Viva La Mexico!!!

I was visiting one of my health car providers with whom I have become friends. I was telling him about my recent trip to Mexico and he said Mexico was a lot safer years ago. Before going farther, I should point out I love Mexico and have been there numerous times. I love the country, the beauty, the food, the different cultures and the people.

My first visit was in the 1970s after my brother had moved to Mexico and worked as an engineer. I remember all my times with him. One night in Mexico City we went to a late night bar and listened to an actor giving a performance. I spoke a little Spanish, but not good enough to follow. I laughed when the audience laughed and clapped when the clapped. He was excellent.

I was visiting my brother in Vera Cruz where he worked as a consultant on nuclear power plant. One day we were having a lunch on the wharf and I thought I should try a raw seafood cocktail, which was popular with the locals. It was not a good life choice. First I was afraid I was going to die and then I was afraid I was not going to die.

Another day we visited a local tourist site, a huge 500+ year old tree which is where Cortez is thought to have landed. Just like Columbus, Cortez did not find Mexico, it was already there. Just like Columbus was the beginning of the end of Native American civilizations in the North America, Cortez was the end of Native American civilization in Mexico.

A number of years ago, my son and I did a 10 day mountain bike tour in Copper Canyon Mexico. Copper Canyon is four times the size of the Grand Canyon. We had a guide who was from Tucson but had grown up in Copper Canyon. We biked to places and saw sites very few gringos ever experience. It remains one my top three lifetime outdoor adventures.

For years I had a “conference” in Mexico most every year. Since my little firm was very profitable for the company which sponsored the conference, my trip was complimentary. Conferences is where gringos go to drink and eat too much and then go home and say they were in Mexico. For the record, going to Mexico and spending a week in an all-inclusive is not seeing Mexico. Fun yes, but does not qualify as seeing Mexico.

The most recent trip was in Puerto Vallarta, a city which I have visited several times in the past. The most memorable day is hiring a personal tour guide an visiting the town of San Sebastian, a historic mining town in the mountains. The guide was knowledgable, interesting and very funny. The picture is from the church in Sebastian which was first built in the 1600s with the last remodel in the 1800s. We visited a local tequila brewery. The owner went through the entire process of making tequila which was fascinating. Though I do not drink, I am willing to make a compromise to be polite. I also brought back two bottles of tequila, more politeness. I do have friends who will be thankful. We also saw agave fields, a place where coffee was made and a local restaurant.

The guide said the church had mass at 6:30 PM which was mostly women. He added the men had a different religious experience in a bar across the street from the church.

Almost 37 millions visited Mexico from the US in 2023, of which about 6 million visited Puerto Vallarta.

So when I answered my friend’s question, I said have you compared school shootings in the US to Mexico. He had not. From 2009-20018 the US had 288 school shootings and Mexico had 8. Clearly Mexico values children more than the US. Though Mexico has a higher a higher murder rate [28 per 100,000] to the US [7 per 100,000] Americans are actually safer in Mexico then the US. [2021 statistics] In 2021 for Americans in Mexico, the murder rate was 2.1 per 100,000 compared to 7 per 100,000 in US. If you are an American, your are more than twice as likely to be murdered in the US than Mexico. The reality is the majority of the murders in Mexico are drug related done by cartels to each other.

There is risk everywhere including your home, but as an American, you are safer in Mexico than the US.

Though it has improved since I was first there, poverty and wealth distribution continues to be a significant problem. Currently about 80% of the wealth is owned by 10 percent of the population. Sadly the US is moving in this direction with 60% of US wealth is owned by 10% and the wealth of the top 10% in the US has increased consistently over the years.

Last year, Mexico elected an intelligent educated woman to lead the country. She is an environmental scientist by trade and the former mayor of Mexico City. She is pursuing reforms that help reduce poverty and enhance financial independence for Mexican citizens. She also is a champion for women’s rights. With her professional background, she understands the impact climate change is will have on Mexico. It is clear to me that Mexico when forward in its last election while the US went backwards.

The Republican Party just implemented tariffs on imports from Mexico. Take a moment to look at the top ten imports from Mexico to the US. A clue, vegetables are number 9 and fruits number 10. Tariffs will hurt the Mexican economy, but they will also hurt US citizens, a lot, especially low and middle income families.

The US is full of beautiful place and wonderful scenery. So is Mexico. Mexico is out friend, but the current President is trying make them an enemy. It’s a bad strategy.

I am blessed to live in the US, but I could easily live in Mexico. And I am looking forward to my next trip.