[quote=davelj][quote=4plexowner]”I don’t know about this. I’m betting there are cities all over Mexico – just to use our neighbor to the south as an example – where the population is far poorer than San Diego’s – even adjusting for welfare cuts – that don’t have the sort of crime problems you’re envisioning”

one of the things that surprises me about Mexico is seeing walled estates where the walls are seriously intended to keep people OUT – broken glass embedded in the top of a wall is sort of pretty from a distance but not much fun to climb over I would imagine – barbed wire is also used

is crime low because of a lack of criminals or a lack of opportunity?

tourist guides in Mexico talk about roaming bandits in different parts of the country but that may just be part of their shtick

the old saying, “fences make for good neighbors”, comes to mind

which brings up, “an armed society is a polite society”[/quote]

To preface, I’ve seen a lot of Mexico. I’m a partner in two businesses there, one in Aguascalientes and another in Torreon. So, while not an expert, I’ve spent a lot of time in different parts of Mexico.

I can’t speak to the crime statistics down there because I don’t track them and they’re probably not as reliable as those we keep here.

But, generically, 90% of the crime problems we read about are drug related. I have no idea what the rate of “petty crime” is. But I’ve never felt threatened in Mexico. Ever. And I’ve been in some sketchy parts of various cities and towns.

But I do think petty crime is at least as much of a problem in the big cities and border cities (the DF, Tijuana, Juarez, Monterrey, etc.) as it is here in the US. Perhaps more so. But I’ve never gotten the impression that crime was a huge problem (well, any more so than here) in most of the cities and towns in Mexico. And clearly these folks are much poorer than we are on average.

Regarding roaming bandits, yeah, I’m sure there are roaming bandits. That wouldn’t surprise me at all. But I don’t think that’s the norm.
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Dave: Most people that opine about Mexico do so from ignorance. I spent three years in Central America in the 1980s and I can tell you that the level of violence in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador during those years was unbelievable, especially in comparison to countries like Costa Rica and Mexico.

Mexico, while horribly corrupt and badly mismanaged, is a fairly safe country and the people are wonderful. I spent quite a bit of time there in the southern provinces, specifically Chiapas and Guerrero, and in spite of the insurgency and political tension, was very well treated by the average citizens. These people were dirt poor, mistreated by the government and subjected to awful privations and yet were generous, decent and law-abiding, so I’m not worried that California will turn into “Soylent Green” overnight.