged the Biden administration and their speechwriters to, you know, to be more culturally competent and to think about how they speak to the community in so many words," Bonilla said.
"That's what pushed the story to the moon. Because legacy media, corporate media will blow off conservatives all day, every day. And they will hold off on publishing items that are unfavorable to the Biden administration, as we've seen with Hunter Biden's laptop. But when it's their own colleagues telling them, ‘Hey, this is bad,’ and when it's their own colleagues saying this is a problem… they cannot turn their eyes away from that, and they have to cover the story, even if it's adverse to the Biden administration, even if it makes them look bad, which is why we saw this story go beyond the right," Bonilla continued.
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Conservative radio star Lourdes Ubieta quit Miami’s iconic, Spanish-language conservative talk station Radio Mambi after of a looming sale to a group of powerful liberals. (Lourdes Ubieta )
As for conservative hosts walking away from Radio Mambi before the looming sale, Bonilla feels it’s "hard to quantify" how significant the shakeup is to Spanish-speaking conservatives.
"These are significant talents at Radio Mambi, three conservative talents who decided that they did not want to work for a Soros-backed venture… It was their own sense that they did not want to betray the Cuban-American community and more broadly, the Hispanic conservative community that is served by Radio Mambi, both in South Florida and beyond through the app. So they came to this decision that they were going to leave Radio Mambi, and it's a huge blow," Bonilla said.
Radio Mambi would be controlled by a powerful group of Soros-backed liberals if the $60 million deal is approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
The formation of the Latino Media Network, a new network set to be made up of 18 Hispanic radio stations including Radio Mambi, was partially financed by Lakestar Finance, an investment group affiliated with Soros Fund Management. The stations, currently owned by Univision, would be controlled by Jess Morales Rocketto, a former Hillary for America and AFL-CIO employee, and Stephanie Valencia, a former Obama White House staffer, if the venture receives FCC approval. However, many believe that the 17 other stations are small potatoes compared to Radio Mambi, which is historically linked to the Cuban exile community and offers an anti-communism view.
"Univision was counting on offering Radio Mambi to the Latino Media Network as sort of this one productive radio station… the crown jewel of this transaction," Bonilla said. "The $60 million transaction is predicated on there being a profitable Radio Mambi, it secures ratings. But we have now is that you have talent leaving the station, publicly refusing to accept Univision's terms."
Bonilla feels advertising will eventually take a hit because of the departure of three popular hosts, and Univision is in an "uncomfortable" situation as a result.
"It's going to be very painful for Univision and for the Latino Media Network going forward," Bonilla said, adding that the deal will likely go through anyway. He feels the looming takeover has a specific, strategic purpose as influential liberals are set to control Miami's "mainstay of the right" in addition to Spanish-language stations in other major markets, including New York, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Antonio.
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Valencia traveled to Miami last month to help ease tensions when furious Radio Mambi staffers panicked after word of their new management spread throughout the company. During the meeting, the former Obama aide claimed "nothing will change" at Radio Mambi, but employees did not buy it and many believe the Soros-linked group plans to impact the 2024 presidential election.
Florida's shift to the right in the past two presidential elections has mirrored an increase in Latino support for Republicans – former President Donald Trump comfortably carried Florida in 2020 over President Joe Biden, in part by making major gains in Miami-Dade County with increased support from Cuban-Americans.
"There always is the possibility that the Latino Media Network could back out of the transaction because of the exodus of talent and potential exodus of advertisers and then other back, back, back office staff. There's always that potential, that possibility. I don't think it is likely, that's just my personal assessment, because there is so much invested into this deal at this point," Bonilla said.
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"This is a political project, and the political project is probably not going to stop just because they encountered some bumps in Miami… remember the Hispanic exodus from the Republican Party is a national exodus. It's not just in Florida," he continued. "It's happening everywhere. So there is an intent and there's a desire to stop the bleeding, if you will. And to pump liberal messaging out to Hispanics all over the nation through the radio waves."
Univision and Valencia did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Alexandrino told Fox News Digital that "Latinos are fed up" and feels many Hispanics are offended that a far-left group would even attempt to push liberal talking points on them. However, as more liberal news organizations attempt to control the narrative, more voters will distance themselves from the Democratic Party.
"They are moving towards the right. They're moving towards the Republican Party. So [liberals] are going to be desperately attempting to control the narrative and to control the information, because they think people are stupid. They think Latinos cannot think on their own," Alexandrino said. "They think Hispanics are not able to think on their own, and they need to be fed the information that they want Hispanics to understand. To me, it’s an insult to the capacity, to the intellect and to the education of the Hispanic audience."
As a result of the recent news cycles surrounding Soros and Jill Biden, Bonilla expects a broader conversation about Hispanic conservatives in both media and American culture – which is not necessarily a positive development.
A group bankrolled by liberal billionaire George Soros is set to purchase 18 Hispanic radio stations across 10 different markets in the United States. (Simon Dawson/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
"You're going to see conservative Hispanics in media outlets being attacked more than ever as disinformers, as spreaders of disinformation… and you can see disinformation being dumbed down to things that the left does not like or is scared of, for purposes of smearing these conservatives and for purposes of smearing these outlets, it's already underway," he said, pointing to recent CNN and New York Times pieces attacking newly elected Rep. Mayra Flores, R-Texas, who is the first Republican Latina ever elected to Congress from Texas. She is also the first female Mexican-born member of the House of Representatives.
Last week, the Times referred to Flores as a "far-right Latina," in an article that focused on Flores and the two other Texas Latina GOP candidates' faith, pro-life views, support for stronger border security, and former President Trump. The paper also noted Flores would not say if President Biden was legitimately elected president and has shared QAnon hashtags; she has responded that she does not support the latter conspiracy theory and only used the hashtag to "reach more people."
The article referred to these views as "far-right," and suggested they are shared by the "extreme" wing of the Republican Party.
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CNN then published an opinion piece that criticized Flores and other Republican Latinas from South Texas, Monica De La Cruz and Cassy Garcia, in a piece headlined, "These GOP Latina candidates are not the ‘real deal.’"
"That’s going to continue, and it’s going to intensify," Bonilla said. "You’re going to see that effort to tar and smear conservative Hispanics as disinformers, you’re going to see that intensify… expect more of that racial delegitimization ahead of the midterms and then beyond."
Fox News’ Joseph A. Wulfsohn and Houston Keene contributed this report.
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