I was last there, Acapulco, 20 years ago and it was still a gem on the Pacific situated on a deep port with daredevil divers jumping from the heights along the shore north of the bay. Its prominence came from Hollywood stars making it a favorite retreat from the days of the 50’s and 60’s of Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra, Brigitt Bardo, John Wayne. My Mexican friends several times a year would drive from UNAM (the national university) or governmental offices in Mexico City on a super highway through Cuernavca slowly descending from over 5,000 feet to sea level as you cross a final mountain ridge down into Acapulco. The city was like central Mexico City, very European or American, but set in one of Mexico’s poorest states populated by rural people attracted to the City from the deep poverty of that part of Mexico that stretches south into Guatemala and El Salvador. Even on my last trip, years ago, the growing presences of Cartels were evident as the four of us headed back to Mexico City were stopped by a Mexican Army patrol that had just been engaged in a firefight with a drug smuggling gang. My three Mexican colleagues had no insight into that event nor did I suspect that we had seen the early start of the movement of drugs from South America along Mexico’s west coast headed for the States.
Mexico’s collapse into drug cartel wars is a warning for us in the States as well as a challenge on how to help Mexico. The new President’s call for building a wall to keep Mexico and Mexicans out is simply a bit naive. Mexico has a population of about 120 million and is the world’s largest customer of Texas’ exports. Here are some aspects:
In 2013, Texas goods exports reached a record-breaking height of $279.5 billion, an increase of 183%, or $180.6 billion, from its export level in 2003
1.1 million jobs were supported by Texas exports in 2013.
Texas’ export shipments of merchandise in 2013 totaled $279.5 billion.
The state’s largest market was Mexico. Texas posted merchandise exports of $100.9 billion to Mexico in 2013, representing 36.1 percent of the state’s total merchandise exports.
Mexico was followed by Canada ($26.1 billion), Brazil ($10.9 billion), China ($10.8 billion), and the Netherlands ($9.5 billion)
https://ustr.gov/about-us/policy-offices/press-office/fact-sheets/2014/October/FACT-SHEET-Unlocking-Economic-Opportunity-for-Texans-Through-Trade
And lastly a current accounting of the rising violence again across Mexico from the NY Times. For my take, geographically, Mexico is far and away the most important issue for the United States rather than Syria, Afghanistan, North Korea, etc. These are half a world away and Mexico is NEXT DOOR.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/13/world/americas/mexico-drug-war-violence-donald-trump-wall.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=second-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news