On Sunday, nearly one thousand protesters are expected to join George Washington University’s (GW) students and their parents at a commencement ceremony on Washington D.C.’s National Mall to voice concerns about the honorary degree the school plans to confer on Mexican billionaire businessman Carlos Slim.

Protesters have already begun gathering in the streets around GW. Many of the demonstrators are members of “Two Countries One Voice”, a coalition of activists dedicated to “exposing Carlos Slim” for amassing, “his wealth on the backs of the Mexican people and how his practices continue to corrode Mexico’s economic development,” according to the coalition website.

Slim, a Mexican telecom magnate, is the world’s richest person, with a personal fortune larger than those of Americans Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. He is the first person from a developing nation to top the global wealth list, according to Forbes magazine.

Slim’s core company, Telmex, was once a state-owned asset. His conglomerate, Grupo Carso, purchased Telmex in 1990, according to Forbes. The purchase gave Slim control of 80 percent of Mexico’s land line telephone market. A second Slim-owned company, Telcel, controls 70 percent of the country’s mobile phone business.

Slim’s Grupo Carso also has significant holdings in the retail, technology and finance sectors. Critics say Slim’s empire has choked off competition, the jobs that smaller companies may have created and contributed to elevated unemployment in Mexico.

Read the full story at the Huffington Post