I’m writing this on my last day in Mexico City, having accompanied my 18-year-old daughter here for the first week of a six-month stay. She’s hoping to become fluent in Spanish before embarking on a degree in languages in September. My mission was to help her find a flat in a nice part of town and a job so she can support herself, and between us we just about managed it, thanks to the help of the local expat community. Mexico City reminded me of being in New York in the mid-1990s, where being British and having the modern-day equivalent of letters of introduction meant an entire social network opened up before you.
When I told people in London of my daughter’s plans, the standard response was open-mouthed astonishment, followed by a lot of finger-wagging about what an irresponsible parent I am. But the truth is the Mexican capital is a relatively prosperous, global city and she’s no more likely to be mugged here than in Acton. Outside the metropolis, however, it’s a different story, as I quickly learned from some of the journalists I met.
Worse fates can befall a controversial columnist than being targeted by an outrage mob on Twitter
According to Ioan Grillo, a New York Times contributor and author of Blood Gun Money: How America Arms Gangs and Cartels, Mexico is the most dangerous place in the world for a journalist to work that isn’t a war zone. ‘At least, not officially a war zone,’ he added, pointing out that 100 people are murdered every day and the number who have ‘disappeared’ is approaching 100,000.
Most of the foreign correspondents I bumped into were up in arms about the recent behaviour of the president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, known as AMLO.
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