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President Obama Arrives in Mexico
Aired April 16, 2009 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): And United tells people who are really, really fat, if you don't fit, you don't fly. Right or wrong?
You tell us, as this national conversation begins right now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: And hello again, everybody. I'm Rick Sanchez.
We got the Twitter all fired up for you, and we're ready to go, you and I, going through what's happening today in the news together.
And we begin with some pictures we want to show you. This is going on in Mexico right now, the nexus of the so-called war on drugs. You see some of the stories and some of the video that we have been bringing back over the last couple of days.
And there you see the president of the United States doing right now what many argue too few of his predecessors have done before him. He has just arrived in Latin America, literally moments ago, to reestablish, if not try and forge, relations with a part of the world which has felt we have forgotten them for several decades now.
The president is just moments away from meeting with Mexican President Felipe Calderon. He's going to talk on immigration, border security, tariffs, guns, drugs. And then he's going to move on to the Summit of the Americas, which is going to be held on the islands of Trinidad and Tobago.
I want to bring in a couple of guests as they take us through this right now. First of all, accomplished columnist Ruben Navarrette is going to be joining us, who has long had his finger as well as any American journalist has on the pulse of the U.S. relations with Mexico and Latin America. And joining us now on the phone from Trinidad, we have foreign policy expert Manuel Perez Rocha. We're going to be talking to both of these gentlemen as we go through these stories.
But before we do anything else, here's what I want you and our guests to watch or listen to. As we set the scene for what's about to happen between these two presidents, I want you to see how Mexico is dealing with this drug war that we have been telling you about.
One of our correspondents got a unique opportunity to actually go behind the lines. He's going to ride with some Mexican -- elite Mexican police forces and show us firsthand what they are up against. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The police radio crackles. Shots are being fired downtown. A city cop asks these transvestite prostitutes if they heard. Six shots, they say, a few blocks away.
It's midnight in Juarez, Mexico's most dangerous city. The gunmen seem to have faded away, so the patrol heads up into gangland, the hillside slums that ring Juarez.
"We're arresting gang members before they get together, because then there will be killings," he says.
Police say there are 1,000 gangs in the city. They go by names like the Skulls, the Sharks, the Aztecs and the Artist Assassins. They peddle cocaine, crack and heroin, and fight gun battles for turf.
The gangs, too, have become a recruiting ground for narco- traffickers, looking to hire hit men." Organized crime reports from these gangs. They come and choose the most dangerous members," the captain says.
Captain Pinedo and his men on the anti-gang patrol know the labyrinth of alleyways by heart.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (speaking foreign language)
PENHAUL: They pull suspected gang members out of vehicles, even sniffing their fingers to see if they have been using drugs.
"A lot of them don't have any I. D. , and they looks like gang- bangers," he says.
For the last year Juarez's best-selling newspaper has been filled with gory photos of drug war hits. In the cartel, battles for the Juarez mob's trafficking routes. Bodies hanging from a bridge, other victims stuffed into cooking pots, another murdered and his face covered with a pig mask.
Police say many of the victims have been young gang members recruited as cartel foot soldiers.
We head back into our Juarez neighborhood, this time without the police, to try and discover why young men have been lured by the drug mobs.
This small gang calls itself Below 13. None of its members seem to know why. The few who say they work, earn less than $50 a week in assembly plants. The cartel war now raging, it offers a chance of quick money.
Some of the gang members here have joined organized crime groups and some are in prison because they were busted for selling drugs, this young man tells me. He knows working for the cartels can mean a short life expectancy.
"Of course it's easy money, because you can earn serious cash, but it's dangerous, too. Like they say, it's easy money until they kill you," he says.
Sixteen hundred people died in drug cartel killings last year in Juarez, but in this neighborhood, there's little sense the war will end.
"Thank God we're alive. We're going to show all the hit men that Juarez is number one," he boasts, fighting talk that bodes of more untimely deaths.
Karl Penhaul, CNN, Juarez, Mexico.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Well-told story now.
Let's do this now. Look at that live picture right there. That's where we understand there is going to be some type of ceremony, some kind of gathering between some of the dignitaries there in Mexico City and the president of the United States and Mexico, respectively, Obama and Calderon.
And as we watch this and await this ceremony, let's bring in Manuel Rocha now. He's joining us from Trinidad. He's joining us by phone.
Both of these presidents, interestingly enough, have major problems in their countries. How do they somehow forge some kind of interest which will be mutually beneficial?
MANUEL PEREZ ROCHA, CONTRIBUTOR, "FOREIGN POLICY IN FOCUS": Yes, thank you, Rick, here from Trinidad.
You know, when IS very beneficial is that the United States government has already recognized the shared responsibility in this -- in this drug war. And what I think is that Obama will announce in about half-an-hour, when he meets with Calderon, he will be announcing his intention to push the U.S. Senate to ratify the Inter-American convention on arms trafficking. The U.S. already accepted this convention, but has not ratified it.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: What does that mean?
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Hey, Manuel, those are an awful lot of big words, but our viewers are probably scratching their head wondering what the hell you just said.
What is that? And what does it mean? And how does it -- why is it important to both Americans and Mexicans who may be watching us right now?
PEREZ ROCHA: Well, I think it's important diplomatically. It's a -- it's a -- mostly, it's a symbolic gesture.
However, it remains to see how it will become a concrete measure within Congress to curb, you know, to curb the impressive...
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: And we're getting -- by the way, just...
(CROSSTALK)
PEREZ ROCHA: ... the impressive...
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Let me just stop you. Manuel, Manuel, Manuel, let me just stop you for a minute, because I think we were just seeing, and I'm not sure, my producers are going to tell me if, in fact, that's the case, but I think we were just seeing some live pictures of Obama with Calderon.
There, we see the Mexican National Guard. They're waiting at attention.
Guys, tell me, those pictures, I just saw Calderon and Obama shaking hands. Is that -- was that a live picture? That was a live picture. Thank you, Roger.
So, this is starting to take place right now, and we're going to be taking you through it. Again, this is a live ceremony in Mexico City. The president of the United States just arrived at the airport moments ago. He got on Marine One and was flown to this ceremony or perhaps to a nearby location, and then driven.
And we're going to be listening in.
Let's -- Manuel, let's you and I listen in just for a minute here and see what's being said.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): At this point, we have the arrival of the citizen president of the United Mexican States, accompanied by his wife, Mrs. Margarita Zavala, and his excellency, Mr. Barack Obama, president of the United States of America.
SANCHEZ: Arriving with Felipe Calderon.
This is a very important moment. You know, it's interesting, as we watch this, Manuel, and we will try and sneak in some conversation here. We heard from Vicente Fox earlier today allude to the fact that during the Bush administration he felt like he wasn't really conferred with, except at the very beginning of the administration.
I guess we're looking for a change here, huh?
PEREZ ROCHA: Sorry, Rick, I can't -- I think I can't hear you.
What I want to remark is that I am hearing the cheering of the people in Mexico. And what I cannot tell you that, in Trinidad, there's a huge expectation for Obama, about Obama's arrival, Obama and his wife's arrival into the Trinidad summit.
SANCHEZ: I can only imagine.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Look, the Summit of the Americas is something that started out as an extremely important summit with all the presidents of the Americas, including the United States. But, in recent years, it seems to have become somewhat less important.
I wonder if this will reinvigorate the Summit of the Americas looking forward. Here we have the national anthem. The national anthem of Mexico, I understand, obviously is being played first.
(MUSIC)
SANCHEZ: And as we dip in and listen to the national anthem of Mexico, Manuel, as we watch this, the point to be taken -- and maybe, you know, you as a scholar of this relationship, can make us understand, what is it that the U.S. president needs to do and why to forge a relationship, not just with Mexico, but, once again, with Latin America.
Why do we keep hearing that Latin America is feeling like the forgotten stepchild?
PEREZ ROCHA: Again, with Mexico, the important thing is to stop trafficking illegal arms into Mexico. About -- more than 90 percent of arms that fall into the hands of the narco-traffickers come from the United States. So, this is a most important issue and that will show the goodwill of President Obama.
SANCHEZ: But, on the other hand -- but, on the other hand, you have the drugs coming from Mexico and illegal immigrants coming from Mexico. So, it's really a two-way street, isn't it?
PEREZ ROCHA: Well, of course, it's two very different things, drugs and illegal immigrants.
The illegal immigrants flow into the United States because there's not enough job creation in Mexico. So, there's definitely a very big need to change economic policies that have not been working in the last year.
So, I would -- I insist that President Obama must, you know, he make commitments to change NAFTA. And NAFTA has been a major player into destroying many lives, many jobs in Mexico, in the countryside, in small and medium businesses.
So, this is a major issue in Mexico and also a major issue with Latin America. Most Latin Americans -- many Latin American countries have drifted and have gone away from -- you know, have been very critical of the United States. And the U.S. in past summits has been pushing very hard for free trade agreements with Latin American countries that don't want them, like Brazil, Argentina.
These are countries that will come with a different agenda to Trinidad. And I think, this time, Obama will try to show very hard that he wants to listen to a new type of relations with Latin America which is not based on this free trade model that has, in my opinion and the opinion of many people, have -- have failed, have failed many people, have failed to promote development and job creation.
SANCHEZ: You're talking about NAFTA? All right.
PEREZ ROCHA: I'm talking with NAFTA and...
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Manuel, let me let -- I got that. I'm just going to stop you for a moment.
I just wanted to be clear that you were talking about NAFTA. And I don't mean to interrupt, but I just want to dip in here now to see what is going to happen next during this ceremony. I don't want the viewers to miss any really salient or poignant parts of this.
All right, it looks like the ceremony is continuing.
I want -- let me bring in Ruben Navarrette.
Hold on. He said "El presidente of los Estados Unidos, El presidente -- oh, here we go.
We're going to hear from Calderon first. Let's go ahead and -- let's dip into this, guys.
"Ladies and gentlemen" OK.
FELIPE CALDERON, MEXICAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Your excellency, Mr. Barack Obama, president of the United States of America, ladies and gentlemen of the accompanying delegation, ladies and gentlemen.
For the people in the government of Mexico, it is a reason of great joy to welcome today President Barack Obama.
Mr. President, you are most welcome to our country.
Almost half a century ago, Mexico welcomed also with thrill and emotion and care President John F. Kennedy. On that occasion, this great statesman said about our relationship: "Geography has made us neighbors. History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners. And necessity has made us allies."
So those whom nature hath so joined together, let no man put asunder. Today, Mexico and the United States, we are, we can and we must be neighbors, friends, partners and allies. We are connected through our past, through our historic and demographic ties. Our present brings us together because we share challenges and opportunities.
And particularly we're united by a vision of the future, of a North American region with greater development and more prosperous, with a more competitive economy, and a comprehensive and integrated one; a North America that will be safer of the threats of terrorism and organized crime; a North America that embraces fully its responsibilities that have to do with the global arena and with the environment.
To build this future, Mexico is doing its part. My country is immersed in a historic transformation process. We live a robust democracy, which is also plural. We're also facing firmly the costs of the struggles in order to turn Mexico into a safer country.
We are a nation that firmly believes in freedom -- economic freedom and political freedom -- and in this integration as a way for development.
We are promoting structural reforms to modernize our economy and to make it more competitive.
At the same time, we're conducting major efforts to put an end to extreme poverty and backlog, and to build a fairer society whose children will not have to abandon their land for lack of opportunity.
We truly believe that it is possible to transform Mexico. And with this goal in mind, we work constantly every day.
We know that many of the challenges that we face call for the joining efforts among governments and their people.
As you have pointed out, Mr. President, there has been another way of doing politics: a tradition based on the simple idea that whatever happens to our neighbor should not remain indifferent; upon the basic notion that what brings us together is more important than what separates us.
I am fully convinced that Mexico and the United States of America can and must act under these principles. We have before us the opportunity to initiate a new era of trust and cooperation.
Mr. President, let's start this new era in the relationships between the United States of America and Mexico.
A new era where we shall forge together the sustainable development of our people and the prosperity of our citizens, in which we will work together to turn our common border into an example of productivity and security.
An era where we will raise competitiveness at the regional level, and where we will recognize that in order to grow and prosper, Mexico needs the United States investment and the United States of America needs the strength of the Mexican labor force.
An era -- a new era where the human rights of all will be respected in either side of the border.
A new era where fighting organized crime will be fully embraced with a shared responsibility as a battle that Americans and Mexicans have to fight and that we shall win as allies, where the safety of our people will be conquered and preserved as the fruit of our common effort.
A new era of understanding among our people in order to reach a fairer perception and understanding of migration.
A new era upon which the proposal that you have issued to the American people would reach a migratory comprehensive reform that will open up the door of hope for the re-encounter of thousands of Mexican families that are split on both sides of the border.
A new era of agreements in the international arena, where our countries will be active promoters of global solutions to the major challenges of our time: the global economic crisis and climate change.
A new era where both neighboring nations, yet different in their origin, history and culture, come together to foster the world, to embrace clear and determining commitments in our fight against climate change and for the preservation of nature and our common future destiny as mankind.
CALDERON: Mr. President Obama, I know that this new era is possible if we work together. Mexico and the United States will manage to overcome the challenges that the 21st century places before us.
Mr. President, let's build a new era. Yes, we can.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
CALDERON: Once again, welcome to Mexico.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you very much. This is an extraordinary honor and an extraordinary pleasure to be here in Mexico with all of you today.
I want to thank President Calderon and his wonderful first lady and the delegation for their hospitality and facilitating this trip.
And I want to thank the people of Mexico for the warmth with which I have been received, especially the young people who are here today. Thank you very much.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
There is a reason why the first visit that I had with a foreign leader after my election was with President Calderon. It was a reminder, as John F. Kennedy said, that the bonds between our two countries cannot be broken.
We are joined by a border, but our bonds are so much more than that. In my hometown of Chicago, the population is at least one-third made up of people of Mexican heritage. All across America, all across the United States, we have benefited from the culture, the language, the food, the insights, the literature, the energy, the ambitions of people who have migrated from our southern neighbor. And my hope is, is that the United States has had something to offer to Mexico as well.
So our relationship, our friendship is strong, but, as President Calderon said, we can make it stronger.
At a time where all of us are dealing with an extraordinary global recession, where unemployment is on the rise, where credit has begun to shrink and where businesses are struggling, it is more important than ever that we work together not only to restore economic growth in Mexico and the United States, but also to make sure that growth is sustainable and to make sure that growth is from the bottom up.
So that each and every person -- every young person here in Mexico, as well as every young person in the United States, has an opportunity to live out their dreams.
At a time when the Mexican government has so courageously taken on the drug cartels that have plagued both sides of the borders, it is absolutely critical that the United States joins as a full partner in dealing with this issue, both through initiatives like the Merida Initiative, but also, on our side of the border, in dealing with the flow of guns and cash south.
And at a time when Mexico isn't just a regional leader, but now a global leader, as shown by its outstanding participation in the G20 Summit and other multilateral organizations, it's critical that we join together around issues that can't be solved by any one nation -- issues like climate change, issues like poverty, issues like terrorism. These are issues in which the United States and Mexico will have to stand side by side in order to promote common security and common prosperity.
So, it is wonderfully fitting to see the children of Mexico, as well as, I suspect, a few children of the United States here together waving flags of both countries because we're reminded -- because we are reminded that, ultimately, the reason that we serve in government, ultimately the reason that bilateral relationships like this are so important is because it allows us to promote a better future for our children. That's what we're fighting for -- for their dreams, for their opportunities, for their futures. And I'm very much looking forward to developing the kind of relationship between Mexico and the United States that will allow all the children here and all the children in both countries to thrive for years to come.
So thank you very much, Mr. President; madam first lady; and all of you for welcoming me in such a gracious way.
Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
SANCHEZ: And there you have it. The president of the United States meeting with the president of Mexico.
And what we wanted to do there -- and, you know, we've been having some interesting conversations about this while we were -- while we were watching this. And I think part of it was, should we, as a news organization, as CNN, not just show you the American president speaking, but given the nature of the problems in Latin America, and specifically with respect to Mexico, should we let you hear out the president of Mexico, a man who, as many Latin American leaders have felt of late, has been treated more as someone to follow what U.S. relations are rather than to be in part of those U.S. relations. And that's an interesting point not lost on many of the folks who've been watching us here. In fact, let's go to our Twitter board, as we bring in our guests -- as we put a punctuation on this discussion, as watch the presidents talk about this imperative relationship, with both countries right now going through such severe problems: "Mexico should help the U.S. deal with the Cuba issue."
I'm going to take you from the top and take you through some of the comments now: "Of course it's important to hear him out. I guess what kind of question is that? It is very important to work with the Mexican president. He's at ground zero of the violence. We have to work together to restore order."
So we wanted to share that with you. And I also want to share this with you, just to show you how serious the problem is in Mexico.
Listen to this. This report coming in from the Associated Press moments ago. The Mexican military saying 15 gunmen and one soldier were killed in a shootout. This was just hours ahead of President Barack Obama's first visit to the country.
Now, it happened in the state of Guerrero. And if I recall correctly, the state of Guerrero is around where Acapulco is, which is not necessarily where these two presidents were meeting. Nonetheless, it's almost like a caveat to this meeting that this war -- this drug war that we've been telling you about -- is very real.
Ruben Navarette is joining us now, along with scholar Manuel Rocha. He's in Trinidad for the upcoming Summit of the Americas convention that the president of the United States is going to be attending.
Ruben, let me bring you into the discussion.
Any news?
Anything you took away from these -- these speeches by these two men? RUBEN NAVARETTE, "SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE": Rick, listen, it's really remarkable to watch this. Here you had, not long ago, two American presidents -- George Bush and Vicente Fox -- brought together by the fact that they were sort of both people of the land, ranchers.
These two presidents are both lawyers, both Harvard educated and they're both reading from the same choir book here. They're both talking about an equal partnership that combats everything from global warming to, as you mentioned, the drug violence in Mexico. And so that was the dominant theme.
My takeaway was that Felipe Calderon wants to sit at the table with Barack Obama as equals. Luckily for him, Barack Obama told CNN en Espanol just yesterday -- and you heard it again today -- that's how he sees it -- as an equal partnership.
SANCHEZ: That's different, isn't it, Manuel?
MANUEL PEREZ ROCHA, CONTRIBUTOR, FOREIGN POLICY IN FOCUS: Yes. Well, I feel very happy about the declarations made by both presidents. I think we heard that, well, perhaps, that no two countries in the world have such an important relation as Mexico and the U.S.. So it's very important to fix this relation.
As you just mentioned, the violence in Mexico -- its narcotrafficking is not receding.
However, I think that this may prompt an increased militarization, which is very worrisome, also, for the Mexican, population because the impact of the militarization in human rights is increasing, as well.
SANCHEZ: So that...
PEREZ ROCHA: So this is an issue that -- that also should be addressed by the president...
SANCHEZ: But when we...
PEREZ ROCHA: ...the problems of human rights.
SANCHEZ: But when we address this issue -- and let me tell you something -- and, Ruben, maybe I should address this to you, being a, you know, a fellow reporter who's worked on this side. We in the media are as guilty as any politician in Washington. If you read the pages of "The New York Times" and "The Washington Post" and watch CNN -- yes, guilty as charged -- or Fox or MSNBC, we don't give the amount of attention to Latin America that we give to Israel, that we give to Iraq, that we give to Iran, that we give to the Middle East, that we give to -- that we certainly give to Europe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.
SANCHEZ: There's something to say here when the Mexicans and the rest of Latin America say, you guys really don't pay attention to us. You don't seem to care about it us. NAVARETTE: Rick, you're absolutely right. Just yesterday, I was watching CNN and there was Robert Gibbs at the press conference in Washington making this major announcement about drug cartel violence in Mexico. And then he went to the press corps. The very first question was about North Korea. It illustrates your point.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
NAVARETTE: It illustrates your point. Even when we're spoon fed the story, our mind drifts off into other things.
We typically, particularly on the East Coast, have seen Mexico as -- as not a very important story, Latin America as not a very important story. But all of a sudden it's become an enormously important story and we're probably the last ones to figure it out.
SANCHEZ: How does that bite us in the rear, if we're not careful, by ignoring a place so close to us, with so many people, who, for the most part, have long idolized the United States -- wanted to be like us?
NAVARETTE: Well, I'll tell you, Rick, very simply it -- a stone's throw from the studio in which you're taping in Atlanta -- we now know that Atlanta is the number one drug distribution center for the Mexican cartels on the Eastern Seaboard. We also know that in 200 cities in America, you see drug cartel activity.
So it bites us in the butt, as you said, by when you haven't tended to this issue, all of a sudden it's in our backyard, it's in our neighborhood. It's not a border story anymore, it's a national security issue.
SANCHEZ: Manuel Rocha, as we bring you in for the upcoming Summit of the Americas, what do you expect that the president of the United States will be able to do there, from a -- from the standpoint of tone?
And presidents set tones, historically. Ronald Reagan set a certain tone -- a tone of authority for the United States. The most recent administration, President George W. Bush's tone, seemed to be one that changed during his administration.
What tone does this president -- does President Barack Obama need to set with Latin America?
PEREZ ROCHA: Well, definitely, I think he's going to set a tone of more humbleness, you know. And he will come, as well as he went to Europe, to London with the G20, as he will come and say that he's coming more to listen than to prescribe...
SANCHEZ: Why is that important?
PEREZ ROCHA: Well, it's important because there is, in Latin America, a very -- a very strong perception that the U.S. has imposed its will during not decades, but maybe centuries, you know?
The United States has this Monroe Doctrine that I don't know if you've heard about...
SANCHEZ: Yes.
PEREZ ROCHA: ...but the Monroe Doctrine means that America is for the Americans. So there is this sense of the United States as empire that has been imposing its will into every country in Latin America. And this is something that I think -- a perception that President Obama will try to change. And he will -- this is the main aspect of his -- of his visit to Trinidad. He will come to try to show a new set of policies based on mutual respect and mutual interests.
SANCHEZ: Yes, well, you know, just...
PEREZ ROCHA: However...
SANCHEZ: To be...
PEREZ ROCHA: Yes?
SANCHEZ: To be fair, there are those who would certainly argue historically that the purpose and intent of the Monroe Doctrine was to -- for the United States to protect some of our neighbors from, perhaps, other invaders or people who were coming to -- to disengage their government, so to speak. Just to be fair, before you and I get a lot of mail on this, by the way.
My thanks to you...
PEREZ ROCHA: (INAUDIBLE) about an interpretation, Rick. And I think we could get into a lengthy discussion about this.
SANCHEZ: I bet.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: Listen, I'm sure we could and I know we've both long studied this situation.
PEREZ ROCHA: Right.
SANCHEZ: For those of you viewers who have been joining us, we're now 42 minutes past the hour. For the better part of the last 42 minutes, we have been showing you what is what is a historic day for the president of the United States, going on a trip where he's beginning -- interesting.
He's going to the Summit of the Americas. This is the summit -- the annual summit where all the leaders, all the presidents and vice presidents of all the different countries in Latin America and the Caribbean meet in one location to resolve their differences. And interestingly enough, and perhaps symbolically, this president, President Barack Obama, has chosen to fly to Mexico, before then moving to Trinidad and Tobago, where our guest, Manuel Rocha, is, to go ahead and -- and take care of that business, so to speak.
So that's what you've been watching. We take you through it.
And my thanks against to our guests, Mrs. Rocha and Navarette.
NAVARETTE: Thank you.
PEREZ ROCHA: Thank you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: So you tried to -- you tried to grow corn, but you can't make any money?
GRACIELA: No.
SANCHEZ: Nobody will pay you for it?
GRACIELA: No. Por que...
SANCHEZ: No de bagnala (INAUDIBLE)?
GRACIELA: No. No porque. No.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: So now I want to take you inside this story, right?
So why do immigrants come to America -- illegal immigrants in many cases -- in many, many cases?
This is not an easy answer, but you can find it if you look hard enough.
I'm going to take you to a place in Mexico. It's called The Lost City, where I went, where the origins of our immigration problems, in many ways, reside. It's my exclusive story that you'll see here next.
Also, how do you document the story people were angry at me for, telling them last week that Americans are buying guns because of unsubstantiated fears?
That, as well.
Stay with us.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: By the way, we continue to get a lot of commentary on this story.
Take a look at this. This is on MySpace. There you see the purple there: "I'm glad to see that Barack Obama realizes that Mexicans aren't happy about how their country has turned. Many things to discuss and many things to get done for both countries. I'm proud that the relationship will get stronger." By the way, it said that many Mexicans aren't happy either with how their country turned out. I think I misspoke when I was reading that.
All right, now to this.
All of us want border security, right?
We want border security in this country. We do. And most of us want some way to control immigration, especially illegal immigration, right?
But do we ever consider part of the reason that many illegal immigrants come here to begin with?
What moves them?
What's their story and what are we really doing to try and quell it, fix it?
Last year, I wanted to understand this a little bit better. So I traveled to Mexico myself with producer Michael Heard, who you see now here next to me. And there I found that the Mexican countryside has been decimated because farms have been put out of business.
The people there explained to me that, to a certain respect, NAFTA -- NAFTA had been bad for them. They said that Mexican farmers told me -- they say that the U.S. corn -- subsidized, for example, by U.S. taxpayers -- is so cheap and it's pumped so much into Mexico, with such volume, that it drives tens of thousands of them -- these poor farmers who once made a living working their own backyards, their own areas -- they say it's made them too poor.
So what happens?
These people, they leave the countryside, all right, and they go to the city. But there's no work for them in the city because they're farmers. So then they end up living in these shantytowns, before eventually trying to get into the United States.
Shantytowns, by the way, like this one, just outside of Mexico City, I visited. It's called, officially, The Lost City.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Where you come from there are no jobs?
GRACIELA: No.
SANCHEZ: (INAUDIBLE)?
GRACIELA: No trabajo, no economia.
SANCHEZ: Si.
GRACIELA: No cancel dinero (INAUDIBLE). SANCHEZ: There's just not enough money. You can't live. No (INAUDIBLE)?
GRACIELA: No. No (INAUDIBLE).
SANCHEZ (voice-over): This is Graciela, a product of the Mexican countryside, where business has dried up. No one buys what farmers grow.
Desperate, they come here in droves, to this peculiar place they call The Lost City.
(on camera): You built your house. Other people come, they build their houses.
(INAUDIBLE) es su casa.
Casa perisi ph -- it almost looks like it's one house on top of another.
GRACIELA: Si.
SANCHEZ: Es una casa (INAUDIBLE).
GRACIELA: Si. Por que mira.
SANCHEZ (voice-over): Once a beautiful national park enjoyed by families, this mountainside is now a shantytown -- plywood, plastic. Whatever they can find becomes building material near a big city that offers few jobs and no housing.
GRACIELA: No tenemos agua. No tenemos (INAUDIBLE).
SANCHEZ (on camera): So you...
GRACIELA: No tenemos (INAUDIBLE).
SANCHEZ: So you have no running water?
GRACIELA: No.
SANCHEZ: You have no electricity?
GRACIELA: No. No (INAUDIBLE).
SANCHEZ: No electricity.
GRACIELA: Um-hmm.
SANCHEZ: Drainage?
GRACIELA: No. Tanpoco (ph).
SANCHEZ: How do you go to the bathroom?
Como es el bano? GRACIELA: (INAUDIBLE) communis...
SANCHEZ: So you...
GRACIELA: (INAUDIBLE)...
SANCHEZ: Just...
GRACIELA: (INAUDIBLE).
SANCHEZ: Public latrines. You use public latrines.
GRACIELA: Um-hmm.
SANCHEZ (voice-over): She misses home, but life in the countryside is no longer viable. Her husband grew crops that no one would buy. He couldn't compete with cheaper produce coming in from abroad.
GRACIELA: Mui poco. (INAUDIBLE) mui poco...
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ (on camera): So you tried to -- you tried to grow corn, but you can't make any money?
GRACIELA: No.
SANCHEZ: Nobody will pay you for it?
GRACIELA: No. Por que...
SANCHEZ: No -- no (INAUDIBLE)?
GRACIELA: No. No (INAUDIBLE).
SANCHEZ: Por que competi con los in otre mais (ph)?
GRACIELA: Exactamente.
SANCHEZ: You can't compete with the other corn.
(voice-over): Government-subsidized corn from the U.S. Mexican farmers say they can't compete with the cheap prices. So they give up and are forced to abandon their rural life for this.
Graciela's husband now struggles to bring home only $90 a week. It's not enough -- "Not enough to feed her family," she tells me, as she shows me her kitchen and what little they have to eat.
(on camera): So when you have no money, you have no food.
GRACIELA: Um-hmm.
SANCHEZ: Just beans for lunch and beans for dinner.
GRACIELA: Is. Arroz.
SANCHEZ (voice-over): I duck under a web of improvised cables for a tour of Graciela's home -- two small rooms for a family of six.
(on camera): Two boys here and the little girl over here. So three children here. And the little one sleeps with you in la cama arriba -- upstairs. So your husband built this.
(voice-over): Thousands arrive -- more each day -- to build homes like the one Graciela's husband carved out of a mountainside.
(on camera): He made these walls?
(INAUDIBLE)?
GRACIELA: Yes.
Is.
SANCHEZ (voice-over): No permits, no infrastructure, no help from a government that doesn't even know they are here.
GRACIELA: No. No (INAUDIBLE).
SANCHEZ (on camera): Wow!
(voice-over): The mountainside is filling up. Newer arrivals stack their homes above the others. Graciela points up and tells me: "Those people are worse off than me."
(on camera): And they keep coming. They keep coming.
(INAUDIBLE)?
GRACIELA: Si. Si (INAUDIBLE).
SANCHEZ: They keep coming.
(voice-over): They keep coming, not by choice, but out of need. And if things don't work out here, then, Graciela's family says, they'll do what others have done in desperation -- leave the city and go even farther north, across the Rio Grande.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: And with that, we've got some breaking news I want to share with you.
Let's go ahead and show some of these pictures. Look at these aerials that we're looking at now.
This is from Long Beach, California. We understand that there's a hospital there that's on lockdown right now. That's Long Beach Memorial Hospital. Two people, we understand, have been injured. No details right now. We want to thank KABC for providing us with some of these -- some of these actual aerial photography that we're using to follow this story.
Obviously, should there be any kind of developments or headlines on this story, we will bring it to you immediately.
You see this guy right here?
Go tight on this guy, because I'm sure once we see my guest, who we're going to have on camera, just about every woman in the building is going to be working her way down to the newsroom.
It's Michael Ealy.
This guy was -- "Miracles of Santa Anna." It was a fabulous, fabulous movie; "Barbershop 1," "Barbershop 2." You were in "E.R." And now you're doing something special -- a project that really makes all Americans stand up and take notice. It's part of the Film Festival going on in Atlanta and that's the reason we wanted to make sure you were here to talk to us.
So, we're going to take a break and when we come back, Mr. Handsome over here, the guy with the baby dreamy eyes, is going to tell you about his projects.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: The king -- you know, it's funny, all these famous people are suddenly tuning on to CNN and it's kind of cool.
Ashton Kutcher, who you know has been having this thing with me and Larry King and CNN, trying to out Tweet us. He's finally agreed he's going to sit down and talk to Larry tomorrow night. So there you go. Ashton Kutcher on "The King" talking about being the Twitter king instead of us.
Here's Michael Ealy.
Look at this guy, huh?
I mean superstar. You're in movies. Chicks dig you.
I mean life is good, huh?
MICHAEL EALY, ACTOR: Life is great. I can't complain.
SANCHEZ: You can't complain about a thing. And you -- by the way, if you haven't seen the movie -- anybody who's watching right now, if you haven't seen "The Miracle At Santa Anna," you should see this -- a Spike Lee flick. And I was captivated by the movie all throughout. I watched it with my entire family -- all six of us sitting in front of the TV.
EALY: Wow!
SANCHEZ: And I felt bad when they killed you, by the way. EALY: Oh. All right.
SANCHEZ: Set this clip up for us.
What are we about to watch here?
This is called "The People Speak."
It's at the Atlanta Film Festival, right?
EALY: Yes. It's a -- it's a documentary. And what you're probably going to see is an excerpt of a speech by Malcolm X that I perform in this specific documentary myself.
SANCHEZ: And you're not the only one performing.
EALY: No.
SANCHEZ: Every superstar performing everything from Abraham Lincoln through history.
Here's a clip.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE PEOPLE SPEAK," COURTESY TUNNEL)
EALY: You look at the American Revolution in 1776.
That was for what?
For land.
Why did they want the land?
Independence.
How was it carried out?
Bloodshed.
There wasn't no love lost. There wasn't no compromise. There wasn't no negotiation. I am telling you, you don't know what a revolution is, because when you find out what it is, you'll get back in the alley and you'll get out of the way. You haven't got a revolution that doesn't involve bloodshed and you're afraid to bleed. I said you're afraid to bleed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: This is a -- this is a -- I mean, this is a poignant message to Americans. As I watched that last night, not just you -- we had Brolin, we had superstar after superstar, every famous actor you can think of out of Hollywood playing some important historical person with an important message to give -- to relay.
It's interesting to watch that.
What is -- what is it trying to say to Americans?
EALY: Well, I think the -- the main theme of "The People Speak" is that democracy is not a spectator sport. Participation is key. And I think, you know, that's one of the beautiful things about the democracy in this country is that everyone can participate.
Even with your newscast, there's so many people participating.
SANCHEZ: Is it -- is it changing?
Are people -- we talk about participatory journalism here all the time.
Are we seeing something now that we have -- perhaps didn't see in the past, with people participating more in a -- in a mass way?
EALY: I think there has been somewhat of an resurgence of people exerting their democratic rights, you know. And I think a lot of that has happened especially with the last presidential campaign and how involved the country was and how voter registration was up. And I think, you know, it's -- it was a resurgence from what we witnessed in the '60s.
SANCHEZ: Whether it's from the left or from the right -- for example, yesterday we had those -- we had those tea party protests. And people all over the country -- some in big groups, some in small groups -- but they were out getting their message across.
A good thing for this country?
EALY: I think it's a very good thing for this country. I think it's what this country was kind of founded on and I think it's -- it's really what's -- what's make -- what makes this country so great, is that you can voice your opinion.
SANCHEZ: You know, it's interesting seeing guys like you, you almost have to be careful. When you get to Hollywood you have to be careful when you go out and say things, because it can hurt you, can't you?
EALY: Yes. In many ways, it can. But I think, you know, it's important to be true to yourself...
SANCHEZ: Yes.
EALY: And true to your fans. And, you know, you have to speak your mind. I think the great ones, like Paul Robeson and...
SANCHEZ: And you seem to have...
EALY: And Harry Belafonte did that.
SANCHEZ: You know what it is?
You've got your head straight -- on straight and you're doing a good job and you're doing great in Hollywood, by the way. EALY: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: Say that's it for us.
Let's take it over to Wolf Blitzer now.
EALY: That's it for us.
Let's take it over to Wolf -- Wolf Blitzer for now.
(LAUGHTER)
EALY: I'm not as good as you.
SANCHEZ: There you go -- Wolf.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks very much, guys.
Happening now, President Obama stands with Mexico against deadly drug lords -- we're waiting to hear from the president live, showing solidarity south of the border. Stand by.
Also this hour, a joyous homecoming and a harrowing amount of stories -- the former hostages describe the fight for their lives against armed and dangerous pirates.
And one airline is set to make its heaviest fliers pay an extra price.
Is it smart business or is it discrimination?
