Mark Zuckerberg visits Mexican President

Discussion includes expannding internet service to more Mexicans

By Brenda Colón2014-09-07T19:15:00+00:00

MEXICO.- During the annual "Mexico XXI Century" event hosted by Telmex Foundation, Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, visited Mexico as part of his agenda that included a meeting with Mexico President Enrique Peña Nieto. Telmex Foundation is the main telephone and internet provider in the country, and is owned by Carlos Slim, the second richest man in the world according to Forbes.

The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the program "internet.org", an initiative deloped by Facebook with the help of Microsoft to try and increase internet usage throughout the world. Zuckerberg discussed details of his meeting with President Nieto over Facebook. He stated that half of the Mexican population does not have access to internet and seeks to include these cities in the initiative, which has so far worked well in countries such as Zambia.

Zuckerberg mentioned that he enjoyed the meeting and that increasing the amount of users in Mexico would help them share talent, culture, and business throughout the world, in addition to making government services more efficient.

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Facebook users did not hold back on their criticism, and some Facebook users responded to Zuckerberg by saying that the problem with lack of internet access in Mexico is not the government's problem but rather is caused by his host, Carlos Slim, who offers the service at such a high rate that many cannot afford it.

Enrique Peña Nieto also shared meeting highlights via social media and indicated that the "Government of Mexico will work with Facebook that develop content to promote prevention, social cconsciousness, and help small and medium businesses". He added that the Digital National Strategy contemplates the incorporation of technologies and communication in the development of the country, as an example he indicated that this initiative will be used in matters of security of citizens and will help prevent and reduce damage caused by natural disasters.

During his chat at the Telmex Foundation, Zuckerberg advocated on the delicate topic of immigration. The young business man has become one of the most critical proponents by creating FWD.us organization, which unites tech companies and demands reform. Facebook and other companies have expressed the importance of regularizing the legal status of many of its workers in order to tap into more of their talent.