Last March, U.S. real estate and investment fund magnate Donald Trump attacked corruption in Mexico on his Twitter account. The owner of the Miss Universe brand, a beauty contest that pulls in millions in profits from sponsorships, accused a businessman from southeast Mexico, Rodolfo Rosas Moya, of causing his anger.
“Because of him,” Trump wrote in his fervent tweet, “Mexico will never again host the Miss Universe pageant.”* According to Trump, Rosas Moya owes him $6 million.
In his third tweet in the thread, which he wrote on March 5, Trump affirmed that:
“I hope the Mexican judge is more honest than the Mexican businessmen, who are utilizing the judicial system so that Rosas can avoid paying the money he owes me.”*
Trump’s threat makes no sense. His Miss Universe brand is mortally wounded. The major television networks, which sustained that enterprise for decades, unexpectedly pulled the plug on the disagreeable businessman with the Ku Klux Klan brand blonde hairpiece.
First, on June 16, the Spanish-language television network Univision canceled their relationship with Trump, then NBC Universal, then on the night of June 29, Grupo Televisa. Even magnate Carlos Slim and television host Larry King’s company Ora TV announced the end of their broadcasts of the Miss Universe contest, and of their dealings with Trump.
In its press release, Televisa said that because of Trump’s statements, and the continuous attacks on Mexican migrants and on any communications media sources that have criticized him, Azcárraga Jean’s Company had decided to terminate its commercial relationship with the millionaire. For these reasons, Mexican contestant Wendy Esparza will no longer participate in the Miss Universe contest.
Televisa’s decision also involved Lupita Jones, the director of Nuestra Belleza [Our Beauty], and a partner with Azcárraga Jean in the company Promocertamen SA de CV, which is dedicated to organizing and marketing beauty contests for Mexicans.
The crisis in the business of exploiting feminine beauty has also reached Colombia, a country that ruled out being the venue for Miss Universe. Already in 2014, Venezuela, the Philippines and Brazil were unable to pay the $3 million guarantee that Trump’s company demanded from host countries.
Trump’s crazy idea was made known this June 30. He announced a lawsuit against Univision for $500 million for “defamation.” A press release from the Trump Organization claimed that the real motive was to “suppress the freedom of speech” of the Republican presidential hopeful.
Cynically, Trump accused NBC and Univision of shattering the dream of 51 “marvelous young women,” although he did say that “The 2015 Miss USA pageant will still take place in Baton Rouge on July 12.”
It remains to be seen which television network will support Trump. Perhaps the Fox network, which shares his racist and anti-immigrant vision.
The history of this reaction to the thread against Donald Trump began when the businessman started his campaign for the Republican nomination, categorizing Mexican immigrants as “trash” and “enemies” of the United States.*
“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best — they’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people,” Trump said.
The magnate stood by his claims. He felt victorious because his words caused an immediate scandal, and 11 percent of Republican voters favored him. What Trump didn’t count on is that this would damage one of his most important showcase media businesses: Miss Universe.
The decision by the networks was also a result of immediate pressure from civil organizations of Hispanics and Mexicans residing in the U.S. The national Hispanic Foundation for the Arts, reinforced by more than 200,000 signatures on the Change.org internet platform, demanded that the broadcast of Miss Universe be canceled.
For the time being, the big Spanish-language media networks have been able to make themselves look morally superior by focusing attention on the unpleasant and excessive Donald Trump. The Republican hopeful has made himself the symbol of the xenophobic language most common among U.S. white Anglo-Saxon anti-Mexicans.
However, if it is about promoting the dignity of migrants and curbing the racist or sexist messages that dominate various programs on Univision, Televisa or NBC, the important thing is for these companies to decide to get rid of the hairpiece, in the style of Donald Trump’s show.
The dignity of migrants is also promoted by better programs, and by a different approach to female audiences. This is the authentic media revolution that is still underway.
*Editor’s Note: These quotes, while accurately translated, could not be verified.
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