Interview with Gabriela Frías, from CNN en Español

Written by: Lorena Ayala-Ortiz

Program Intern, World Affairs Council of Atlanta
Recent Graduate, Georgia State University
Published: 12/19/2018

The morning of October 10, 2018, Gabriela Frías, business anchor at CNN en Español, was rushing to exit after the World Affairs Council’s “Latinas on the Rise” program, which she moderated. I only had a couple of minutes to interview her before she had to continue about her day, as there was a taxi already waiting for her. For a moment, I felt like a reporter as I had to walk and talk as I interviewed Frías, I was in her shoes now.

The first question I had for her arisen from the recent reporting of the United State’s 3.7% unemployment rate, the lowest since 1969, and that there was the creation of approximately 134,000 jobs within September. I questioned Ms.Frías on how she views the U.S.economy under the current administration and if she could foresee any dramatic changes to come in the next two years. She stated that “the stock market could tell the story. With the GDP numbers at 4.2% in growth, a solid growth, this administration can own to the fact that the tax cuts and other measures have helped increase confidence but also maintain and sustain growth.”

However, there’s a population in the U.S. that expresses their concern about the changes in diverse policy aspects that could potentially impact the economy of this country. The following question for Ms. Frías was if the consideration of these modifications, will the U.S still be seen as a country of great power regarding the economy and global influence? She believes that apart from the tension caused by these devised modifications, “the U.S. is still one of the bright spots in the world…[but] global influence is to be determined. It’s a leading economy, the largest in the world.”  This year it’s a success story for the United States as the stock market again tells us the story, though “it is not the best measure, because it moves up and down, but it is an evidence.”

We proceeded to discuss how she sees the relationship between Mexico and the United States with the new President-Elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who’s to begin his term December 1st. For this question, Ms. Frías had a more lengthy response that touched on factors such as the rhetoric used regarding the construction of the wall, whether Mexico will finance this construction, trading agreements like the revamped NAFTA, and immigration policy. What resonated with me the most was her statement that the relationship between these neighboring countries “is beyond two men.” These two countries have a “very important dynamic relationship whether it’s trade or it’s immigration.” Gabriela Frías, who’s an immigrant from Mexico, wishes to see an immigration reform that makes sense to both countries.

Furthermore, Ms.Frías is also a Hispanic woman, a woman who is living in a time where her birth country Mexico and the country in which she resides, are facing substantial women’s rights problems. In regards to this matter, she stated that there has to be an improvement, “it’s not about seeing it happen, but about making it happen,” she said in a firm tone.

So what is next for Gabriela Frías, what is her next challenge to accomplish? Well, there’s a possibility that she will write a book. That is if she has the time, and finds the time to carry out this task, because she has newborn, and is still finding it difficult to find the balance of life and work. She adds that our abuelas (grandmothers) had four to seven kids, so her having one doesn’t make achieving this balance impossible.