As underlined by the headlines this week about a new surge of fatal drug gang violence in Tijuana, it’s easy to see Mexico as being engulfed in chaos.
Mexican President Felipe Calderón’s decision to take on swaggering, rich and well-armed drug cartels has triggered four years of bloodshed. U.S.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton even recently suggested that the cartels and the government were in de facto civil wars in parts of the country.
Then there’s the view of the Mexican government, as expressed to the U-T editorial board last year by Mexican diplomat Arturo Sarukhan: “If you look
at any criteria of indicators of what a failed state is and isn’t, Mexico is simply nowhere close to that, whether it’s control of its territory,
whether it’s international recognition, the ability to fulfill its international commitment, print currency or raise taxes. There are no massive
population migrations within Mexico. There’s a functioning civil society.”
Sarukhan’s big-picture assessment brings a needed perspective on how to think about our southern neighbor. Given a recent surge in international
tourists visiting Mexico, especially its less-troubled beach resort areas, it’s a perspective that many Americans share. The number of foreign
visitors flying into Mexico increased by more than 19 percent over the first eight months of 2010 compared with 2009. The 7.1 million incoming
visitors included 4.3 million from the U.S. and 1.3 million from Canada.
The broader Mexican economy is also doing surprisingly well. The unemployment rate has dropped below 6 percent and the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development projects 4.5 percent annual GDP growth in coming years – much higher than its expectations for the U.S. Vehicle production
is soaring and manufacturing output is up. The oil and mining industries are thriving.
These are not the sort of facts associated with a faltering nation. They are also facts that don’t get much attention in the international media.
Of course, we understand why people might be nervous about visiting Mexico. Anyone considering travel there should check out the advice of the U.S.
State Department – available at http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_4755.html – on how to have a safe trip.
But once informed, Americans will have a more sophisticated understanding of what’s going on in our neighbor and ally – and they just might join the
millions flocking to Cancun, Mazatlan and other beach visitor magnets.Woooosh - 10-16-2010 at 09:12 AM
I've never heard anyone say the multi-faceted problems Mexico faces are simple. Oil and Mining thriving? nope. I wonder how they measure employment
versus underemployment down here?DENNIS - 10-16-2010 at 09:30 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by Woooosh
I wonder how they measure employment versus underemployment down here?
I've read the criteria for this. Among other things, one has to be part of the legitimate work force and out of work for about a year before he
becomes a statistic.
Another method of lowering the numbers to give the market a thriving look is to shove their unemployed across the border. Their unemployed become our
unemployed.
Nobody will ever know of the numbers of unemployed in Mexico.
