not at all

thanks for the informative response. I agree that local cops on the beat would be a good start to get a handle at least on the petty crimes and provide some eyes and ears to investigate or maybe deter more formidable ones.

What role if any can a non citizen play to promote the idea of more local policing?

In simple terms, the best you can do is repeatedly express your concerns to the local government, hopefully in concert with other lodging operators. The tourists you attract have the purchasing power we need to help sustain the local population dependent on tourism.

If even after the recent murders of two municipal authorities the municipal government doesn't of its own volition step up the the plate then I'm afraid there's little anyone can do except the federal government. The local government is washing its hands of any responsibility and is already in campaign mode for the next election, the state government is in denial (and is overwhelmed), so that leaves few options. I've been in contact with our Senador Armando Ríos Piter who has expressed an interest in helping us as well as with the Presidencia de la República who has sent more federal police and military. But I feel like a lone voice crying out in the wilderness because no one wants to get involved. Apathy and distrust of the government are major hurdles for our citizens.

Several months ago I was invited by the municipal government to participate in a citizens' advisory committee to make recommendations regarding public security. To my knowledge the only meeting we've had was the one where the mayor got his photo taken for setting up the citizens' advisory committee. I believe we're all pretty much of the same mind that what is needed is simply for the government to do its job, but we refuse to be their scapegoat or to wear a bullseye for them. I've already stuck my neck out as far as I dare for my family's sake.

It even appears that it doesn't bother the municipal government if foreign tourists stop coming. It just means they can steal our properties at a cheaper value, kind of like the shady backroom deals that gave life to Cerro del Vigía and Punta Garrobo. And as if that weren't enough to drive property values down, a gigantic megaproject is taking off at the mouth of the Río Balsas in La Unión at the border with Michoacán, a Zona Económica Especial (ZEE) has been decreed where investors, mostly foreign it appears, don't have to pay taxes or really abide by any laws at all to develop whatever they like, purportedly tourism related. The stated purpose is of course to lift the region out of poverty by creating more jobs, but in this case what really happens is the jobs go to folks not from here while the folks from here have their lands expropriated like the local ejidatarios had done to them back in the early 70's and for which the Zihuatanejo Ejido is still fighting FONATUR to be reimbursed for the lands that were taken from them in Ixtapa. So whenever we discuss local problems we must remember there are interests who would just as soon run all the local landowners out, as was the original intent back when Ixtapa was decreed a Zona Integral Planificada (ZIP).

Developments such I mentioned are fine when there's a demand, but when there's not then the only beneficiaries are the construction companies, who often have close ties to politicians to pay back political favors if they aren't owned outright by someone in their family, and the politicians and influentials who ride their coattails. Yesterday's million dollar homes at Cerro del Vigía today can't find buyers today at almost half the price, and we already can't fill all the lodgings we have.

So far they've done a darn good job running plenty of locals out of here. Many of our former neighbors no longer live in the downtown area for all the obvious reasons. Some have moved to Ixtapa where there's a semblance of safety (though in actuality that's where some of the narco leaders live). Many have moved away for good.

The Partenón should serve as a permanent reminder that obscure interests not only reside in this country but often are part of the official apparatus. El Negro Durazo was only arrested years after he became an embarrassment that could no longer be tolerated or swept under the rug. In a similar example, Veracruzanos denounced their corrupt state governor for years, yet it wasn't until an arrest warrant was actually issued for their governor that he fled with the billions of pesos he stole. Amazing how he was apparently allowed to escape justice. Same with several other former governors. So while Mexico is making strides to deal with its problems, the stupid war on drugs drains so many resources and enables so much corruption that we really don't have a chance until stupidly banned recreational "drugs" are legalized and the playing field leveled.

Never a dull moment in paradise!