Cuernavaca and Drug-related Violence

To start, I want to point out that it's definitely an inaccurate perception that all of Mexico is ravaged by drug-mob violence.  Most of the country is free of this kind of violence and the majority of Mexicans and visitors have no contact with this kind of thing; in day to day life, it pretty much shows up only in the news papers (it's real, but it happens a few areas mostly near the U.S. border.)  That having been said, the reality is that recently, Cuernavaca has actually been one of the places to see an escalation of drug-mob violence since President Calderon's war on drugs started.  While most people who live here are still not effected by it, it's a reality.

Since the Mexican marine killed one of the country's top drug lords in a suburb of Cuernavaca early in 2009, there's been a fairly gruesome violence within the drug mobs, with some fairly public displays of their violence.  These events seemed to be worse during 2009; at least the news hasn't said much about them recently.  I assume that these events are most noticeable and difficult for police officers and people with related jobs, since they're the ones that have to deal with it in some way.

Most people who live here don't seem to see, notice or think about these events.  For the days I've been visiting, no one has been talking about drug violence and life in the city seems normal; in fact down town seemed very lively, full of shoppers, young people, old people and families enjoying an evening out, even more so than when I remember it.  I really, really hope this means that it was a short phase, that has now abated.  I love Cuernavaca and I'd hate to see it marred by violence.

Even now, I feel really safe here.  I walk through the streets carrying a nice laptop bag (something I wouldn't do in a place I didn't feel was safe) and chat with people I see downtown.  If that wave of violence from 2009 is still going on, it's behind the scenes.

That having been said, I don't doubt that the city will pass through this phase, if it hasn't already.  The city has lived through much rougher times in the past. I actually have a nice little personal story here showing how a city or community can come through rough times. I'll share that tomorrow.

For two of the things I love about Cuernavaca, read:

The Low Cost of Living in Cuernavaca
The World's Perfect Climate