Washington, U.S.A. - Latino leaders from across the United States gathered to announce that they are taking on Carlos Slim, the world’s richest man, by exposing the alleged predatory, monopolistic practices with which he has amassed his fortune.

The growing coalition point to the fact that Mr. Slim’s wealth has come at a huge cost to the people of Mexico and that his business practices have crippled economic development in Mexico and throughout Latin America.

“We have come together to speak out on behalf of the people in Mexico and Latin America who do not have recourse to speak out for themselves,” said Juan Jose Gutierrez, one of the coalition leaders and affiliated with Vamos Unidos USA.

“Carlos Slim’s monopolistic practices have imposed significant costs to the Mexican economy and burdened the people of Mexico and Latin America. We are exposing his abusive practices so that the harm he has caused can be rectified and that those who might throw praise and honor at this man might know the truth.”

In the first of many planned actions, Two Countries One Voice announced it was calling on George Washington University to sever ties with Carlos Slim and demanded that George Washington University officials disinvite him from the graduation commencement ceremonies on the National Mall and revoke his honorary degree.

Two Countries One Voice will announce additional actions against other American institutions and corporations with strong ties to Slim in the coming weeks.

“It would be a travesty for a respected American institution like George Washington University to honor a man who is a modern day robber baron. His empire has helped keep millions in poverty while he has lined his own pockets,” said Andres Ramirez, one of the coalition leaders who is based in Nevada. “We can not ignore how Slim has made his billions and this is why our first action is to call on George Washington University to sever ties with him immediately.”

Carlos Slim’s power and fortune is made up primarily from his monopoly in the Mexican telecommunications system.  According to the independent and highly respected Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Slim’s company, America Movil, which controls 80% of the total Mexican telecom, cell and internet industries, charges exorbitant prices and provides inadequate services.

Their report also shows that Mexico’s phone industry dominated by Slim’s companies’ overcharged customers a total of $13.4 billion a year for basic telephone and Internet service from 2005 to 2009.  The OCED report points out that those specifically and most profoundly affected by these business practices are rural and poor communities.

Last week, Slim and his company admitted to overcharging under pressure from a proposed one billion dollar fine. The Mexico’s CFC (Federal Competition Commission) had unanimously ruled that one of Slim’s companies, Telcel, holds too much power. Earlier this year the antitrust agency also served Telcel close to a billion dollar fine for “monopoly practices.”

The impact of Carlos Slim’s monopoly has resulted in Mexico ranking LAST in public investment in telecommunications compared with the 33 other OECD countries while Slim’s company Telemex had a profit margin of 47% - one of the highest of the OECD countries.

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Chris Weitz, an Academy Award® Nominee for About A Boy (2002) and possibly even better known as the director of Twilight’s New Moon (2009), is bringing another powerful drama to the screen in A Better Life. In his new movie, Weitz paints a narrative of the resilience through the story of a father, who is an illegal citizen, working as a gardener in L.A. to provide a better life for his son. The father, played by Demián Bichir, has access to an important business opportunity through obtaining a pickup truck which would allow him to build a successful operation and have control of his own destiny. This potential is soon crushed when his pickup truck is stolen, throwing not only his life but his son’s into jeopardy.

A strong contender for next year’s Oscars as well as the Spirit Award, this film supplies a sturdy storytelling of a very real fact of life for many illegal immigrants living and working around the world today. The film stays true to many Latino elements, featuring little English and a cast comprised of almost entirely Latino actors. Bichir, who played Fidel Castro in Che (2008), delivers an honest and hardworking performance of a parent up against all odds who continues to fight after each set back in hopes of a good future for his teen son Luis.

Struggling against the presence of gangs and the community offered within them, Bichir’s son, played by newcomer Jose Julian, struggles against what he wants and what his father is trying to provide for him. The hardships which both must endure intertwines them, resulting in a profound connection between not only father and son, but opportunity and the success a person can create.

A Better Life manages its portrayal of the hardships by a single parent Latino very carefully.  The context which provides a vehicle for the script is the tightly woven bonds between Latino families and how hardships can tear at that very fabric. At a KCET screening series Weitz identified the movie as having a “deceptively good script” which “dissolved into performances of the actors”.  A strong element of the seamless performances given which are completely embodied by the actors is the fact that they were cast without an invested interest in celebrity names. Aside from Demián, who is well known throughout Mexico, the rest of the cast is relatively unknown. This is a key element to the dialogue which the film creates, allowing for an experience unmarred by the political and social baggage which established actors would inevitably contribute.

Despite coming highly acclaimed, A Better Life has struggled to find publicity among many viewers. To be part of a story heard through every culture and race, find this movie in a theater nearby and take meaning from the determination of humanity.

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Over the years, certain immigrants have always been targeted as scapegoats in America. Ben Franklin thought Germans should not be allowed into the country because of their “swarthy complexion.” Catholics were not well received because they only listen to the pope. Irish were not popular and thought to be just a small step above African Americans.  Southern and Eastern Europeans were hated and prompted the quota laws to be passed. Italians were thought to be violent. Only a small number of Jewish people were allowed into our country even during the Holocaust because of our ongoing xenophobia. We have discriminated against almost all Asians at one point or another because of fears. Our latest target is Mexicans and anyone that looks Hispanic. Although the U.S. is a nation of immigrants, they have always been very selective of who is okay.

The current fear mongering with Latinos is not justifiable.   Every year or so, illegal immigration gets brought up and spun around on all the media outlets by all sorts of politicians but for no good reason. Since 9/11 and the major recession, immigration to the United States is down.   Most undocumented immigrants do not become permanent residents. They come to the U.S. to be with family or to work. They stay a few years and leave.  It doesn’t sound so bad.  But, many people in America still feel that immigration is a problem.

Anti-immigration activist believe that immigrants sneaking over the border are more likely to take part in criminal activities.  It is unclear why someone would take all that time and energy to sneak over a border to get caught for a crime and be deported when they could be criminals in their own country.  Research also indicates that undocumented citizens are not more likely to engage in crime than natural citizens. The exact numbers vary but native born Americans are between 5 and 10 times more likely to be incarcerated than immigrants. In Arizona, state senators used crime to justify their “papers, please” legislation.  The lawmakers claimed that crime in Arizona had increased.  However, crime rates in Arizona have steadily decreased since 2006 for both violent and property crime.  Another reason anti-immigration activists want to seal the American borders is because of the economy.  They claim that undocumented immigrants are not paying taxes and draining the social services.  This again is false.  Immigrants contribute as much as $10 billion to the U.S. economy each year. Legalization of low skilled immigrant workers in the U.S. would result in a net increase in the U.S. GDP of $180 billion over the next ten years. Immigrants, legal and illegal alike, spend their money in the U.S. which is good for the economy.  Most immigrants come to U.S. for jobs so they are working and not using social services. Many are too afraid of deportation to take advantage of any programs even if they needed it.  Others against immigration worry about overpopulation.  They claim that with more and more undocumented immigrants, the public school system will be overwhelmed.  Yet, the U.S. continues to push fertility drugs, glorify families like the Duggars, and many want to outlaw abortion, so it cannot be a concern for overpopulation.

As the state of Arizona pushes a slew of more anti-immigration measures through, you can be sure that immigration fears are alive and well in the U.S.  However, the Hispanic community re-elected Senator Harry Reid during last midterm elections so they might not be such a good scapegoat any longer.

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