Our Situation in Mexico Right Now (Politics & Travel Safety)
This is a short post to give readers an update, since we’re currently in Mexico City and have been talking with Mexican friends around the country to get an idea of what’s really happening. (TL;DR: I’m just fine. Thanks to the many of you who reached out to ask.)
If you’ve seen the news this week, you’ve probably seen reports of “violence across Mexico.” I’m seeing lots of inflammatory travel headlines asking, “Is Mexico safe right now??”
Yes, there have been incidents (mostly arson), with the cartels jockeying for power after the Mexican army arrested a major cartel leader, who died after a shoot-out.
I’m not minimizing that.
But it’s not everywhere, and from what I’m seeing and hearing from trustworthy sources, it’s not as extreme as the news in the US has made it sound. Yes, people have had their cars burned, and businesses damaged, which is awful.
Is Mexico unsafe?
But to go from that to worrying that an entire country is unsafe for travelers is a sensational jump.
Mexico is a big country. Just as violence in Minneapolis doesn’t mean the entire US is on fire, violence in Guadalajara doesn’t mean all of Mexico is on lock down.
It’s important not to generalize.
While the US Department of State is saying to “reconsider travel” to the state of Jalisco and other nearby areas, I’d like to see them being honest about whether people should travel to Minneapolis right now.
Don’t fall for the fear-mongering and believe that foreign countries are inherently more dangerous than the US.
So should you travel to Mexico right now?
If you’re planning to fly to Guadalajara or Puerto Vallarta this week, it’s a tough call on whether you should. I would probably say not to, out of caution.
And of course, this is a good example of why travel insurance is always a good idea, in case plans have to change. But right now, the situation is stable in most of Mexico, and seems to be improving in the states affected.
The rest of Mexico, especially popular tourist areas, are not highly affected right now. And if you have a trip coming up in March or later, I’d say you should be good to continue with those plans.
What’s really going on in Mexico?
And I’ve been in touch with Mexican friends who live close to where the “El Mencho” raid happened.
My friends stayed inside yesterday, out of an abundance of caution, but said that the situation is largely calm.
Yes, some banks and Oxxo’s (a corner store chain) were lit on fire, and some highways were blocked. From what I’ve read, there has been one civilian death. (Not counting police, army and suspected gang members killed in the raid.)
But a huge problem has been the FAKE reports of explosions, and universities and airplanes on fire, with AI generated images created to put people in panic. That’s a lot of what my friends have been dealing with for the past 24 hours – trying to figure out what’s real.
They’ve also said that, at least in their specific communities, most of the fires have been minimal – entryways were lit on fire, and it looked dramatic, but the fires were quickly put out and stores will likely reopen in a couple of days.
Is that anecdotal? Sure.
But the only anecdotes that seem to be making the news are the ones designed to make the situation look scarier than it needs to be, so I think it’s important to know that’s not the whole story.
Meanwhile, Emanuele and I are in Mexico City, where life goes on like normal for us and ~20 million others. We just went out for an afternoon coffee in the sunshine; shops are open, people are working, and the mamma bird outside our window is keeping us entertained.
That’s not to say the situation is rosy everywhere. Again, let’s not generalize. But the biggest generalization I often see is the panicked assumption that “Mexico is scary,” which just isn’t the whole story.
