by David Simmonds
Here is something you don’t hear much about: Our nation’s capital, Washington D.C., had a homicide rate of 30 per 100,000 in 2008, while the rate in Mexico City was 9 per 100,000. The most recent stats have popular Costa Rica at around 8 per 100k, Honduras at 58, Jamaica at 49, South Africa is 37, Brazil is 26 and Puerto Rico and Panama are at 19. Mexico is at a fraction of these countries at 10 per 100,00. Funny, I don’t read much about how Americans should stay away from those countries.
Because of the daily drumbeat by the mainstream media of the drug cartel violence, with the feds fighting the dealers and the dealers fighting each other, the perception is that all of Mexico should be avoided by otherwise sane tourists. As a result, travelers are not going like they used to. And the country is suffering. Tourism dollars account for a good percent of the local economies in many of the popular towns like Puerto Vallarta, Cancun, Cabo, Mazatlan and Acapulco.
Tens of thousands of expats now call Mexico home, and they feel as safe as they ever have. I encourage you to visit Mexico soon and you’ll see what I mean.