My blog is about my life in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. It all seems lovely and actually it is a pretty wonderful life. But there is another life in Mexico. It is the underbelly, the dark side of Mexico. I couldn't find the place but Michael Dickson has written about the Mexican bloggers who write only about the Beautiful Mexico. He has challenged us to see the other side.
More and more we are reading about the drug war in Mexico. At first I could just say that doesn't affect me. That it is about the cartels killing each other along the border as they compete for control of the "business." I don't hang out in the border towns or late at night in the bars. But the drug war is spreading outside the cartels. The last few days the Houston Chronicle has had several articles about what is happening and how the United States Government is viewing the dangers in Mexico. Here is the most recent US travel advisory. Today the article in the Chronicle was about Juarez. When you piece together the news from the last few months, there have been incidents in Patzcuaro, Celaya, Morelia......towns that are far from the border.
Is Mexico headed for a failed country? I don't think so. Still I have to ask myself, what could this spreading drug war mean for us personally.
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8 comments:
I have been holding off on posting on this topic, but I think it is worth comment -- probably later this week. Thanks for opening the topic.
I'll look forward to reading what you have to write. I think this issue is a concern to all of us ex-pats even if we feel quite safe now.
Billie,
Don't worry about the dark side. The Devil is alive and well and roams the entire Earth. If you don't believe me go to Houston and sit in your car in Sugarland and listen to a police scanner radio at night. You will think that you are in Gaza. Stay off the roads in Mexico after sundown and don't wear a lot of bling bling and you will be okay :)
Well it is a long and complicated story. One that I know of from a perspective different then reading in the paper.
I did talk to an old friend from US Customs while in Houston. He said a LOT of the rhetoric is from various governmental agencies trying to "beef" up their funding for their agency at the expense of Mexico - ie, DEA, Border Patrol, Homeland Security. You see those agencies weren't around 15 years ago when all of the borders were the responsibility of US Customs-even drug interdiction. He smirked as he talked about it. The sad thing is that it gives Mexico a "black" eye AND certainly hurts the economy.
My tour group has cancelled their trip here in August thanks to those articles in the Houston Chronicle!
Well Billie, like Bob says, the devil roams the earth. It doesn' matter where one is at, if something is going to happen, it will happen. Just be careful. Have a great week.
The main reason of why I love, truly love reading you "guyses" positive blogs about Mexico is...because I am sick and tired of listening to US negative news about Mexico. All news channels only talk about corruption, illegal immigration, narcotics, etc, etc, etc about Mexico. I don't think we are that bad, otherwise you guys would not be living in Mexico. Isn't Mexico beautiful after all? I think it is.
I think it is good to be aware. There are areas of Houston I avoid due to high crime rates, while my home is situated in a quiet suburb where I feel secure.
Mexico is no different: safe and secure in spots and dangerous in others. I think the key is to know where the danger lies and avoid those locations.
To turn a blind eye on what is happening is not the best course, (in my opinion) though many I know disagree. I would never dream of living in a US city and being unaware of high crime areas. I will be aware here as well.
Yes, I feel safe in San Miguel. It feels just like my Houston suburb!
Having visited San Miguel only once so far (but more in the future I know), I can say that I felt extremely safe even in the evening. I experienced SMA as a very wonderful town and definitely want to return.
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