suze

Well how is it a "boycott" if not an "organized" one? I guess I'm just not following your line of thinking or understanding your point. The people who are afraid to travel, have been scared off from Mexico because of violence and drug cartel activity (real or imagined) for a decade or so.

NewbE

<The problem is that for fundamental change to occur, there needs to be a change in the drug economy of the US as well.>
Indeed.

crosscheck

The US and Canada have both toughened their Mexican travel advisories because of the incident. So even without a formal boycott, travelers might just begin stay away, as they did from Guatemala, Myanmar and other countries whose governments have violated human rights. The landscape has changed because the govt. now is officially involved (albeit a local government). I was at a dinner party last night with Mexican filmmakers and business people - they think this is a turning point.

--

BTW, there was a peaceful protest today in PV: http://www.telediario.mx/nacional/ma...uerto-vallarta

Fra_Diavolo

Another revolution? It seems that is what it would take, with all associated horrors intact. We know now that the corruption can extend even to the mayoral level. I believe at least one governor has been accused of connections to the cartels. The police and military are compromised. Gangs are armed with machine guns, RPGs and probably have a few armored vehicles stashed somewhere. How are you going to root all this out?

I will continue to visit Mexico. I'm in deep sympathy with the people who are victimized by criminal gangs and corrupt officials. I do not think a drop in tourist dollars will persuade the government to get serious -- in fact, the government is probably quite serious right now -- but the corruption weakens it to the point of irrelevance.

More misery ahead, I fear.

suze

the Mexican state of Guerrero has a long history and not so stellar reputation concerning violence and crime.

NewbE

<the Mexican state of Guerrero has a long history and not so stellar reputation concerning violence and crime.>
The same could be said of Chiapas. You're fooling yourself if you think any state in Mexico is safe from violence and crime on a grand scale, even if tourists remain safe.

crosscheck

suze, take a look at this (not while you're eating lunch). It explains how the events of the last month have changed the big picture for all of Mexico, certainly not just Guerrero. People are completely fed up with their government and aren't going to take it anymore.

http://www.vox.com/2014/11/12/719460...guala-massacre

There have been criticisms of vox for dumbing down the news, but I feel this is a coherent, well-researched primer about what's going on.

ekscrunchy

The reputation of the state of Guerrero for crime dates back a lot further than the issue of the Zapatistas in Chiapas.

I do think crime is pervasive and not confined to one state in the country.

I also wonder what prospective tourists to the US are thinking about the situation here, in a country where school shootings are not unusual anymore, and one has the risk of being pushed onto the path of an oncoming subway for no apparent reason, as just happened in my own city.
Do they see Ferguson on tv and cancel their plans? (This is really an aside here and not a comment on the goings on in Mexico. As terrible as that situation is in terms of the innocent lives apparently lost, I would not cancel my travel plans)

Rohelio

I too am concerned about Mexico's reputation, as I am always the front runner in defending this country's people and culture. Everyone knows that the vast majority of Mexicans are warm and peace loving. This said, we purchased our plane tickets back in early Sept. and still plan to go ahead with our 3 month stay in and around Playa despite these very sad happenings. I am not detered by the news but I must admit that I am a little more concerned about being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It takes such a long time to build a reputation only to have it shot to hell by such disreputable acts.

crosscheck

ek, I think the whole world thinks we're out of control gunwise. We spent a month in Spain when our kids were little. Several people asked if we let our children play in the front yard - weren't we concerned about drive-by shootings?

cabron

The protest march in PV was pretty small, I would say 300 people

ekscrunchy

crosscheck: Sad commentary, but easy to understand why they thought like that.

november_moon

We get a lot of questions from people in other countries about gun violence as well. People do think we are out of hand here.

Regarding Mexico, I don't have any qualms about going a lot if places there, but there are other places in Mexico where we won't go - including my MIL's hometown. It is really unfortunate because it keeps families apart, but we don't want to take the risk. My MIL passed away this year, so we want to visit in her memory but we will wait.