Monday, 24 November 2014

Mexico resembles a failed state: Jos? Mujica

quote [ Uruguay?s outspoken President, Jose ?Pepe? Mujica likened Mexico to a ?failed state with public powers that are totally out of control and decayed.?

Mujica made the remarks during an interview with Foreign Affairs when questioned about the case of 43 missing students in the violence-wracked country ]

The full interview is yet to be published. What the Ayotzinapa case has revealed is a case of massive corruption and allegiance to crime and drug dealing gangs. Pretty much, all over the world the situation generated protests (Thanks Aussies!) wherever Mexican President Enrique Pe?a Nieto seet foot.

Some reactions

http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Mexico-Summons-Uruguay-Ambassador-over-Mujicas-Remarks-20141123-0029.html
[SFW] [politics] [+5]
[by Onix@12:41amGMT]

Comments

sanepride said @ 3:05am GMT on 24th Nov [Score:1 Interesting]
I think it's worth mentioning that Mexico is a big country, and the vast majority of it remains stable, safe, and even nice to visit. It's more accurate to say that only certain regions resemble a failed state.
Onix said @ 3:23am GMT on 24th Nov [Score:1 Informative]
Well Sane, I live here and most of the time I walk with my balls up to my troath outside of Mexico City and the tourist destinations. The area where I live is pretty violent and there have been people killed and thugs walking in the streets with guns in their hands. So, I will have to disagree with you about "only certan regions". I would say "most regions" and try my best to not sound exagerated. I guess people is mostly safe in Acapulco, Cancún and the like.
sanepride said @ 3:50am GMT on 24th Nov [Score:1 Good]
I'll defer to you as a Mexicano, but I've had no problems around Yucatan and Quintana Roo and friends and family have spent recent extended stays in areas throughout the interior and Mexico City.
I certainly wouldn't dispute that there are major problems with violence and corruption. The situation with the missing students is all kinds of fucked-up.
Onix said @ 4:44am GMT on 24th Nov
Well, I would say that the mountain areas are really the ones to get away from, also those with extreme poverty rates, even in Mexico City. Tourists generally don't go there anyway. I am happy to see that your family and friends were okay, and I really hope they got a good time.

But I would really think twice about taking them to some places, specially where I live at the moment. So, I guess I would take foreign visitors to burgeoise areas in Mexico City.

And yes, the thing with the students is fucked to an extreme degree. The bad news are that it has been happening for a long time, and the good news is that people all over the world are learning and taking a stabce about it.
sanepride said @ 5:24am GMT on 24th Nov [Score:1 Good]
My father & stepmother will be spending much of the winter in San Miguel de Allende.
I'm assuming it's safe there, sounds like a nice place.
Onix said @ 8:52am GMT on 24th Nov
I guess it is okay. To be fair, most of the time tourists are not in much of a danger if they stay in a single place, don't mess with the locals and don't buy drugs or go around looking for girls to fuck, which I am pretty sure are not something your family will want to do.

But there are some areas of Guanajuato that are better avoided. If I remember correctly, a biker was literally cut in half, while being alive, because some moron drug dealers believed he was a DEA spy on that state. But seniors are mostly okay in places like San Miguel de Allende, because there seems to be a sort of agreement between the drug dealers and the local governments (sometimes they are the same thing, by the way) to leave tourists alone.

Now, if you told me they were going to Iztapalapa in Mexico City, or Ecatepec in the State of Mexico, among other places, I would really advice against it. Heck, I won't even go there myself.
sanepride said @ 4:40pm GMT on 24th Nov [Score:1 Interesting]
My dad's wilder days are behind him, so he'll be fine. The funny thing is when the Mrs. and I went to Thailand last summer he was freaking out about the political unrest and martial law there, sending me sensationalist news updates every other day beforehand. Needless to say everything there was peaceful and pleasant. I guess I could 'get back' at him since he's going to spend two months in a 'failed state'. Maybe I'll forward him your article here, just to be a bastard.
MadMarchHarris said @ 11:57pm GMT on 24th Nov
I was in Thailand in January and the Western media was all "the protesters are throwing grenades at each other in the streets!". All the protests I saw ranged from roiling mass of people listening to very passionate/angry speakers to impromptu souvenir markets that stretched for multiple city blocks and had booths where they handed out free food. I know the grenade shit did happen but by and far Bangkok seemed very stable and lovely.
Onix said @ 12:16am GMT on 25th Nov
You just want to freak out your dad, you crazy kid.
MadMarchHarris said @ 6:09am GMT on 24th Nov [Score:1 Good]
I wanted to say the same thing but too greatly feared being shown up by either a resident of Mexico or someone who actually followed Mexican politics/society in any meaningful way.

My brother spent a few weeks in Mexico City and some other areas not especially known as tourist colonies of the United States and said it was fantastic. He did say that there was plenty of stuff to avoid but that from his experience and research it seemed like Mexico gets a worse reputation that it deserves but that lots of it is really fucked up.

That said, having pockets of gangster/militia controlled animals is a feature of what we normally call failed states. Places like North Korea that have crushing poverty but uncontested government dominance aren't common. Mexico is richer than a lot of people probably think it is but it has nasty features to it.

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