Mexico is Way More Screwed than You Think

a reply to: 2manyquestions

That was a great VICE video. One thing I might add about the guns in Mexico... The U.S. government through military aide supplies the guns to the Mexican military and Police in many cases. These guns are then stolen of just sold to shady characters and that is not even taking into consideration Fast and Furious type operations which are probably going on even today... Just better controls and deeper undercover.. Hate to say this but some Military commanders are neck deep into protection money from the cartels... Funny even though they take money to turn a blind eye/// when another cartel offers more then in some instances the commander orders his troops to take out the cartel they have been doing business with.. It is all about who will pay more for the blind eye.

The higher class (those with money) do not have a problem with acquiring fire arms. I have looked at too many Mexican Doctor's hand guns to believe otherwise as recently as 2005.

I won't go into Mexico again unless it is to bring back a kidnapped family member. The last time I was in Mexico, it was for a few days for some RnR with the girlfriend. Had no problem until we were on the way back to the USA. A few miles outside of the town we were staying on the only road out, got chased down by a Jeep with 2 dudes in plain clothes with M16's. I had a Mustang and thought about making a run but still had 35 miles to the border and had to pass through too many towns. I knew that was a dead end. Pulled over. Played the dumb tourist while one pointed his weapon at us and the other proceed to go threw all our stuff. The one searching the car got a call on his cell and a few seconds later got out. Got im my face and said "Don't come back" or "don't look back" "walk to your car". Fight or flight/fright was turmoil inside but they just got into the Jeep and sped off in the direction we were not heading in.
My cousin was thrown in a Mexico jail for a month. His dad had to pay a large ransom in cash to get him out. That was 15 years ago. It was corrupt then.

Annex Security in Northern Mexico.

Drone all the Drug Lords.

Retrain Mexican Police Officers and give them protection.

Lobby Mexico to change their Constitution to allow outsiders to buy land.

This is our back porch. When your house is burning.

You don't go half way around the World and put out somebody else's fire.

originally posted by: Krazysh0t

originally posted by: ATODASO

originally posted by: Stormdancer777
good grief, what is happening to this world, problem is the cartels are here, they will come too, only a matter of time, no where to run, no where to hide, hell on earth

short of a full-scale invasion, the only solution i can think of is to starve them of income. for instance, legalising **** in just two states cut into their profits so much that they ended up diversifying into oil and agribusiness. no easy solution, but we definitely need to keep trying, because you're right. these things tend to spread like borders don't exist.

I've been saying this for years. End the war on drugs, and you pretty much sucker punch them in the gut. Tough to recover from and they would never have the same power that they wield now with other crime rackets. Failing that, we may eventually have to go to war with Mexico and reconstruct their government from the ground up. But that won't really fix the problem (because drugs would still be illegal here and the cartels would spring back).

Like all good big businesses the cartels have diversified as a hedge against legalization. I would be a help but not the knock out punch you think.

My daughter spends a fair amount of time in Mexico City and the south, with life long friends. She's always with a friend and always cautious but the only trouble she's ever had was from the police.

Mexico's governments are owned by the cartels and their are nasty - but at least honest about it. US government is owned by big business - they kill us slowly with smiles and lies. Kind of hard to choose - don't ya think.

Seriously, what the drug war and concurrent political machinations have done to Latin American. Oh and don't forget NAFTA. Karma's a bitch, the cows are coming home to the barn and it ain't going to be pretty.

a reply to: SheopleNation

Obviously you were in a safe place. I would bet a place that is not listed on the US current report as being dangerous. They have a very detailed outline of where is safe. Of course there are safe places where tourists go, but venture inland and you take alot of risks. I would guess you flew in and didnt drive while there.

Tell Harry Devert's family it's all exaggeration. Some areas have 40 kidnappings a day. The number of dead.bodies are made up to you i guess?

a reply to: chuck258

As soon as they killed them off and left new cartel would pop up. You have to understand much of the population idolize these cartel like movie stars. They marry beauty queens and their pop music glorifies them by name. The cartels pay EVERYONE. It wont change until the war on drugs ends and drugs are decriminalized in the US.

originally posted by: kosmicjack
This is why parents will send their children to the border, for a chance to...LIVE. Any of us would do the same.

Whether cartels in Mexico or war in Gaza/Israel or Netherlands/Ukraine/Russia....we just want a chance for our children to LIVE and thrive to their fullest potential.

Stop the insanity.

Ready to find out who is causing all of this so precisely all over the globe ??

Anyone care to think it is not a "human nature" thing yet ?

Likely not but some of us are on the case , NOW, because the heat of desperation has been turned up on ALOT of this world.

More reason to stock up on guns and ammunition.

There is a line on corruption, when you cross it there's not going back.
Some countries have crossed it, Mexico crossed it long ago.Most central American countries too. South America is now being hit by corruption as well. It spreads like a virus, and affects the most high ranking government official,armed forces,government institutions and it also hits society. It takes a bit longer to corrupt society,regular people and their jobs and it's usually unstoppable.

Sad,difficult,terrible and scary times await our whole American continent, from Argentina to Canada.
Moral bankrupcy, no values, no good will, no honesty, nothing!

a reply to: ATODASO

travel.state.gov...

This link is a US travel warning. Shows that tourist areas are typically somewhat safe but other than that, Mexico is not doing to well. Stupid how the one guy compared it to America having bad parts too. Uh, no, Mexico has like 500 Detroits with dirtier water and less technology. These people don't have Smartphones or TV, some parts of Mexico have power shut off at a certain time. US and Mexico are nothing alike. So you and your so called hot white wife went there and nothing happened. Wow you definitely know the lay of the land

The people coming up here aren't fleeing because of crime,the crime down there is and has been a standard way of life for them and nothing out of the ordinary.They are coming here for the promise of free food,healthcare,housing and basically the easy life. This has been planned for years.The Obama puppet masters knew immigration reform and amnesty would be hard to push through and thats why the border has been left wide open with a hands off policy for border enforcement.This influx of children is just a blatant attempt to use emotion as a tool to further there agenda, which is to let as many 3rd world moochers in as possible to offset the electoral vote in favor of the demorats.Cant you see what`s next? Of course we have to reunite families we cant leave these children alone,next we pay for there families to come here and live on the dole,and boom! there you have it, backdoor amnesty for millions without congress approval.
Better get it together conservatives! All of these moves being made by Obamas handlers have been thought out and they have contingency plans for every possible rebuke they will face by the right.

a reply to: ATODASO

Wonder how long it will be before these practices start to happen to American men women and children in areas along the Mexico border. I wonder if the US law enforcement and military can be brought the same way...

a reply to: ATODASO
I don't have enough time right now to comment all the issues mentioned, it's almost 4 am, but will do it for the following ones because are the faster to explain.

*nobody has a job. unless it's cartel related.
Unemployment rate in Mexico is only 4.8%, most cartel "workers" are uneducated teenagers who wanted easy money and/or drugs.

*education is a joke.
True, most schools still have a 4 1/2 hours per day schedule, last year a new system was put in place to gradually increase to 8 hours but is going to take a while, also the enrollment age was reduced to 4 years old.

*back in may, some super draconian legislation was passed that severely restricted mexicans ability to speak out on the internet. she posted a video about it on my buddy's fb wall, and two weeks later, it was gone. not a dead video, but *poof* disappeared off his timeline altogether.
False, that legislation was never approved, opposition parties wanted to take political advantage from the situation, but that's the way politics behave everywhere anyway.

"they want to silence us, so the world doesn't know how it really is here."
90% of Mexican internet users make use of social networks, which are not restricted in any way, Mexico is the fifth country in the world with more Facebook users, so the silencing theory don't have any basis.

*people get kidnapped EVERY DAY in EVERY COMMUNITY.
Kidnapping is still a big problem but always have been pretty much focused on local business owners, kidnapping of tourist is very rare, if you are a kidnapper how would you arrange the ransom if your victim's family lives in another country?

*they even kidnap dogs. they take them from yards and parks and either ransom them or sell them to the chinese for meat.
Yeah right, those millionaire drug lords need to kidnap dogs to keep up with the Joneses, don't mix real cartel crimes with your everyday burglary because that's a common practice here from people who wants to paint a landscape of living in hell.

Veracruz is one of the least developed states in the country so it makes sense that the standard of living is not something to write home about, but certainly is not the case for most population, at least not to declare the whole country "screwed".

originally posted by: kazike
a reply to: ATODASO
I don't have enough time right now to comment all the issues mentioned, it's almost 4 am, but will do it for the following ones because are the faster to explain.

*nobody has a job. unless it's cartel related.
Unemployment rate in Mexico is only 4.8%, most cartel "workers" are uneducated teenagers who wanted easy money and/or drugs.

hey, thanks for stopping by. i found a lot of independent reports that dispute that figure. if the gov/cartels have a history of altering stats that make them look bad to the rest of the world, it stands to reason that 4.8% might be less than accurate. but in any case, this guy might have a good point or two.

The biggest problem, however, is that the average unemployment rate from these studies was one of the lowest in the world, something that intuitively does not correspond to the level of development nor with the very low rate of economic growth that Mexico has experienced over the past three decades. This fact received much attention outside of Mexico, causing multiple inquiries and studies aimed at finding out whether it was a result of structural peculiarities of the Mexican labor market, an inadequate use of international standards and recommendations, or measurement problems...

he goes into how people who are "informally" employed, or eke out a subsistence living in rural areas will report as "employed", thus falsely inflating the figures. continues on to how the (reported) high rate of employment doesn't correspond to economic health.

Nevertheless, most serious studies actually show that the main reason why Mexico’s unemployment rate is so low is due more to structural characteristics of the labor market rather than to methodological differences or survey flaws. For example, while in the United States there is a clear negative correlation between education and unemployment (the higher the educational level, the lower the unemployment rate), in Mexico the correlation is actually positive. The population segment with the lowest unemployment rate is the one that has “no primary education” and is associated with the poorest sectors of the economy. The two main reasons for this phenomenon are: 1) a large part of this segment lives in rural communities and is self-sufficient and therefore is not considered unemployed; and, 2) the poorest part of the population cannot “afford” to be unemployed and therefore will accept any type of work, no matter how little it pays. The higher the level of education, the more aspirational a person becomes, meaning that he or she is willing to spend more time unemployed while looking for a job regarded as more fitting of his or her status in society. Also, higher educational levels are correlated with higher wealth levels, which provide better opportunities for a prolonged job search. This means that unemployment among Mexico’s more educated job seekers is determined more by the supply-side than the demand-side of the equation.

True, most schools still have a 4 1/2 hours per day schedule, last year a new system was put in place to gradually increase to 8 hours but is going to take a while, also the enrollment age was reduced to 4 years old.

my understanding is that enrollment is optional, the teachers strike constantly, and that fewer and fewer people are willing to send their kids to school. :/

False, that legislation was never approved, opposition parties wanted to take political advantage from the situation, but that's the way politics behave everywhere anyway.

well, a watered down version of it got passed this month, with the door open for further legislation down the road.

Kidnapping is still a big problem but always have been pretty much focused on local business owners, kidnapping of tourist is very rare, if you are a kidnapper how would you arrange the ransom if your victim's family lives in another country?

i guess those travel warnings are just for fun? anyway, there's plenty of ways for captors to communicate with/receive payment from victim's families. 90 kidnappings of just americans so far reported in 2014, and over 100k mexican citizens according to gov's own accounting. which has been tampered with, meaning the number is probably a lot higher.

Yeah right, those millionaire drug lords need to kidnap dogs to keep up with the Joneses, don't mix real cartel crimes with your everyday burglary because that's a common practice here from people who wants to paint a landscape of living in hell.

millionaire drug lords? no. petty footsoldiers with trade connections? wouldn't surprise me.

Veracruz is one of the least developed states in the country so it makes sense that the standard of living is not something to write home about, but certainly is not the case for most population, at least not to declare the whole country "screwed".

if you don't mind my asking, where do you live, and what is your occupation?

This reeks of bs. I spend plenty of time in Mexico and have never seen violence nor felt in danger. I feel like your friend completely made this up, or the girl did to get a free trip to the USA. Especially the area he was in.

a reply to: ATODASO

Mexico is Way More Screwed than You Think

I dunno ... I think it's pretty screwed. Your fantastic changing map confirmed what I was thinking. I don't know how that could be fixed. It's going to take a lot. And it'll take the people down there themselves doing it. They've got to be so desperate that they'll fight back because there's nothing to lose.

originally posted by: CJS4life
a reply to: ATODASO

These people don't have Smartphones or TV... US and Mexico are nothing alike...Wow you definitely know the lay of the land

As a Middle Income Mexican, I stand in awe of your ignorance.

It is really strange to see so many people spew so much ignorance and calls for violence. What's this about being invaded and so on? For the love of Zeus people!

So, I don't know even where to start...

Probably by telling you that yeah, things are pretty bad, but they are getting better.

Mexico is the 11th largest economy in the world CIA World Factbook

We have the most diversly genetic population on the planet Mexican Genetic Diversity

And of course, we have a beautiful, and truly mostly safe, country: Mexico Video 1

We have one of the most cosmopolitan, big and advanced capital cities in the world: Mexico City


Mexican Inmigration to the US, as contrary to popular opinion, is in a zero state sum: Zero Sum Net Migration


Hell, most of us go to the US for black friday sales. Then come back and be cool on cool places.

We are not anybody's back yard. We are a proud, strong nation, with more history than many can even imagine. And presently we are on the up and up. We are not brown, or white, or blonde nor brunette. We have the best of all, and maybe the worst of all, but we have it all.

So yeah. Any real questions you can direct them to me. I'm even considering opening another topic with this in mind.

Cheers.

The wife and I went to Cancun 3 years ago for our anniversary. Cancun was very nice and seemed well protected. Now when we took a bus trip, (one to cozumel and one to ancient ruins), that's when I felt uneasy. 95% of the housing was tin shacks and very depressing. Saw large 6 wheeled vehicles full of military men brandishing large caliber weapons. Saw people crapping on the side of buildings. Saw families digging through garbage cans looking for scraps of food or sips of water. Saw children as young as 3 peddling trinkets and women as old as mid 80's also selling. Moral of my story, don't leave the resort area! Lol

a reply to: whyamIhere

So you want all out war with Mexico? I do not think that is anyones best interest. This is one of those things I can see escalating into WWIII.

There does appear to be a major crisis at our border right now. Almost like an invasion of people. Something is going to have to give before our border becomes a complete SNAFU war zone.

What irks me is most Americans are oblivious to what is going on at our border.

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