Mexico… Robberies, Kidnappings, Murder’s Oh My!

So this will be a post without many pictures, it is the obligatory post about our time in Mexico, that goes against everything you hear on the news about the “Dangers of Mexico”.  We spent a total of 6 ½ weeks in Mexico and didn’t get robbed, kidnapped or murdered even once, nor were we stopped by police for a bribe.  Our experiences were quite the opposite, the police and military were friendly and helpful and on more than one occasion someone followed us out of a store (or stand) to give us the rest of our change after we left. 

Is Mexico dangerous? Yes, but no more than Los Angeles (or any big city in the world for that matter), and as long as visitors use commonsense, humility, smile and wave, it is my belief they will be fine in Mexico (as you will just about everywhere). 

For me coming back to Mexico was amazing, it has been over 20 years since I have spent any time here, and the changes to the country astound me.  Yes there is still poverty, yes the water is still unsafe to drink, yes there are still problems with the plumbing, but the growth of the cities and the middle class are both something for this country to be proud of.  Just about everywhere we went we saw people sweeping the streets, public trash cans (even on the side of the road), clean bathrooms in every Pemex (yes sometimes you had to pay for them), and kids walking to or from school. 

 

In Oaxaca and Guadalajara we also saw political protests, and these made me really think about the changes that have occurred in both Mexico and the US, in both countries we now have protests against the corruption of the political class, while this has always been the case in Mexico it is something new in my life time in the US.  Another set of similarities between the two countries is the growth of Big Box Stores and Farmer’s Markets.  In Mexico you now see Super Megas and Electras that look surprisingly like Costco and Best Buy but now in the US Farmer’s Markets are found in almost every town that resemble the Mexican Mercado.  As Mexico races to catch up with the US, we are becoming for good and bad more like Mexico.

As for it being safer in the US, yes for most of us it is, but for the first time today I was able to watch CNN, and after 3 months they are still discussing the tragedy of Sandy Hook Elementary School, so maybe our dangers are just different and harder to predict.