Confusion

As I have said before, me and Rob don't always see eye to eye on some subjects but this is one that I agree 100%. He is absolutely correct in his assessment of the area. I was one who actually was hoping for more discussion here of issues happening where Rob was trying to keep a low profile on things. But I understand that there is a fine line when you are trying to promote the area and have friends and family running businesses in the area very dependant on tourism to mention what is going on crime wise. But there comes a time where you have to make a decision based on the risk factor for tourists and locals and speaking the truth in this situation was the right thing to do.

Rob has been in Zihua for a long time. I was working in Ixtapa going back to the 80's and been coming back since on an off.I have seen the evolution of Ixtapa, Zihua and places like Troncones area. This region not being protected by a strong police force is not new. Being easy picking by criminals is not new. If anything it is surprising there has not been more issues with the way the cartels and other criminal groups have been able to often do business with no interference. But tourists have been left out in the most part in the whole area for the past 40 years.

With social media omnipresence, we now get the info out faster and we hear more about all the bad stuff. I can just imagine if Facebook had been around in the 80's with all the killings going on in the area. I have to wonder if Ixtapa would have been as big as it is today. Not many people know that Club Med was robbed back then. Imagine with social media. Or when rich tourists got mugged on the beach and had their watches and bling stolen in midday. And going more recently, when the economy and tourism was down in Zihua, I had several friends who runs businesses having to send their kids away for fear of kidnapping and I know personally some that were not so lucky.

These days, the economy is doing better and tourism is also doing better. But it is a different type of tourism and the spending by many is not as it used to be. And there are way too many people living in Zihua for the amount of jobs available and the view that Rob has regarding the type of lodgings Zihua should promote and the issues regarding land grabs is on point even if not popular with everybody. I just hope that I don't see any escalation of the violence in the area and that events like the carjackings from a short while ago or those in the last 2 years are not becoming more frequent. I also hope local businesses can go back to thriving without the fear of the extortion racket.