Everardo González, a celebrated Mexican director, has asserted that Mexico has lost a generation of children and young people who have chosen weapons and violence as a response to their hopelessness. He made these remarks in an interview at the Guadalajara International Film Festival (FICG).
A Society in Crisis
“Mexico lost an entire generation. We’ve seen about 25 years pass since the country was socially degraded by a hyper-consumer society and the breakdown of moral values,” González told EFE. “In other societies, this might not cause as much harm, but in one as violent as Mexico’s, it ends up breaking everything.”
A Glimpse into a Harsh Reality: A Pack Called Ernesto
The director is debuting his seventh documentary feature film, “A Pack Called Ernesto,” at the 38th edition of the FICG, competing in the official section for “Best Mexican Documentary”. The documentary features children and adolescents working for drug cartels and adults, including members of police forces and the now-defunct Presidential General Staff, who sell or rent weapons to these minors.
The film reveals chilling tales of how cartels teach these young ones to kill, how they murdered a rival, or what they say to someone when they point a gun at them to rob them.
González emphasized the similarity between the trafficking of drugs and weapons across the border, stating, “Just as we put drugs on the border and the gringo mafias are in charge of distributing them to their consumers, the same happens with weapons. The gringos put them on the border, and it is our corrupt mechanisms who put them in the hands of young people.”
From Victim to Perpetrator: A Socioeconomic Failure
One of the most impactful scenes occurs when a youngster affirms that having a weapon shifts him from being a victim to seizing power and becoming a perpetrator. It underlines the fact that the socioeconomic system fails to provide them with hope, the director explained.
González delves into the unfortunate reality of these youngsters, highlighting the presence of violence, inequality, despair, and the feeling of leading a disposable life.
In the past, González has explored violence in Mexico in his award-winning documentary “La libertad del diablo.” This work gave him a unique insight into the lives of organized crime members, helping to shape his new documentary, with the collaboration of renowned journalists like Daniela Rea, Lydiette Carrión, and Óscar Balderas.
To protect the identities of the minors and depict their violent surroundings, the production team designed a crane system carried on their backs, leading to intensely personal and powerful scenes.
The film will be screened at universities beginning in October, and is set to premiere in theaters and on TelevisaUnivision’s Vix platform in November.
