Mexico City used to be perceived as a crime-ridden place people wanted to move away from. Now it is perceived as a safe haven from the drug war, with a growing fear that it will not remain that way.
CNN, January 17, 2012
…In this sprawling metropolis, the brutal conflicts between drug cartels and government troops are both strangely absent and omnipresent. They are nowhere to be found and everywhere you look…
...Murder rates in Mexico's capital are half the national rate of 18 per 100,000 residents, and are lower than homicide rates in U.S. cities like New Orleans and Washington. But that hasn't stifled fears that something bigger could be brewing.
The city saw more than 120 killings related to organized crime between January and September last year, according to Mexico's Attorney General's Office. In the neighboring state of Mexico, the number was much higher, nearly 600…
…Is it only a matter of time before organized crime strengthens its grip and violence grows?
"There's always the specter of that happening, because there's nothing to guarantee that it won't,"
says Eric L. Olson, a security expert at the Mexico Institute at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars in Washington.
Still, it's important not to blow things out of proportion, he says.
"You're probably safer in Mexico City, frankly, than you are in New Orleans."
He describes a recent trip to Mexico City, when he walked through the central square in the Coyoacan neighborhood -- known for its scenic cobblestone streets and famous former residents, like artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.
"It was like paradise."
Read the full article here.
The Mexico Institute seeks to improve understanding, communication, and cooperation between Mexico and the United States by promoting original research, encouraging public discussion, and proposing policy options for enhancing the bilateral relationship. A binational Advisory Board, chaired by Luis Téllez and Earl Anthony Wayne, oversees the work of the Mexico Institute. Read more
