Is it safe in Mexico? Usually that question is about drug violence, but before I get to that I want to talk about the rhinoceros. You see some friends and I were visiting the León zoo last weekend and parents were actively encouraging their young kids to lean way over the barrier and pet the rhino. Is that safe?
Last fall we went to the local fair and they had a show with around a dozen large bears doing tricks like standing on balls and riding bikes. Now these are things the bears probably didn’t enjoy doing and it seemed to annoy them a bit. The barrier between the testy bears and the tasty audience? Well there wasn’t any. Is that safe?
Mexicans are not just fearless of wild animals, but fearless of other deadly things too. We had a power outage at our house a few weeks back and asked our host mom, Maria, to call her friend the electrician. He happened to be in the neighborhood on another job and came right over. He checked the breaker. It was not the breaker. He checked the meter. Nope not the meter. He climbed up on the outside wall and started to cut the insulation off the main wire that runs from the pole in the street to our house. I stepped back a few paces. Yep that was the problem. He re-spliced the hot wire and we had the lights back. Sadly I did not get a picture. But was that safe?
What about just walking in the street? Some of the streets are cobblestone and women of all ages navigate them daily in the highest high-heel shoes I have ever seen. But several less street-savvy volunteers (including me) have ended up at the emergency room from twisting, or even breaking, an ankle on the uneven sidewalks. So is walking in Mexico safe?
I have many other examples of Mexican kids and adults doing things here in Mexico that if they were in the US would be cause for alarm or maybe even a 20/20 investigative report. The culture of “safety” at all costs in the U.S. seems a little ridiculous from a distance. I may be a little cynical having grow up well before the current car safety seat, bike helmet, warning label, peanut free, baby-on-board sign, safety-fascinated, litigation-averse era back home. Things are a little (sometimes a lot) more relaxed here.
Oh and about that drug violence thing? Well it turns out you have better odds of dying in a car crash in the states (9000 to 1) than dying from drug related violence on a trip to Mexico (179,000 to 1). Where you go makes a huge difference as well. In Puebla, a city of a few million people about 2 hours from our town of Querétaro, it is 730 times more likely you will die driving your car in the US than being shot by narcos in the 4th largest city in Mexico.
So all of you back home please be careful. We worry about you.
Postscript: Here is a link to the study on drug war violence at the fantastic blog/book Geo-Mexico.
Thanks for the plug! All the best in your Peace Corps assignment, Tony
This is so true. John and I were in Tecomavaca, Oaxaca recently to see the Guacamaya Verde and our guide was actively encouraging us to go right to the edge of a very high, very steep, muddy cliff (without a guardrail, of course) to get a better look at the birds. We declined, but all of our Mexican companions did it and were beckoning us to join them. But, alas, the wussy Americans could not be persuaded.
Great blog post! Tammy
Brian, you´re dead on about safety here in Mexico. There are plenty of things that worry me these days – narcos ranks about number 17 on that list.
Oh driving is by far one of the most dangerous things in my community. Nobody in my ejido wears seat belts, they tear down straight, dirt roads at ridiculous speeds, And the worst thing is on weekend nights all the guys driving around are hammered. I´m way more afraid of drivers here than narcos.
Take care
Tyler