No. of Recommendations: 2
You know, it helps to look at this Mexico stuff in a larger context.
Mexico has ALWAYS been very violent in many areas due to the drug cartels and rampant police and government corruption (and fear if they stand up to the cartels, the authorities will be assassinated--which happens.)
Because it is relatively close to the U.S., because it has nice beaches, because it has an underdeveloped economy and stuff is "cheap" relative to the U.S., it was marketed as a perfect, cheapo "vacation spot" or "retirement spot" for ex-pats.
This was always dependent upon keeping the tourists and the ex-pats in the "safe zones" and hoping the cartel violence would be nice and not intrude into the tourism and ex-pat areas. So, this notion of Mexico as a "safe" and "ideal" vacation or retirement destination has always relied on the ability of the tourists, the expats, and the governments involved, as well as the corporations who developed the resort areas, to maintain extreme amounts of cognitive dissonance.
The poverty was always there. The drug cartels were always there. The violence was always there.
It was only a matter of time before this kind of "leakage" occurred. Even if the current crisis blows over, the violence or potential for it will ALWAYS be there.
Mexico will NEVER be truly "safe" for relatively well-off tourists and ex-pats, who obviously are prime targets. It never was.
Maybe some day but not in any of our lifetimes.
