mexico's failure

Mexico is a place that scares me, and I understand it's not everywhere in the country and that it's targeted (perhaps), etc. But there is something about being in a failed state, particularly when the state itself has lost the battle and admits to its failure, that speaks to one of my greatest fears in life. It feels like you are not walking on solid ground - if you need to find stability, there is nothing to stand on, no place to go for balance. When I go to bed, I am at times overwhelmed by the luxury of safety - that I can completely let go, surrender, turn off every inner alarm system because I trust that in my place I am safe. There is always something out there, but the chances are so low or so out of anyone's control, that they don't count. 

So now there are vigilante groups in Mexico who have taken the law into their own hands. There are towns that have kicked out the police, which is frightening on two levels - they feel they are under-protected and they feel they are safer without the police's presence. They carry out justice - somehow - and the state is allowing for it - basically an admission that we can't do better for you. 

Even music could get you killed, and, in Mexico, that style even has a name: It is not unusual for drug gangs in Mexico to kill or assault musicians, especially those who play so-called narcocorridos that glorify the criminal underworld and end up offending well-armed listeners. A number of cities have banned that kind of music because of the violence that can accompany it.

Holy moly. Que horror.