MCALLEN, Texas - The former editor and publisher of El Periódico USA has launched a new binational Spanish language media project called Debate X Media, LLC.

The plan, says Jose Luis B. Garza, is to highlight the potential and accomplishments of the Hispanic population in the Rio Grande Valley and become a binational news agency.

“We have to project the importance of this region because it's totally different to other regions in the country,” Garza said.

In an in-depth audio interview with the Rio Grande Guardian, Garza spoke about his time at El Periódico USA, the growth of Hispanic-owned news media publications, and his plans for Debate X.

El Periódico USA is a newspaper published in McAllen that initiated in 1986, focusing on the South Texas community.

Jose Luis Garza worked at El Periódico USA, initially as an advisor and worked his way up the media company.

“They gave me a lot of satisfaction, experiences and big opportunities to understand how the Spanish media works in this country,” Garza said. “Initially around the 90s, the Hispanic population, Hispanic marketing, Hispanic publications, were not so important. But after that, soon we were growing in the country.”

Garza said the growth of Hispanic publications allowed him to participate with the National Association of Hispanic Publications, an advocacy organization for Spanish language publications. He said he was vice president of the organization and national president in 2013.

Garza was born in Gustavo Diaz Ordaz, Mexico and said many people from his birthplace are now living in the Rio Grande Valley. He was previously chairman of the McAllen Chamber of Commerce’s International Committee.

After leaving El Periodico USA, Garza said he founded Debate X, an agency for expanding Hispanic news coverage. He said his company strives to give advice to other newspapers and he has the support of his family and friends on the project. He said he chose the name of the news agency, Debate X, because it translates the same in both English and Spanish.

Garza will be working on the project with Luis Cantu, former vice president for international business and community development for McAllen Chamber of Commerce.

“We are reporting, we are doing work on both sides of the world,” Garza said. “This is a national project.”

Garza said he founded Debate X after leaving El Periodico USA because his company strives to give advice to other expanding news companies in the form of a news agency. He said he met with about 15 congressmen at the end of April in Washington D.C., and spoke with the communications team at the White House. Garza said Congress was receptive to Debate X’s plans to play an active role in aiding the Hispanic newspaper community.

“We need to let the rest of the country, the rest of Texas, Mexico, know who we are, what we are doing, and the potential of this area,” Garza said. “This is an extraordinary area, we have problems like any other ones, but we have extraordinary opportunities here.”

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WESLACO, TEXAS - A spokesperson for MHP Salud says no staff member has lost their job because of federal funding cuts to the Affordable Care Act Navigator Program.

Heather Morgan is vice president of communications and business development for MHP Salud. She oversees brand development and management, reputation, communications, and positioning. In an email to the Rio Grande Guardian, she did confirm that the Weslaco-based non-profit has been informed of federal funding cuts to the Navigator program.

“MHP Salud has a long-standing history in the RGV. We provide multiple services to the community to provide families and individuals with health education, child health and developmental support, health insurance education and application assistance, and much more,” said Heather Morgan, vice president of communications and business development for MHP Salud.

“Our programming array includes Parents as Teachers, Familias Saludables, Silver Connections, Connecting Kids to Coverage, and the Navigator program.”

Morgan continued: “While MHP Salud has received notice that funding for the Navigator program will be reduced, we will receive funding to continue serving the RGV through the Navigator program, as well as our other programs.”

Morgan added: “Moreover, while the funding reduction will impact staffing, final decisions have not yet been made, and no one was informed that August 31 will be their last day of employment.”

Morgan wrote to the Guardian following comments made by Moises Arjona, collective impact director for Unidos Contra la Diabetes. During a webinar hosted by Hidalgo County Prosperity Task Force, and in a subsequent interview with the Guardian, Arjona spoke about the impact of federal funding cuts to the Affordable Care Act.

Morgan said Arjona does not work for MHP Salud and does not speak for the nonprofit.

Asked if he would like to respond, Arjona said: “What I shared (at the Hidalgo County Prosperity Task Force webinar) was that from the community health workers who are employed at MHP Salud, those who reached out and provided me with information regarding funding and who were looking for open job positions.”

Arjona continued: “We value MHP Salud as a partner in the community and they do great work, but as they have stated in their email, funding is being reduced and that will affect the work that is being done in the community.”

Arjona added: “MHP Salud is a provider for the Affordable Care Act and many of our folks in the community depend on MHP Salud to continue to help them navigate the Market Place during open enrollment. Our population is not tech savvy and needs help, especially during open enrollment.”

Here is part of an interview Arjona gave the Guardian.

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EDINBURG, Texas - The director of Hidalgo County’s Community Service Agency (CSA) says Rotarians from across South Texas were shocked when he told them the extent of the cuts his agency is facing, should Congress adopt President Trump’s budget proposals.

Jaime R. Longoria met recently with Rotarians from across the Rio Grande Valley, Laredo, and the Coastal Bend.

Specifically, Longoria spoke about cuts to the Low-Income Household Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), a utility assistance program designed to assist low-income households in meeting their immediate energy needs.

Longoria said that in President Trump’s budget, $8 million that comes to Hidalgo County for LIHEAP “would disappear.” He said: “That's $8 million to assist about 8,000 families across Hidalgo County afford utilities.”

Longoria continued: “Now, those 8,000 families, I know we like to villainize… I spoke at a meeting of the Rotarians across South Texas, and I mentioned, we like to villainize the vulnerables, that, well, these are people that maybe don't want to work. These are people that are of another country.

“But in reality, about 45 percent of those 8,000 are people over the age of 60. About 30 percent of those families, those individuals that come to us are children under the age of 18. So that's 75 percent of our population that is either elderly or are under the age of 18.

“So, these stereotypes that we have of who we're helping, who CSA is helping, it does not hold a lot of water. I know that the Rotarians were shocked when they heard those numbers. And these are Rotarians from Corpus Christi, Victoria, and Brownsville to Laredo, all of the Rio Grande Valley. They were shocked.

“And I said, you know, don't believe the narrative. These are actual people. I can show you the numbers. That $8 million would go away.”

Longoria made his comments in a webinar hosted by Hidalgo County Prosperity Task Force. The webinar comprised officials from numerous nonprofits who stand to lose funding under the so-called “Big, Beautiful Bill.” Longoria said that while this bill includes cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, his agency had to remain focused on President Trump’s “skinny” budget.

“What our program is really concerned about is the proposed zeroing out of the Community Services Block Grant, the zeroing out of LIHEAP, which is our utility assistance program, and the zeroing out of our AmeriCorps program.”

Longoria said the President's “skinny” budget is different from the “Big, Beautiful Bill.”

“All of our programs are zeroed out. So, what does that mean, financially? That's $2 million in CSBG funding. So that is the disaster funding that I talked about in Commissioners Court today, which helped us respond to the flood, which helps us respond to fires, domestic violence on a daily basis, which helped us respond during COVID so quickly, to put people in shelter and buy food for people in shelter. That $2 million would be gone.”

Longoria said the CSBG funding has been in place since 1980, and its forerunner has been in place since 1968.

“So, that money has been in place for 60 years to help address poverty the way Hidalgo County sees fit.”

He said Cameron County would lose a little over a million dollars in CSBG funding, while Starr County would lose about $700,000.

Editor’s Note: Here is an audio recording of the remarks Longoria made during the Hidalgo County Prosperity Task Force webinar.

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