Grupo Salinas Presents the 9th Annual "caminos de la Libertad Para Jóvenes" Awards

MEXICO CITY, May 07, 2018 -- Grupo Salinas, a group of dynamic, fast-growing and technologically advanced companies, deeply committed to the modernization of the countries where they operate, announced that on May 4, 2018, the ceremony for the ninth annual “Caminos de la Libertad para Jovenes” awards took place before an audience of thousands of youth.

The ceremony was headed by Ricardo Salinas, Founder and Chairman of Grupo Salinas, who was accompanied by Marcel Granier, Director of Radio Caracas Televisión as a special guest; Sergio Sarmiento, Director of Caminos de la Libertad; executives of Grupo Salinas and relatives of the winners.

Ricardo Salinas congratulated the participants for their work full of creativity, for expressing their idea of freedom, and urged them to continue fighting for their rights and not to give up: "all of you young people, I do not believe you want to live under the boot of anyone, we must continue fighting for that; we want to be free, we want to be able to choose what is best for us. You, youth, who have your whole lives ahead of you, are the ones who need options. Do not give up and keep fighting for freedom."

Marcel Granier expressed his gratitude to Caminos de la Libertad and the companies of Grupo Salinas for having a space dedicated to young people, and said he was moved to see hundreds of them committed to the idea of freedom, the greatest idea of mankind, and the only one that allows us to realize our full potential and recognize our dignity.

"In this struggle for freedom there are several paths that are very important and you have the opportunity to travel them now. The first is the exercise of democracy. The second is in the development of all that is the market economy, which is the most efficient solution that man has found to solve economic problems, in order to achieve dreams of improvement and prosperity. And finally, a country needs institutions to be able to progress, it needs clear rules,” said Mr. Granier.

In his speech, Sergio Sarmiento commented that democracy without respect for individual freedoms, economic freedom, freedom to invest, political freedoms, and personal freedoms does not work. "I know that over the next few years, the team of Caminos de la Libertad and I, with the support of Ricardo Salinas, will continue to defend the ideas of freedom," he concluded.

The “Caminos de la Libertad para Jovenes” award was created and promoted by Ricardo Salinas since 2009 with the goal to open a space for discussion, expression and feedback around the issue of freedom among the new generations, and promote them a positive change for the benefit of our society.

Young people between the ages of 15 and 25 years old through five categories: music, photography, visual arts, video and writing, express what freedom means to them, and the difficulties they face to achieve it.

This year Caminos de la Libertad received works from Mexico and Latin America: 460 young people sent stories and poems; 523 participated in photography; 102 in visual arts; 116 musical entries; 92 entries in PintArte; 342 essays; and 76 video entries. The winners from each category received Ps. 50,000 for first place, Ps. 30,000 for second place and Ps. 15,000 for third place.

Grupo Salinas will continue to promote this type of contest that promotes thought, values, the rule of law, respect for human rights through new ideas, and the goal of positive change in society.

About Grupo Salinas

Grupo Salinas (www.gruposalinas.com) is a group of dynamic, fast growing, and technologically advanced companies focused on creating: economic value through market innovation and goods and services that improve standards of living; social value, to create social capabilities to improve the communities’ conditions; and environmental value, by reducing the negative impact related to its business activities. Created by Mexican entrepreneur Ricardo B. Salinas (www.ricardosalinas.com), Grupo Salinas operates as a management development and decision forum for the top leaders of member companies. These companies include: TV Azteca (www.TVazteca.com; www.irtvazteca.com), Grupo Elektra (www.grupoelektra.com.mx), Banco Azteca (www.bancoazteca.com.mx), Advance America (www.advanceamerica.net), Afore Azteca (www.aforeazteca.com.mx), Seguros Azteca (www.segurosazteca.com.mx), Punto Casa de Bolsa (www.puntocasadebolsa.mx), Totalplay (www.totalplay.com.mx) and Totalplay Empresarial (http://totalplayempresarial.com.mx). TV Azteca and Grupo Elektra trade shares on the Mexican Stock Market and are part of its Sustainability Index. Each of the Grupo Salinas companies operates independently, with its own management, board of directors and shareholders. Grupo Salinas has no equity holdings. The group of companies shares a common vision, values and strategies for achieving rapid growth, superior results and world-class performance.

Press Relations:

Luciano Pascoe, +52 (55) 1720 1313 ext. 36553, [email protected]
Daniel McCosh, +52 (55) 1720-0059, [email protected]