Why this Immigrant Rights March is Brought to You by Miller
By Oscar Avila
September 1, 2006
Marchers had to duck into fast-food restaurants for water when they first took to Chicago’s streets in support of illegal immigrants five months ago. At the next two marches, family-owned grocery stores offered free bottled water from trucks emblazoned with their names.
This time, as demonstrators march from Chinatown to House Speaker Dennis Hastert’s (R-Ill.) Batavia office this weekend, they will have Miller Brewing Co., as a sponsor. The brewer has paid more than $30,000 for a planning convention, materials and newspaper ads publicizing the event.
The support of a major corporation for a controversial political cause shows how fierce the competition has become to woo the growing market of Latino consumers.
For Miller, the march offered a special chance to catch up. This spring the brewer drew the ire of pro-immigrant forces over contributions to U.S. Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), who sponsored legislation that would crack down on illegal immigrants. That prompted a short-lived boycott by some Latino groups.
Now, march advertisements feature not just the organizing committee’s trademark blue globe but Miller’s logo and a Spanish translation of its “Live Responsibly” slogan, a company effort to build goodwill among Latinos.
But this march is no Cinco de Mayo parade. The politically charged event will promote a controversial plan to end deportations and offer legal status for all 11 million to 12 million undocumented immigrants. That creates potential pitfalls for any businesses lending support, experts say. (….Full Article)
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