Safety in Mexico
Mexico has long had a reputation for being a dangerous place to visit. The U.S. State Department issues periodic advisories to travelers on a scale of 1 (“exercise normal precautions”) to 4 (“do not travel”). However, due to the fact that violence and crime in Mexico differ so much from one place to another, the State Department’s advisories for Mexico are not for the country as a whole, but rather for individual states and regions. For this reason, it places Mexico -- as a country -- in the special category of “Other”.
According to the OSAC (the Overseas Security Advisory Council), Mexico is the only country in the world provided with this special designation and it would be fair to say that Mexico has always been “othered” by its neighbors to the north, who have a tendency to see it as a wild and unpredictable place where the luckless foreigner is bound to find trouble. The reasons for this include stereotypical depictions of Mexicans, from westerns to modern-day narco crime series; the media’s fixation on negative events because, in media speak, “good news is no news”; and the fact that trouble elsewhere is a good way to deflect attention from trouble at home (not to mention current political rants aimed at fomenting fear and prejudice).
In the 2024 world rankings for crime, Mexico is numbered 42, while the United States is at 58, between Iran and Belgium. These rankings are for all crimes, regardless of motive or victim, but the reality of criminal activity is always more nuanced.
The great majority of Mexican crimes are gang related and highly focused, for example acts of kidnapping or revenge. There is, by design, minimal interaction with the general public and therefore very little “collateral damage”.
This is in sharp contrast to the United States and Europe, where collateral damage is the point of the exercise. In recent years (since 2018), Mexico has had relatively few mass shootings not connected to drug violence, and minimal random acts of carnage in schools, churches, restaurants, discos, and shopping malls. Neither does it suffer outbreaks of terrorism through bombing and knife attacks.
For the tourist in Mexico, crime is opportunistic, as it is in any country, and the usual precautions apply. “Although there is no evidence in Mexico of criminals specifically targeting foreign or U.S. businesses and personnel, criminals will target victims based on the appearance of affluence, vulnerability, or lack of awareness,” says the OSAC.
“Rather than hail taxis on the street, tourists should use regulated taxi stands or an application-based service like Uber or Cabify.”
“A hurried cash transaction on the street can leave a traveler fleeced with shoddy or counterfeit goods, out-of-circulation, valueless, currency, or incorrect change,” the OSAC says. "Tourists can also be victims of ATM skimming crimes and credit card fraud. Try to use ATMs in bank branches during business hours”, the OSAC recommends.
“Portable credit card terminals are widely available in Mexico; always request that the establishment bring a portable credit card terminal to charge a credit card in your physical presence.” (Note that this is standard practice everywhere now.)
Also, don’t wave your jewelry, camera, phone, wallet and maps around, do behave calmly and with politeness in your day-to-day interactions with people (see Useful Information for more about this), don’t meander through dangerous-looking areas, especially at night, and do exercise ordinary common sense.
– text by Trisha Vargas
For more information, please consult the following:
https://www.osac.gov/Content/Report/ec17955b-319e-408d-ae36-1c3cac8358a0
https://www.numbeo.com/crime/rankings_by_country.jsp
