Corporate Funded Video Voices Mexican People’s Political Disaffection

The clip starts off with a boy waking up to his alarm and getting ready for work while listening to the television news’ warnings about excessive air pollution. As he exits his home, he is robbed at gunpoint and the thieves run away.  The thieves encounter a police officer who takes their stolen materials and dismisses them.

The video continues, portraying many of Mexico’s problems such as public unrest, authority abuse, corruption, and criminality. A young girl ends the video with an explicit statement that demands the candidates for a true transformation of the country and dismisses previous superficial changes.

The American citizens demanded change and then presidential candidate Barack Obama promised to make that change. Now in Mexico, the insurance company Grupo Nacional Provincial (GNP) took the initiative of empowering Mexican citizens to demand change. GNP helped citizens voice their demands to the candidates of the 2012 elections through a short video.

The GNP launched a campaign titled “Mexico del futuro” where they had interviewers ask people on the streets what specific changes they wanted to see in Mexico. Some of the people’s responses were: safer streets, less delinquency, less violence, no corruption, and cleaner air.  All responses were recorded and revised in a three-minute film acted out by children. This piece is titled “Niños incomodos exigen a candidatos.”

People deal daily with the criminality in Mexico. Liliana Salinas, 31-year old homemaker in Guadalajara, Jalisco, recounted her experience of being held at gunpoint, “He sentido lo amargo de tener una pistola en la cabeza amenazando mi vida.”

Liliana, like many other citizens, have experienced threats to their life. Citizens demand a change and have different perspectives of what will bring it. Recent graduate from la Universidad de Guadalajara Addilene Hernández said, “Se necesitan cambios inmediatos y como prioridad la educación ya que considero es la base para evitar la delincuencia, esto fomentando valores y promoviendo mejores vidas con conocimiento y así aspirar a una buena economía.”

Although the video is very impactful, there has been much controversy around it due to the people behind the campaign, who are rich businessmen.  Alberto Bailleres is the owner of GNP, the company behind the “Mexico del futuro” campaign, and also the second richest man in Latin America.

Gemma Gonzalez, 26-year old resident in Mexico city, does not care where the video came from, “Me parece muy bueno que alguien con la posibilidad económica gaste un poco de su riqueza para compartir un mensaje y hacer conciencia para la gente que la ha perdido. Ojala muchos pensaran como él y empezaran a hacer cosas así por el país donde vivimos.”

Román Luján, Spanish professor at the UCLA and Mexican citizen, said, “El mensaje está allí, es cierto, existe esta violencia, corrupción, es como funciona el país. I want my country to succeed, that’s why I am critical of it.”

This video also caught the candidates’ attention and all agree with the message.  Candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador from Partido de la Revolución Democrática (PRD), assures that he will change all those issues.

Candidate Josefina Vasquez Mota from the Partido Acción Nacional (PAN) stated through Twitter that the message of the video has not gone unseen and she will meet with the organization behind the campaign to discuss Mexico’s issues. Candidate Enrique Peña Nieto from the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) also tweeted his support for the video and affirmed that he hears the same message from the citizens during his campaign tours: “Time has run out” for superficial candidates and apathetic citizens.  Peña Nieto states that it’s time to renew hope and to change Mexico.

No matter who is funding this campaign, the message it conveys is a reality. Mexico is infested with violence and corruption and it is in vital need of change. Like professor Luján reflects, “Mexico está infestado de corrupción, vacunarlo no, hay que cortar pedazos enteros de la estructura official.”

What are your opinions about Mexico’s upcoming election?