Calderón: Tourists are not Victims of Violence

(Las Vegas, Nevada AN 20 May). In a speech in Las Vegas on the last day of the Global Summit of Travel and Tourism, Mexican President Felipe Calderón assured the meeting participants that tourists are not the victims of the violence that has been shaking Mexico. “The only shots the Springbreakers receive are of tequila,” he said, “and nothing happened.” The President said, "Tourists hurt by the violence can be counted on one hand, and even though the violence pops up in some places, the rest of the country is very peaceful." The comment came when Peter Greenberg, a travel and tourism reporter, commented at the conference that “we cannot ignore the presence of the white elephant in the room, with its 34,000 dead in Mexico.” Calderón added that the 30,000 visitors to Cancún last year during the world environmental summit had no troubles related to violence. And in spite of the generalized fear caused by the press reports, 22 million tourists visited Mexico last years, and according to his understanding, they were unaware of any climate of violence.

Calderón also took advantage of the opportunity to report that “Washington D.C. has a higher crime rate than most Mexican cities, where, by the way, more than one million US citizens have made their home.” He admitted that Mexico has a serious problem of perception related to the violence gripping several cities. He concluded by reporting that of the 47 organized crime figures on Mexico’s most wanted list, 20 have been captured.