What's the situation in Mexico?
I was watching a tv programme last night about Mexican and Latin American people trying to illegally enter the USA. It was set in a Mexican town near the border with Arizona.
I was amazed at the lengths people will go to try to get into the USA. They have to spend 3 or 4 days \ nights walking through the desert - obviously trying to avoid the border controls and the bandits! Apparently most of the girls are raped along the way by bandits. Even with all these dangers 100s \ 1000s? of people still try to get across the border.
Why is this? Is Mexico so bad? Is the USA so good?
I have also read about how dangerous the city of Juarez has become. I went there many years ago when I was travelling across the southern states of USA. It was an excellent place! Perhaps it was the care free days of my youth but I loved it there - a real party town! I certainly didn't feel in any danger at all - even though the extent of my Spanish in those days was "un ron con coca cola"
19 Answers
Hi, Billygoat, I don't know if you were asking a casual question or if this is going to be the beginning of a bit of research for you. If you are interested in finding out some in-depth information about Juarez, the reporter/author Charles Bowden is considered to be the best or one of the best. He has a recently released book out called "La cuidad de la muerte" (I believe it's called "Murder City" in English). He also has a documentary out called "El sicario" (both Spanish and English), which is an undercover interview with one of the hitmen for the Juarez Cartel.
An easy online reference is proceso.com.mx; "Proceso" is a Mexican weekly news magazine that is highly regarded and has been around for 3 or 4 decades. They have extensive news coverage of all aspects of Mexican politics and current events.
For a more "colorful" update on the cartel situation in Mexico, you can log on to blogdelnarco.com.
The entire cartel situation in Mexico is very difficult. My husband and I spend several months a year in the state of Jalisco, and I can say that even Guadalajara is facing challenges, although they are nothing like what Juarez is living through.
In this area (southern United States, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama) we are experiencing a decline in immigration from Mexico and Guatemala for a couple of reasons.
First, existing immigration laws are now being enforced, resulting in an increased number of deportations.
Second, the economic conditions of the area are deteriorating to the point that immigration no longer provides an opportunity for work and savings. Since the object of most of the immigrants is to support the family in the home country, there is no benefit to staying in the US if there is no work available.
This is placing unusual circumstances on local governments.
First, diminished enrollments in schools here is resulting in decreased funding from the States. Many local school districts are having financial problems because enrollment is down.
Second, the agricultural industry is experiencing a drought in available field workers, since many immigrants historically provided these services at minimal costs.
Many immigrants also come to the US because of the deteriorating security conditions in Mexico and Guatemala. Many have been kidnapped, beaten, and held for ransom in their home countries, particularly if their family has money or resource to make a ransom possible.
Most immigrants in this area come from Guatemala and Mexico, though some are here to escape political turmoil in other countries.
In one recent case here, a woman has paid $4,200 to an agent for safe passage across the border. When she had finished paying the agent, she was deported (she worked at a local chicken processing plant) back to Guatemala, again pennyless.
We were asked by some, while in Mexico last month, if we would recommend immigration to the US. Our best response was, if you have family, tortillas, beans, and a place to live, stay where you are. The attitude toward immigrants in this area is becoming more and more negative.
I'm not speaking of myself here. We work to provide help to immigrants and their families in this area. I just sense a bad attitude toward immigrants in this area. As one man said, "I support immigration laws, I just hope they don't enforce them until I get my front yard finished".
Should we be legalizing drugs to take the power away from the drug cartels?
I think we should. The laws against drugs have done far more harm to society than the drugs themselves: Prohibition redux.
I believe there has been a huge increase in violence across Mexico since the government has begun trying to enforce drug laws. It apparently triggered gang wars in which hundreds have been murdered. It hasn't helped that the US Dept. Of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms came up with a plan to sell guns to the Mexican cartels with the idea they could track the weapons to, somehow, find the bad guys. This didn't work out the way it was planned, but put mass quantities of weapons into the country. Juarez, as a border town, through which large amounts of drugs moved, has become a battle ground. The danger is not from robberies, muggings, etc., but gun battles in the streets.
As to the lengths people will go to to get into the US. In spite of the unemployment, there are still jobs left begging that people from other countries are willing to do. In Dodge City, where I live, there are two meat packing plants that can barely get enough workers to keep 3 shifts a day running. If a guest worker program were to open tomorrow allowing free access to these jobs, thousands of Mexicans would have good paying jobs that our citizens can't or won't do.
I was actually shocked to see police with machine guns 
almost everywhere in the place I visited, Riviera Maya.
We not leave the hotel after 6pm, no idea if it is a dangerous place, but it certainly looked anything but trustworthy.
If you want to know why people take terrble risks to "find a better life" I suggest you read "Grapes of Wrath"
I re-read again recently after about 40 years. This time it really hit home.
For those that do not know it is about "immigrants" who are already Citizens of the USA and wriiten by an American.
Hi there Billygoat!
I travelled to Mexico earlier this year (to improve my dodgey Spanish) and had the time of my life. Now I must say even though I travelled alone I was not up near the frontier cities.
When I announced I was travelling to Mexico (alone) most of my friends/family thought I had surely lost the remaining marbles that I had - and said so to me in no uncertain terms.
Sadly here in Australia - Mexico, has a very poor reputation for travel safety. Although it is generally undeserved it stops most people here from travelling which is, to me, a sad state of affairs. Hopefully as travellers like me spread the word that, generally speaking, all will be well as long as you take reasonable precautions - more people will travel to that delightful part of the world
I want to answer you,because I live near the border and have friends in the federal police , I think I can shed some light. I cannot do it at this moment but I will very soon.
Mexico has a similar immigration problem on its southern border. But Mexico being what it is has its own problems there.
One of our members "Agora" posted the Mexican immigration law here in the forum a while ago but I was not able to find it,at least not so far.
Many of the illegals crossing are not just Mexican, but are also from most of the Central and South American countries struggling with their economies. The "coyotes" are paid well and abandon their groups at the first sign of trouble. Then they are left in the desert to find their own way, a horrible prospect.
Living in this area I have seen the desert in the "El Berrendo area, and until you see it firsthand you cannot appreciate the risk to life and limb these people take.
General Santana lost the area we know as the southwest because neither he Nor the New nation ( the US) could manage the logistics to defend that desert wasteland.
I do not by any means attempt to justify illegal activity, but if you look at history, people migrate to survive, and that is what is going on in this case. These individuals have families they cannot feed, so what then will you do. you do whatever it takes to keep your family fed, if it means risking your life , that's what you do.
My Friend, lets call him "H" for security reasons is the federal police delegate for the state of Chihuahua. He does not speak much about these issues as the human suffering and abuse he encounters,can be, as he expresses it " almost to much to witness" And that does not begin to address what happens on the US side.
The weak US economy is just one reason so many now are returning south, many are trying to stay in Mexico but cannot justify their reason to be in the country and are forced to return to the poverty from which they came. In other cases,the current economy in Mexico is fairly stable and there are jobs here to be had.
A "sheetroquero" ( spanglish) for sheetrock installer. Lost his leg from a snakebite in the desert as he crossed to the US . he personally told me the story. about being abandoned by his "coyote" and their group, and left to die in the desert. He said when the border patrol found him, he was well treated, the needed operation was done and the artificial lower leg was provided, all for free. and when he was well enough to travel he was sent back to Mexico. he is working daily with that partial disability, and is grateful to the border patrol agents that found him treated him decently and saved his life.
In Summary I can only close by saying that the human misery that goes on here can break your heart, regardless of your attitude toward it.
The drug smuggling just adds to the misery of the poor, the market for the drugs is in Europe and the US Seems Mexico just happens to be in the way. With the extremes of all the easy money and the poverty it is not too hard to see how this all occurs All for now
An unskilled worker at a meat packing plant can make $12 to $15/hr. with benefits. For a foreign worker, a good chunk of that money goes home to support family members. - Leatha
In Mexico the minimum wage is about $4... a day! An unskilled worker in Mexico earns in one week what his/her counterpart in the States makes in roughly two hours. That is a big difference. True: the cost of the life living is more expensive in the States, but even so, there is still a big difference.
On the other hand, the war against the organized crime (not only drugs traffic) has (officialy) left more than 50,000 casualties in the last 5 years. It is said that this figure exceeds the number of mortal victims in countries like Afghanistan or Irak in the same period. Most of this deaths occured in some areas disputed by the landlords of drug traffic.
Heidita said
I was actually shocked to see police with machine guns almost everywhere
We passed through two road blocks while traveling on the back roads in the rural state of Chiapas. Police were armed with machine guns and wore body armor. I had the impression that additional police were positioned appropriately around the perimeter. The police were looking for drugs and/or weapons. The police were polite, asked for our licenses and papers, searched the vehicles, and let us pass.
I also noticed that police often travel in large groups (5-8), and are seldom seen alone unless standing guard outside the police station.
I did not see a "speed patrolman" as we are see often in the US. Speed is controlled on rural roads by the use of "speed humps" ("topes") that occur randomly on the highways. Though they are very annoying, they serve as a traffic control device in the absence of patrolling police officers.
I don't know how things are now, but a lot of Mexicans in LA went back to Mexico 5 or 6 years ago. Many South Americans went back to their native coutries as well--Ecuador changed their customs laws because so many people were moving back.
There was also a big exodus of Asians around 1991.
THis may be controvertial but I have long thought that anyone should be allowed entry into any country they wish.
The problem is that many countries assume "responsibility" for all immigrants.
If it were understood that no financial or other assistance would be forthcoming and that people would have to "provide for themselves" as was the case for the early immigrants to the USA and other countries around the world this would reduce the number of people seeking a "better life".
It is only when immigrants arrive demanding "this that and the other" that problems arise.
In my opinion most would want to return "home" at some time.
Leatha said:
....thousands of Mexicans would have good paying jobs that our citizens can't or won't do.
This is true. My son and his friends won't work at McDonald's because it's not "dignified." A Mexican, Guatemalan, Honduran will do whatever it takes to feed his family and build a better life.
Texas said:
The Mexican authorities are outgunned and powerless.
This brings me back to the same question I keep asking myself: Should we be legalizing drugs to take the power away from the drug cartels? It would certainly put a stop to all the fighting over territory. If not, do you have any better ideas?
Well, I have lived in Mexico for years, and I have to say one of the biggest problems is the pay here. You can make a lot more money (and easily) in the United States. People go there to simply have a better life.
The violence (dealing with drug cartels) doesn't really seem to effect much of the central and southern parts of the country. I have never noticed anything here that was out of the ordinary. Even when I went to the border, I didn't see anything. They say that a lot of the violence is between people that are directly connected to the cartel. It is pretty sad, though... they found children working for the cartels! A lot of people start working for them just for some cash, and some a given a choice... work for the cartel or death.
