The Mexican TV Series Cannibal, total outrage retraces the criminal journey of a woman killer. Originally thought to denounce the impunity surrounding feminicides in Mexico, it nevertheless caused a scandal, with feminists denouncing a glorification of the assassin.
From our correspondent in Mexico City,
Cannibal: total indignation is the title of a documentary series that aired in late June and early July on television mexican. In five episodes, this production retraces the criminal journey of Andrés Mendoza, a serial killer of women.
The documentary delves into the more sinister aspects of the case such as the cannibalistic practices of the assassin. The series has been seen by 27 million viewers but has provoked horrified reactions from Mexican feminists, who believe that we are transforming feminicides in show.
Fifty potential victims
Andrés Mendoza has indeed murdered dozens of women with complete impunity for more than thirty years. This septuagenarian lived in the suburbs of Mexico City, he was a man much appreciated by his neighbors, he even led an organization of residents in his neighborhood, in Atizapán. He was arrested in 2021 and a large number of human remains were found at his home.
He will be nicknamed the “cannibal of Atizapán”, because he ate the flesh of his victims and offered it to his neighbors passing it off as wild boar meat. Another terrifying detail: he also cooked sauces made from peppers and the blood of his victims. Twenty bodies were identified but notebooks were found in which the assassin meticulously noted information on the women he massacred: 50 names appear there, 50 potential victims.
Series Cannibal back to this case. Broadcast at prime time on a Mexican commercial channel, it provoked a lot of indignant reactions.
Make femicide entertainment
The documentary is centered on the figure of the assassin and delves into the most morbid details of the case. The documentary describes Andrés Mendoza as ” an assassin like no other “, a formula decried because it attributes to him a form of criminal aura.
Conversely, many Internet users say they are shocked because the women, the victims, are reduced to human remains, to bodies without history. We know that Andrés Mendoza preferred them ” small and sturdy », Says the documentary. In short, we are faced with descriptions and dehumanizing treatment of the victims, according to many critics.
However, the producers of the series wanted in the first place to raise awareness of the scourge of feminicides.
Impunity for women killers
The series was even produced by the Mexican Supreme Court, which seemed a sign of seriousness. Supreme Court President Arturo Zaldivar said the series will open the eyes of society, mobilize awareness to stop feminicide from being part of the landscape.
An average of ten women are violently killed in Mexico every day. Arturo Zaldivar invites Mexicans to wonder how it is possible that this assassin could have remained active for 31 years before being unmasked.
► To listen: Mexico: a “national women’s strike” to denounce feminicides
The series effectively highlights the impunity that surrounds feminicides. But there are blunders that are unforgivable according to feminists: like recreating the killer’s face in the credits using mini-portraits of the women he killed, as if they were part of him .
It is inflicting immense and needless pain on the loved ones of the victims, critics say.