# Security in Mexico City



## guerash (Mar 10, 2009)

Hey everyone, 

I have been offered an internship in Mexico City starting in May and I am currently in the process of applying for a grant to cover my living costs while I'm there. I have spent a lot of time in Mexico (I've lived in Guadalajara and Puebla), and I've been to DF a few times. Although DF has always been one of the most dangerous places in Mexico, and a considerable degree of street smarts and common sense is needed while living there, I was wondering if any of you living there have the sense that violence has escalated or if the violence is pretty much isolated to the border and things are pretty much business as usual in DF. I'm also afraid that the grant committee will deny my funding due to perceived security threats. The news here in the states, true to its sensationalist nature, is telling all Americans to stay out of Mexico, even going so far as to use the term "failed state". Come on, it's no Somalia, but how safe do fellow ex-pats feel in their day-to-day lives in Mexico City? Thanks in advance for any advice.


----------



## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Welcome to the forum. I'm sure that you will get responses from members living in Mexico City. Meanwhile, I can assure you that the vast majority of the news you hear is, as you have indicated, overblown in its affect upon expats. The violence is between narcotraficantes and, sometimes, the military or politicians. Tourists and resident expats have little to worry about.


----------



## jlms (May 15, 2008)

Safety is certainly an issue in Mexico City, no question about it, it has got worst in the last 10 years, but to describe Mexico as a failed state is utterly ludicrous.

You will need to be more careful when doing certain things, for example when taking a taxi you have to be more picky choosing only taxis from official stands ("sitios"), don't go unaccompanied to banks, if you need to use an ATM use one inside a bank or a public place.

Having said this you never know if you would become a target of crime. My mother, a very respectable but by no means wealthy teacher, was kidnapped when she took a taxi, they took her to an ATM and forced her to withdraw all her money. I have been telling her to learn to bank online, but that is another history 

I myself was robbed in a "pesero" a couple of times, once when I was a poor student  , so you really don't know when a thief will select you, so you can as well get on with enjoying life knowing that there is safety in numbers (very few people get involved in really scary situations)

Don't know, use common sense in general, that should be it.


----------



## Rodrigo84 (Mar 5, 2008)

Having lived in Mexico City for most of my life (a bit in the U.S., too) I see things a bit differently. What you might call odd, I call normal. 

My American cousin lived down here for many years and left early last year. I don't think he ever sensed danger or an issue while he was here as far as crime or violence. He tells his friends back in the U.S. the same story, that the drug violence and other issues shown incessantly on the news is confined to areas in the northern part of the country.

I think the worst he saw was some issues involving the police (since he had an American-plated vehicle) and that irked him a lot, despite the fact he was following the law to the letter. Eventually he left in part on account of the economy. I remember at least one issue where his charge card had gotten cloned at restaurant, but the bank shut it down very quickly.

I do agree on the ATM. You have to use your smarts and be aware of your surroundings, but that's true anywhere.

A lot has to do where you live in the city, but even then, as you get accustomed to your surroundings you might not find much of an issue. In fact, I know from my cousin's experience (and this was the second time he lived in Latin America), that such experiences had a profound effect on the way he now views the world, especially in light of the economic issues that now affect all of our countries.


----------

