A Left Turn in Washington Heights: Ed Morales on the Darializa Win, MAGA and Latino Men, the Venezuela Earthquake & the Nuyorican 70s

Recorded on Sunday, June 29, 2026 — one week after the earthquake of Darializa Avila Chevalier's historic primary win over Adriano Espaillat in NY-13, and in the immediate aftermath of a devastating 7.5-magnitude earthquake in Venezuela — this episode of Black and Blanco covers more ground than almost any episode in Uptown Voices history.Led Black and Octavio Blanco open with an urgent and practical segment on Venezuela earthquake relief, listing verified donation organizations including Gustavo Dudamel's UN effort, World Central Kitchen, Ricky Martin's foundation page, Direct Relief, People's Forum, and Charity Navigator's vetted list — and reminding listeners that Isla Bonita in Inwood is accepting physical donations through July. They put the earthquake in political context: the removal of Cuban doctors, the Shock Doctrine playbook of disaster capitalism, the right-wing sword of the Americas, the disturbing rise of Alofoke in the Dominican Republic, and the CIA-funded export of evangelical Christianity as a political weapon across Latin America.Then: journalist, author, and John Jay College professor Ed Morales joins the live. Morales is the author of Latinx: The New Force in American Politics and Culture and has written for the New York Times, The Nation, and The Village Voice. His new book — a deep dive into the Nuyorican 1970s covering the Young Lords, the birth of salsa, the New Rican Poets Cafe, and the Puerto Rican counterculture — is coming in September 2027.Ed came on to discuss his widely-shared Substack piece 'A Left Turn in Washington Heights: The DSA Promise and Limitations,' and the conversation that follows is one of the most substantive political discussions Uptown Voices has produced. They cover the multi-pronged reasons for Espaillat's loss (APAC, the anti-Haitian smear, a community that felt underserved); the history of how COINTELPRO and 1970s repression froze Black and Latino politics into a defensive, status-quo-protecting mode; elite capture and how corporations weaponized identity politics; why MAGA's male supremacy has a particularly dangerous appeal for men of color already experiencing real marginalization; the rent freeze under Mamdani and whether New York can be a model; whether Espaillat runs in November like Cuomo; the Letitia James and AOC contradictions; the broken promise of 'vote blue no matter who'; and where Latino politics goes from here.It closes with a shoutout to the Uptown Austral closing concert at Jackie Robinson Park — tomorrow, June 30th, featuring Reggae Wins.⏱ TIMECODE CHAPTERS00:00  Cold Open  —  Ed Morales on MAGA as male supremacy and what that means for marginalized men of color01:18  Welcome: Sunday June 29 — One Week After  —  Led wishes daughter Soraya happy 20th birthday; Octavio on a wild two weeks: Darializa win, rent freeze, and the Venezuela earthquake02:46  Venezuela Earthquake — What Happened  —  Back-to-back 7.5 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes; 40,000 missing; the political and humanitarian context03:29  How to Help: Isla Bonita in Inwood  —  3950 Tenth Avenue, Suite B — drop off canned goods, clothes, first aid, baby formula and diapers through end of July04:37  The Full Donation List  —  Gustavo Dudamel / UN: every.org/undp; People's Forum: peoplesforum.org/vzrelief; World Central Kitchen: wck.org; Ricky Martin: rickymartinmusic.com/venezuela; Direct Relief; Charity Navigator vetted list08:45  Led on Venezuela in Political Context  —  Cuban doctors expelled, U.S. sanctions as a weapon, the Shock Doctrine of disaster capitalism moving in12:52  The Right-Wing Sword of the Americas  —  Brazil and Mexico as the last shields; the Dominican Republic as a card-carrying sword; Alofoke and the coming Trujillo 2.0 in DR16:16  The CIA Export of Evangelical Christianity  —  Liberation theology vs. Protestant proselytizers; the right-wing Christian takeover of Latin America is funded and orchestrated20:11  Alofoke Drops a Song — With Trump on a Golf Course  —  Led on the Dominican Republic's most dangerous populist: catchy song, dastardly plans, massive popularity22:50  Colombia, Peru, and the Right-Wing Drift  —  Octavio on fear, cartels, and how right-wing governments consolidate power across the region24:03  Naomi Klein's Shock Doctrine Comes to Venezuela  —  Led connects disaster capitalism, petroleum assets, and U.S. sanctions into a single coherent picture24:38  Introducing Ed Morales  —  Octavio previews the guest: author of Latinx, journalist for the Times and The Nation, John Jay professor, Substack writer25:05  Led on 'A Left Turn in Washington Heights'  —  Led on why Ed's Substack piece was the best thing he read on the Espaillat loss — and how Errol Lewis and the Amsterdam News both missed the point27:52  On 'Bloodthirsty' Mamdani and Breaking Points  —  Led on the Breaking Points podcast calling Mamdani's endorsement of Darializa 'bloodthirsty and cutthroat' — and why that framing is wrong29:47  Ed Morales Joins the Live  —  Introduction; Ed explains why he wrote 'A Left Turn': class vs. identity politics as a false binary32:00  Who Is Ed Morales?  —  Octavio on Ed's body of work: Latinx book, NYT, The Nation, The Village Voice, John Jay College32:39  Elite Capture and the Weaponization of Identity  —  Olofemi Taiwo's 'Elite Capture': how corporations and politicians captured liberation-through-identity and made it neoliberal34:39  The Multi-Pronged Reasons for Espaillat's Loss  —  APAC, the dirty smear campaign, the anti-Haitian tactics, and a community that simply felt underserved for 30 years35:54  Dominican Republic's Racism Problem — And Its Roots  —  Ed on teaching the Afro-Latinx experience at John Jay; the Haitian Revolution, Benader, and how white supremacy travels through diaspora38:09  Espaillat Lost the Black Vote Entirely  —  Led on why; Ed on whether Darializa did stronger outreach or Black voters simply voted more progressively38:27  Evangelical Christianity in Latin America  —  Ed on CIA proselytizers, the eighties crackdown on liberation theology, and the link between Protestant evangelism and right-wing politics40:32  Why Have Black and Latino Politicians Failed Us?  —  Led's central question; Ed's answer: COINTELPRO, the seventies recession, PROMESA and Puerto Rico's debt, fear of radical politics41:26  The Young Lords, Salsa and the Nuyorican 70s — Ed's New Book  —  Coming September 2027: the human stories behind the Young Lords, salsa stars, the New Rican Poets Cafe, and the Puerto Rican cou...