Emigration
Alexander left Belarus a long time ago. He has lived in various countries, including Cambodia, but fate brought him to Mexico, where he has lived for the last five years and works as a licensed guide. In our “American Dream” series, we will move away from the usual USA and travel to Latin America—dangerous, yet mesmerizing in its nature and culture. In this new interview with “Not Today, Not Yesterday, Not Tomorrow,” read about the peculiarities of Mexican culture, the influence of drug cartels, and how to avoid trouble in Mexico.
Alexander, a guide in Mexico
— Hi, how did you end up in Mexico?
— I ended up in Mexico while traveling. I was living in Cambodia and decided to go on a motorcycle trip through Peru. On the way to Peru, Mexico was on my map, so that was my first time there. While traveling through Peru, I realized I wouldn’t want to live there for various reasons. As I was making my way back to Cambodia, I had to pass through Mexico again, and that’s where I stayed. When I only had $600 left, I decided it was better to stay where I was with that money than to arrive in Cambodia with nothing or even in debt. Once I stayed, I thought I’d see how things went with work, life, etc. In short, that’s how I ended up living in Mexico.
— Tell us about the situation in Mexico regarding work and legalization?
— Regarding work and legalization: of course, it’s better to have documents. There are several ways to get them. These include marriage and the birth of a child. There are also various humanitarian programs that allow you to obtain documents. For example, if you visited Mexico at least once as a tourist before 2021, you can apply for residency. You can also get it through investment—you need to invest around $64,000, I believe. There is also a business visa. Perhaps there are other options. But generally, the most common methods are getting residency through the birth of a child, marriage, or humanitarian programs.
As for work—you can find a job in Mexico. People with skills and intelligence are in demand. The only thing is that people will be reluctant to hire you as a foreigner, especially if you don’t speak Spanish, and even more so in the service sector. Therefore, it’s better to have “soft skills”—language proficiency, preferably Spanish, though English is also useful. You need to know how to work with a computer and be ready to take on any job.
But since Mexico is a second- or even third-world country, you shouldn’t count on a high salary if you don’t have a specialized education and are just applying for a job off the street. Although, it depends on luck.
— What surprised or scared you in your first years of living in Mexico?
— The crime situation scared me because Mexico is an unsafe country, as we know. All the stories about drug cartels, the mafia, and crime are not just rumors. You can look at the statistics for murders in cities worldwide, and as of 2023, 4 out of the top 5 cities are in Mexico. I live in the Playa del Carmen and Cancun area—a very touristy location—but Cancun ranks 40th in the world for the number of homicides. Many people think that because it’s a tourist zone, it’s safe, but that is an absolutely mistaken opinion. Information about such things isn’t often publicized. So, of course, the criminal situation frightened me.
What surprised me… well, after Cambodia, not much can surprise you. Cambodia is called the “Kingdom of Wonders.” After living there, little surprises you. But being scared—yes, in the first months in Mexico, I was truly afraid. After the friendly Asians, you realize that the country is unsafe and quite harsh, despite the favorable climate and sunny weather.
— How do you evaluate the standard of living of locals compared to other countries?
— Well, I evaluate it based on statistics. Mexico is the 14th economy in the world, but in terms of GDP per capita, Mexico ranks 162nd. That’s it. You can evaluate it yourself based on that figure.
— Do Mexicans try to preserve their cultural heritage?
— Yes, of course. Mexicans are generally huge fans of their culture. They are fans of their cuisine, their history, their nature, and their landmarks. Mexicans themselves love traveling around Mexico. They travel from one region to another, marveling at ancient structures and historical events. They adore their history, their culture, and most of all, their cuisine. There are no two ways about it. They are big fans of their country and culture.
— Can you mention some of the most unusual cultural aspects of Mexicans?
— Culture is a vast diversity. The cultural aspect lies in the fact that Mexican culture is based mainly on the traditions of pre-Columbian civilizations. In essence, they have effectively remained Indigenous. They were heavily influenced by European culture, but overall, they remain Indigenous. That is the most unusual part. All the interesting and sometimes curious nuances stem from this.
You live, essentially, among Indigenous people, and when you perceive them as such, everything becomes clear. All the answers to your questions flow from there. Therefore, their pre-Columbian Indigenous identity still prevails in society. You could say the same for the cuisine, as it’s part of the culture. For example, they eat ant eggs—the dish is called escamoles. They eat fried caterpillars from the agave plant (gusano). They eat grasshoppers—called chapulines. So, in a cultural or gastronomical sense, they have kept the same things they had during the pre-Columbian period. It is their Indigenous tradition.
— Mexicans are Indigenous. Are tribes preserved on Mexican territory? That is, Indigenous people in an untouched environment?
— Yes, there are Indigenous people, but they don’t live in forests and jungles now. They usually live in rural areas. But “mestizaje” has occurred. It’s hard to explain in a couple of words, but briefly, a process of racial mixing took place: European and Asian races mixed with the Indigenous people. The European race—descendants of Spaniards, French, Italians; Asians—Chinese, Koreans, Lebanese—all mixed with them. In some places more, in some less. But the process of mestizaje is difficult to control.
In rural areas, residents still consider themselves Indigenous, the native population. They speak their own languages. You can tell if a person is Indigenous if they consider themselves to be. About 30% of residents identify as native population. That’s a fairly large number. Whether they are “pure-blooded” or not is a different question.
Naturally, there are practically no settlements left in Mexico that have zero contact with the outside world. Unlike, say, in Amazonia or India, where there are still islands with isolated communities. In Mexico, all tribes and population groups have contact with the outside world, and accordingly, the process of globalization is happening. Even if they don’t speak Spanish but speak their own language, they still have electricity, they ride scooters and cars, and they don’t always wear traditional clothing.
You might see a person in a tracksuit and sneakers, but they won’t speak Spanish or will speak it worse than I do because they only learned it in school. And he considers himself a native resident, a Lacandon Maya from the state of Chiapas, living on the border with Guatemala. So, those kinds of Indigenous people who walk around in feathers, naked with a spear—they don’t exist in Mexico. They might only dress like that for a show.
Overall, I believe Indigenous tradition and culture prevail in Mexico. In large cities with major educational centers, or in northern Mexico where there was more white population than Indigenous, mestizaje happened, and people look more European. There are purely Caucasoid-looking people.
Southern regions of Mexico, like Chiapas, Oaxaca, and the Yucatan Peninsula, tend to have more Indigenous populations. Or the mountainous regions. In the north, there are mountains where the Rarámuri people live; they still win marathons because they’ve run in the mountains their whole lives and have high endurance. Their women run in skirts and the cheapest sandals, without any sports gear, and win all the Mexican marathons.
Therefore, there are quite a lot of Indigenous people in Mexico, but they already have a full connection with the outside world and the rest of Mexico.
— Mexico was once known for Emiliano Zapata, who fought for Indigenous rights. Has his legacy been preserved?
— Yes, it has been very much preserved. It even makes my life difficult. Because it’s that same state of Chiapas, and locals there still block the roads. On my last two trips to Chiapas with tours, we had to take detours because members of the Zapatista movement were blocking the roads. Currently, there are about 3,000 active members of the Zapatistas. They no longer figure prominently there, they don’t conduct any activities, and they don’t attack anyone with rifles. They reached an agreement with the government. But Indigenous people, using the Zapatista movement as a cover and having armed themselves—yes, they have weapons—block roads and interfere with public transport.
This means you either have to take a detour or turn back. So, Zapatista influence remains. Good ideas are now being used for what I would call extremism or road blockades. Thus, the ideas of fighting for Indigenous rights have turned into creating unpleasant, uncomfortable conditions for other members of society. They block roads and demand money. You’re driving, and they throw a stick with nails in the middle of the road and say: “Pay us $15. If you don’t pay, we’ll puncture your tires or won’t let you through.” Or they cut down a dozen trees and block the entire road. You ask: “What if we move these trees?” Well, it’s dangerous. They might shoot at you from the bushes.
So, I believe the Zapatista movement is still very relevant, especially in the Ocosingo region of Chiapas. They are still active there. What their motives are—that’s a different question.
— Why do they block roads? What are they demanding?
— They believe this is a way of standing up for their rights regarding social problems. The Zapatista movement appeared as an idea to oppose NAFTA (the trade union between Mexico, Canada, and the USA)—basically the process of globalization. The Zapatistas decided to counteract this and fight for Indigenous rights. Chiapas is a fairly underdeveloped and poor region. Mexico has very low social guarantees. For example, the government might not pay teachers or doctors. States like Chiapas suffer because there are almost no private schools or private hospitals, and public sector workers don’t want to stay because they aren’t paid. Consequently, they leave for large cities where they can get paid or get jobs in private institutions. The drain of the educated population leads to the Zapatistas demanding that the government pay attention to their problems.
But at the same time, it’s not always people who are just concerned for their country and calling the government to address issues. Often, these can simply be people who want to make money by blocking the road and collecting cash from passing cars. There is a fine line: some might use good ideas as a cover for their own gain, while others are truly trying to draw attention to a desperate situation. But I think blocking roads and having armed people in the modern world is not the solution. If they wanted to solve the problem, they should have gone with weapons to the government in Mexico City, not blocked the roads where ordinary citizens, just like them, are traveling.
— Tell us about the criminal life in Mexico. You mentioned in an interview that several drug cartels operate in Mexico. How does this affect residents and tourists?
— In short, there are many of them. There might be 3, 4, 5, or more in a single state or city. This is completely linked to the daily life of locals because the cost of living is high. Prices in the entertainment sector—bars, restaurants, etc.—as well as in tourism and housing, often depend on the cartels.
Prices shouldn’t practically be this high in Mexico, from the production of avocados to visiting bars and restaurants, but everything is controlled by the narco-mafia. We have a concept called “derecho de piso” or land right, where the mafia controls a territory. In Russian, it’s called “krisha” (roof/protection), but here it’s “piso” (floor). If your business is in a territory controlled by cartels, you must pay significant sums to buy off these bandits. And these sums range not in the hundreds of dollars, but in the thousands.
Consequently, businesses operating on mafia-controlled territory are forced to hike prices 2-3 times to survive and pay off the mafia. This affects everything: from going to a bar for a beer to buying avocados at the supermarket. Plus transportation costs, because the mafia covers taxi activities and the activities of politicians. From politics to everyday life, everything is connected to the mafia. It is a very strong structure. Mexican cartels are among the top 5 strongest organized crime groups in the world. So, everything here is permeated by their activity.
— Do you happen to know who is in these drug cartels? Is it poor people or some middle/upper class?
— I think it’s all classes. Everyone is there. I don’t know, I can’t know. When people talk about cartels, it’s strange. How could they know all the information? There is so much hype around this. YouTubers make videos, they interview cartel members. Generally, it’s all just empty talk. I think the top is just as hard to recognize as the bottom because low-level cartel members look like ordinary people. They could be vagrants, addicts, or just souvenir sellers who deal drugs on the side. But the most serious people are, of course, in the shadows, and no one knows their names until a certain time.
There was El Chapo, “Shorty,” Joaquín Guzmán Loera. He was a famous person. He was the leader of the Sinaloa cartel, I believe. So there are people in the public eye, fairly influential people. But I think the strongest and most influential stay in the shadows, and we can’t know their names. Naturally, they have a lot of money, so they aren’t the poor people at the bottom of the mafia. They have vast holdings; they might own land, hotels, maybe whole cities or entire industries. So, it’s impossible to know who is at the very top of a cartel.
— Have you personally encountered criminal situations or dangerous moments?
— Yes, from my home being robbed to my car being seized by police acting illegally. They took my car, claiming it was stolen, but they didn’t file any seizure reports. They also took a bribe from me, and this happened twice. Once they just took a bribe of about $4,000 and let me go with the car, and the second time they took a $3,000 bribe and took the car too. This is everywhere in Mexico. From “give me money for a soda” to police trying to make big money off you if something is wrong. And home burglaries. The Mexicans living here have bars on all windows and doors, everything is locked, because you can’t leave anything open—they’ll get in immediately.
— What should you do if you find yourself in an unpleasant situation, and how can you avoid it?
— Well, the best thing is to have money for such a case. If you’re being robbed, give everything up, don’t fight the criminals. If you’re under pressure from the police, resolve the issue with money—that’s the best way. There are, of course, various oversight organizations you can contact later. Но I think that whole process here might just make the situation worse, because they’ll look for you later, and they might even kill you. In Mexico, even politicians are killed, so one person alone is not a fighter. You can’t solve the situation yourself like in a movie, like Rambo, going in with a pistol and dealing with everyone. Or writing a report to state agencies expecting them to find the bad guys and arrest them. You’ll more likely be found chopped into pieces on the side of a Mexican federal highway.
So, it’s better to maintain a “low profile,” as they say—don’t look like someone who has money. It’s better if people don’t know where you live, what you do, or how much you earn—that’s important. And if you do get into an unpleasant situation, try to resolve it on the spot, because the further the situation escalates, the more you will ultimately lose.
— Why do you like living in Mexico?
— Well, despite all these terrible and unpleasant things, Mexico is a very beautiful country in terms of nature and cultural diversity. Also, diplomatically, Mexico is a much more respected country than Belarus, for example. When I say I’m from Belarus, no one knows where that is or what kind of country it is. A Mexican passport is more valued in the world.
In terms of natural and cultural heritage, I didn’t leave Mexico for five years, traveling within the country. Even without leaving, you feel like you’re traveling because you see different landscapes. You can be on the flatlands of the Yucatan Peninsula, where it’s hot year-round (30+ degrees), and where you have the Caribbean Sea—one of the most beautiful in the world. There is quite a lot of natural diversity. Mexico is the fourth country in the world for biological diversity. There are monkeys, coatis, agoutis—those are like large guinea pigs running in the jungle—foxes, raccoons, various bird species. On the coast—turtles, dolphins, rays, whale sharks. If you go to the mountains—there’s a different climate and scenery. There are waterfalls and ancient structures. There is cultural diversity: one region speaks one language, another speaks another, and there are unique aspects to the cuisine.
Overall, Mexico is diverse. A wonderful climate, summer all year, 30-degree heat. If it’s too hot, you can go to the mountains where it’s cooler. There are desert areas if you need them. The Gulf of Mexico is almost undeveloped, with empty beaches. There’s the Pacific coast. If you want surfing, go to Puerto Escondido. If you want tropical jungle, go to Chiapas. If you want mountains, go to Oaxaca. The country is beautiful, diverse, with a great cultural heritage, respected in the modern world, and a neutral country. Despite social and political problems, there is democracy and rotation of power here; that’s also important.
Mexico also has advantages in terms of location: a different continent, close to Latin America which I want to explore, close to the USA—you can migrate through a “hole in the fence” if you want. It has its pluses.
— Final question. Which places would you recommend visiting in Mexico that are safe?
— I am a licensed guide with a federal license in Mexico, and if you ever come here for a vacation or are passing through, you have your own man in Mexico. I’d be happy to consult you before arrival and organize your holiday safely and in the best way so you leave with only the best memories.
The safest places in Mexico are the states of Yucatan and Campeche. The city of Merida and San Francisco de Campeche. You can visit those. But basically, as a tourist in Mexico, if you don’t get involved with drugs, don’t get into conflicts with locals, and don’t break laws, you can feel quite safe. The main thing is to follow the law and stay away from drugs.
Mexico is the seventh most visited country in the world by tourists. You can travel almost across the entire country, but I wouldn’t recommend the states in the north, along the border with the USA or along the coast. I wouldn’t recommend states like Tamaulipas, Sinaloa, or Guerrero. Cities like Tijuana, Reynosa, Matamoros, close to the US border, are dangerous. One of the most dangerous cities is Coahuila. So there are zones you shouldn’t go to.
Everything else is relatively safe. The center, Mexico City, and further south can be considered safe regions for tourism. Millions of tourists and Americans come here. And Americans certainly care about their safety. Furthermore, 700,000 Americans live in Mexico permanently. Basically, you can live and travel here without problems.