Veteran Univision anchor Jorge Ramos used to be fond of saying that as a journalist, he limited himself to only taking sides on matters of transcendental importance, such as standing in firm opposition to corruption, dictatorships, racism and violations of human rights.
But around election time, Ramos’s side-taking tends to get much more specific, and 2018 is no exception. In a recent column, Ramos makes it clear that he aspires for the future of the United States to be “in the hands of leaders from the #MeToo movement, the Parkland survivors, the Dreamers — or activists from the LatinX, LGBTQI and environmental groups.”
In Ramos’s view, “the moral clarity” of the aforementioned leaders is “refreshing” and preferable to what he calls “the ethical mess that Trump and some of his followers have created since his election.” Ramos revealed that he was inspired to pen the column following a recent visit to his favorite city in the U.S., Los Angeles, in his favorite state, California, which he routinely extols as the precursor of what he wants the U.S. to become.
There are telling differences between the English and Spanish version of his columns, with, as usual, the Spanish version including much more radical wording than the English version, which is often significantly toned down.
For example, in Spanish Ramos hails Los Angeles without qualification as “a liberal, pro-immigrant, anti-Trump bastion, in which resistance to the government in Washington is a way of life and source of pride.” That description stands in sharp contrast to the city and state from which he anchors Univision’s newscasts: Miami, Florida.
Perhaps most disturbingly, in the Spanish version Ramos extols the Los Angeles Police Department for “perfectly understanding that it gains nothing from acting like immigration agents.” The full sentence is quite different in his official English version, which more circumspectly describes Los Angeles as “for the most part a liberal, pro-immigrant, anti-Trump stronghold – where resistance to Washington has become a point of pride for many, and where the police seem to have no interest in pretending that they are immigration agents.”
As Election Day 2018 fast approaches, we can expect Ramos to continue to ramp up his rhetoric aimed at maligning President Trump and his supporters, as well as aiding and abetting liberal candidates and causes.
