Zapopan police are under investigation for appearing in a violent and misogynistic music video by norteño singer Gerardo Ortiz. Three police officers have been temporarily removed from their posts because of their role in the video, which the Mexican government has asked media outlets not to broadcast.
Critics have also alleged that a house featured in the filming of the video, Fuiste Mia (You were mine), has links to organized crime. A dead body was reportedly discovered on the premises in 2010, and the house was the scene of a shootout four years later.
Ortiz’s highly controversial video currently has more than 20 million views on Youtube. It depicts the singer shooting a love rival before tying up his partner, putting her in the trunk of his car and setting alight to the vehicle. The graphic content sparked a furious reaction on social media and a petition was later released calling for it to be banned.
Following suit, the government is now calling for media to refrain from showing the video.
Mexico’s interior department has requested that media outlets “avoid distributing material like this that trivialises and promotes violence against women.”
In addition, Jalisco state government has asked organizers to cancel Ortiz’s appearance at a concert in Tepatitlan, Jalisco.
The singer has denied any intention to incite violent behavior.
A statement by his record company said Ortiz’s music “has touched the combative spirit of the people, with different stories that come from people’s daily reality, without ever having been an invitation to any kind of behavior in particular”.
The singer “doesn’t try to do anything other than show a vision of everyday reality”, the statement added.
Ortiz’s debut album won a Grammy nomination for Best Norteño album in 2010, and is often categorized as a singer of “narcocorridos” - narco ballads that glorify drug dealers.
Violence against women has risen dramatically in the context of the Mexican drug war.
Conavim reports the number of killings more than doubled in the six years following its escalation, rising from 1,119 in 2007 to 3,892 in 2013. The vast majority of these women were not directly involved in the drug trade, so the study indicates the wide-reaching impact of organized crime on communities.
The government of Jalisco issued a “gender alert” last month, which represents a clear concession that systematic violence against women is a problem in the state.