Garcia Bernal on May 18, 2014 in Cannes, France. (2014 Getty Images)
Mexican actor and director Gael García Bernal has added his voice to the growing number of celebrities speaking out against the ongoing violence in his home country.
“Whatever is happening in Mexico now is far more important than any movie or interview,” he recently told Remezcla. “It is more important that anything we are doing... what’s important is the voices of those who are demonstrating, and of [the members of] society that are demonstrating and are doing stuff about it.”
He said the country has reached a critical stage and something needs to be done.
“We need the whole world helping us, and to pay attention to this,” said García Bernal, 35. “We are the only ones who can stop this injustice and this impunity and this systematic corruption that exists, and this lack of social justice that exists [not only] in Mexico, but in other parts of the world as well.”
The “Y tu mamá también” actor was talking about the case of the 43 students who went missing after a clash with local authorities in the state of Guerrero. The incident has sparked widespread protests throughout Mexico demanding justice.
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Several mass graves were found in the search for the students, but none have shown to contain their remains.
Last week, government officials announced that gang members had confessed to incinerating the bodies, though DNA testing is still being processed to identify the bodies.
Mexican director Alfonso Cuarón also spoke out recently against the violence in his home country, saying it was difficult to talk about film projects because the issue is “hanging over not only every Mexican, but any other person who is aware of what’s going on.”
He joined fellow directors Guillermo del Toro and Alejandro González Iñárritu to condemn the violence, but also called out the Mexican government for answers.
“We believe that these crimes are systemic and indicate a much greater evil: the blurred lines between organized crime and the high-ranking officials in the Mexican government. We must demand the answers about this, and we must do it now,” they expressed in a statement read at a recent event.
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