We love Mexico and been all over the country, but we're more and more concerned (and shocked frankly) at la violencia' across the board there. We have friends in various cities, who doesn't love some of the incredible staff at Temptations like Germain, Christian and others like Merriam who have since moved on. We hate to see those folks penalized by folks not attending. The country is filled with some fabulous people. But the bigger picture seems to be a country that is growing more and more corrupt and doing little to stop it. Right now it is still mostly drug-related. At what point will tourists themselves risk kidnapping for ransom? That happens in some places but not all. Will that change? Will places formerly safe be included in the ongoing border town carnage? PV, Cancun, Monterey, many great tourist locations have seen terrible increases in violence. Please don't lecture us on the wonderful people a boycott would affect, we know this. We love the place...we're just wondering if Americans and our neighbors to the north were to boycott the country, the president and powers that be would see fit to make the necessary major changes from the corrupt policia, federalies and judges.... We're now on the fence. We love Cabo, Cancun and the resorts there, but we've about had enough with reading the violent reports. Anybody feel similarly? Not looking to start a pissing match here, just looking for thoughts.
I'm going to go with absolutely not. And I won't try any of the obvious platitudes you ask us not to use. 1.) The violence and corruption we hear about so much is a direct result of the markets (U.S.A. and Canada) demand for illegal drugs. To lower demand it is up to our governments to either legalize or firmly stamp out the drug trade within our borders. (that is another can of hungry angry snakes) 2.) Everything I have read indicates that the Federal government in Mexico is aggressively fighting the drug cartels. It's probably why the violence is so bad in border regions to begin with. 3.) What would a boycott accomplish? In my mind it would only serve to make a bad situation in the border states of Mexico worse with the loss of jobs. 4.) How would this affect Canada and the U.S.A.? It would be really bad on our economies for one thing. We are all tied into NAFTA and our economies are very integrated. If one economy goes down the other two get dragged down with the first. As an example Canada had the strongest economy in the G8 before the recession in the states and when it happened it pulled Canada in right with it. 5.) Would it be legal? Nope It would definitely go against a lot of agreements (NAFTA being an example). In my opinion the U.S.A would be better served by getting serious about securing it's southern border and making a decision one way or the other on how to handle its war on drugs.
We have just as much of a chance getting shot in Vancouver as we do going to a resort in Mexico. I think we will continue to take that chance.
We avoid Oakland and pretty much stay away from Los Angeles also but that's part of living in California..... Take the good with the bad. We love going to Mexico and to date have felt pretty safe in Cancun. As a tourist we don't do or go anywhere that we feel unsafe and always stay with a group of friends. Safety in numbers is a good way to travel.
IF you really want to boycott somebody is Drugs that is the reason the Mexican Cartel are fighting for the PLAZA(Borders) if the drug wasant in such demand in the States, Canada or the rest of the world lots if this things wont be happeing!
I think your heart is in the right place, Litebeam (You are looking for an answer to stop the violence and bloodshed) . But I agree with the other posts. Mexican officials have been assassinated in cold blood for taking a stand against the drug cartels. Not to mention the numerous police officers who have lost their lives. I think step one is to remove pot from the narcotics category. It should never have been there in the first place. I lean towards legalization though I do have some concerns in that regard. The bottom line is you are never goign to stop people from smoking it and it's costing billions to fight that, instead of collecting millions in taxes from a legal industry. Something needs to be done about the arms finding their way south of the border, as well. Normally, a country is far less concerned about what is going out than they are about what is coming in. In this case, I think it is in America's interest to be checking what is going into Mexico as well as what is coming in from there.
Have to say that (fortunately) not a single tourist has been harmed let alone killed as a result of the drugs violence that is going on in certain parts of the country, as far as I know. And Mexico, Cancun in particular, attracts millions of tourists each year. Certain parts of Mexico (less so Cancun) are currently very dangerous if you're a politician, a drugs gang member, a drug seller, a drug user, a policeman, a soldier, a lawyer, a big business owner, a journalist.... I could go on. But if you dont get involved in illegal business, high profile business or law enforcement then the risk is no worse than anywhere else in the World. I have lived in Cancun for 6 years now and as a little guy that taps away on his computer all day long in his house I feel no risk whatsoever, and feel much more safe than I did back home in the UK where random violence and anti social behaviour are much more common place and much more likely to affect people like me and my family. I'm a husband and a father of two, my foremost obligation is my family's safety and well being. I can do my job and support my family from anywhere in the World that has an Internet connection, but I choose to do it in Cancun. The moment I feel our situation becomes remotely dangerous we'll be on the next flight out, I can assure you.
Cabos is pretty safe, in the 15 years I have lived here, there is like 0 violence compare whit any other city in Mexico.......I'm sure there is more violence in front of the White house than in Cabos......
i think what typically happens with most americans is they hear about issues in another country and instead of researching to determine just exactly what the deal is - they just automatically assume because somebody mentioned trouble in that country that it applies to everyone in every location in that country at all times in every possible way in any given scenario. rob
