MDC-TV Show Aims To Arm Viewers With Tools To Make Informed Political Decisions
As the 2020 presidential election approached, Ariel Rubalcava and Richard Tapia discussed the need to create a show on MDC-TV to provide non-partisan political information to its viewers.
In March of 2020, the duo launched We The People at MDC. They taped their first episode, Identity Politics 2020, in front of a live audience at the Eduardo J. Padrón Campus.
COVID-19 stalled the program’s momentum, but they aired their second show, SOS Cuba, Los Vestigios de Bohemia, on Nov. 5 reflecting on the political situation in Cuba.
With the show back on track, they hope to tape at least two episodes each semester.
“We’re getting so polarized that some people only get information from Facebook or and they only look at those kinds of channels where you only get one type of information, which is [in accordance to] your point of view,” said Rubalcava, the executive director and senior producer at MDC-TV. “But the only way we can grow is by listening to different points of view.”
Rubalcava serves as the show’s director and editor. Tapia, a political science and international relations professor at Miami Dade College, is the moderator of the program, shaping the discussions and providing context about topics.
The Nov. 5 show, which centered on the political climate in Cuba, featured Florida attorney Miguel Inda-Romero, Janet Cuni, a political science student at Padrón Campus and president of SOS Cuba and Cuban-born social media influencers Los Pichy Boys.
“We The People is a very interesting show because it gives us students the opportunity to say what we have inside,” Cuni said. “Many of us have held back about speaking about Cuba and there are even students who may have Cuban descent but don’t know exactly what’s going on and We The People helps them learn more.”
The show is currently working on two other episodes. One will discuss the Constitution and voting rights. The other will speak about immigration policies, specifically as it pertains to Haiti and Cuba.
Tapia, who has a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s of public administration from Florida International University and a second master’s in liberal arts from Harvard University, is the driving force behind the show.
He began working at the College in 2010 as an adjunct professor and is now a full-time tenured professor. From January of 2020 to January of 2021, he served as the chairperson of the social sciences and criminal justice departments at Padrón Campus.
Tapia ran for the Florida House seat in District 103 in August of 2018 with a campaign based on gun control, education and health care, but lost to Cindy Polo in the Democratic primary election.
His official political affiliation is Democrat but he prefers the term extreme moderate.
“I’m American first,” Tapia said. “I like to look at both perspectives and then bring forward the right solution, the best solution.”
Episodes of We The People at MDC can be found online on MDC-TV’s YouTube channel and channel 78 on Comcast Cable.
“Those that watch the show will be better informed and will be able to ask those hard and tough questions that many politicians don’t want to talk about in order to not lose votes,” Tapia said.
