In Mexico, a video showing child actors acting as corrupt politicians, drug traffickers and police on the take has gone viral.  Uploaded on You Tube on 9 April, the film clip had reached more than 1 million viewers by the weekend of 15 April. But on 16 April, the video was removed from the video sharing site

Produced by a business group, the film had been criticised by politicians, who claimed it violated the human rights of minors.  Yes, there was something unsettling in seeing an 8- or 12-year-old  child waving a gun or pickpocketing another child dressed as a businessman. But the film hit a sore spot, as it allowed adults to see how far certain problems have grown in Mexico. The video was well-produced and it was simple in its message.  It showed the problem and then asked politicians to solve it.

It is hard not to imagine that politicians were a bit jealous: released in the middle of a national electoral period, the movie gained almost 200,000 followers per day the week it was up on You Tube.  The sad part is that this is only the first movie that captured the attention of the Mexican voter.  While Mexico is an advanced democracy, albeit today engulfed in drug trafficking related violence, its political campaigns go back to another century.  The four presidential candidates and the myriad candidates for Congress are presented in wooden poses and clichéd manners in television, billboards and even on social media.

Only one politician, Miguel Mancera — said to be the top contender for the mayoral race in Mexico City — publicly applauded the video. One columnist claimed that the video is a trap because it was superficial in its demands, and it did not address issues that keep Mexican society unequal.

Because of the success of the first video, the producers created a second video where the child actors,  dressed for their roles, are interviewed on camera about problems in Mexico and give their point of view as to what type of city they would like in the future.  One of the child actors, Jose Stallin Maya Gonzalez, who plays a corrupt judicial policeman who steals from robbers in the first video, says: “Well, in the Mexico of the Future, the police would take care of us.”

Plenty of Mexicans second his view.