Mexico vs USA August 15 @ Azteca

yeah i think it's northern mexico and the areas which the drug lords run

 

What I love about this match even more than getting some of our younger guys a taste of Estadio Azteca???

The fact that our still-new coach (who has never had to coach a team through a qualification process...a fact we forget at times) gets a taste of it as well...

 

Lol, so how about elaborating?

 

I don't feel its necessary. Anyone who believes that all of Mexico is this dangerous place that no gringo should go is sorely mistaken. It is blown out of proportion. Stay in a small group and you'll be fine, that's the truth (as someone who has been there numerous times).

 

It's not like you can trust the police there. Have you seen the bodies hanging over highways?

 

How many of them were tourists?

 

the g20 are there now, so if they really wanted to do stuff, they have the bigwigs there

 

None of these things happen anywhere near Mexico City. Came back to the city a few months ago after living in the US for a while and I can tell you that, in general, I feel as safe here as I ever did there. I generally walk until late in the night without any trouble. Of course, as in any big city, there are neighborhoods that you should avoid and some precaution should always be exercised.

You can definitely come down here and enjoy the match (and the city) without worrying about the drug related violence as it is absolutely non-existent here. I'll even buy you a beer.

 

The cartels don't just kill random people for fun.

 

just so you [fine people] know, the drug cartels have a truce in mexico City. No killings there. Why? Because it is where the government is and because much of the Drug lords families live there.

[edited by mod]

 

I don't think it has anything to do with a truce, something like that would be unenforceable, as there are no guarantees to sustain such an agreement. I think it's more of a logistical thing: they simply have nothing to do here as the main source of their business comes from South America and goes to the US. They only care about points of entry to both Mexico and the US, and the corridors through which the drug transits.

In any case, the point is that the city is safe, or at least as safe as a large city can be. So, leave your fears behind and make the trip to Azteca!

 

I'll take your word for it. And thanks for the invite.

 

I thought tourists were kidnapped for randsom, some of them. Not nearly all. Media bias, I guess.

 

I'm sure it has happened. Tourists have been murdered in Antigua, Curacao, Boston, New York, Tokyo etc etc etc. I'm sure everything one can imagine has happened to tourists in Mexico. Rape, murder, robbery etc. However, I'd venture that the numbers aren't too much higher in Mexico than many other places for tourists. There are places that I would never go to under any circumstances, like Somalia, Eastern DRC, Afghanistan, Pakistan, but these places tend to not host FIFA sanctioned games.

 

Shyaatt , Id be more scare going to Brazil. Id get my kidneys stolen like the movie

 

They don't kill for fun but they will kill anyone to get what they want.

 

I follow UberFacts on Twitter who has more than 2M followers and they tweeted about a month ago that in 2011, there were more violent deaths in Mexico than in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia & Yemen combined.

 

Well of course not all but it does happen.

 

Yes and 99% of tourists don't have what they want.

 

Yeah they do they can kidnap them and ask for a ransom. I remember a few years ago it was in 2005 when 5 armed men kidnapped the Cruz Azul coach. I wouldn't recommend going to Mexico why risk it? Unless you go with a group, because they see tourists and people who look fancy as a easy target.

 

Sorry if this is a bit off-topic, but I think some clarification of these "facts" is needed. First, there is no reliable data on intentional homicides for these four countries, so we really don't know if this number is accurate or not. Second, the relevant datum is not the total number of violent deaths, but rather the rate. Just to give you a sense of things, Mexico's murder rate is less than half the rate of New Orleans (I know that comparing a country with a city is problematic, but this is just to illustrate the point). Add to that the fact that criminal activities are concentrated in around 20 cities, most of them in the north, and the picture that emerges is very different from what the statistic cited by UberFacts may lead you to believe.

I should clarify that I'm not trying to downplay the current security crisis in Mexico. Most indicators show that the situation has deteriorated quite dramatically in the last 5-6 years. Still, it is necessary to introduce some perspective to it.

 

Well I rather go walk in the streets of New Orleans than Ciudad Juarez if I had to choose.

 

Except that kidnapping foreign tourists is not nearly as profitable as kidnapping, say a domestic Mexican like the Cruz Azul coach who will pay up quickly. That doesn't even take into account that Mexico is a huge country and not all parts of it are equal. I wouldn't go wandering around Juarez unaccompanied nor take a road trip across northern Mexico by myself, but visiting the Yucatan or Mexico city is perfectly fine. The fact is millions of tourists visit Mexico every year and only a very minor fraction of them run into any problems, usually of their own doing anyway (drugs).

Of the 50,000 people murdered in Mexico last year, 120 of them were American tourists. .00025%. And that counts all American citizen visitors, which means some of these people weren't going down there to wander around the sights and laze on the beach.

 

And I would agree with that, but I think you are missing the point. The issue being discussed here is whether it would be safe for US fans to travel to Mexico city to see the match in August. A few security concerns were raised, and it is such concerns that I am addressing. Again, the risks that you would face are similar to those of any big American city such as Chicago or LA. My point is that, if you feel safe going to those places to see a soccer game, you should feel the same about coming to Mexico city.