Our Mission
To provide Chamber members with security risk management information pertinent to operating in Mexico that assists them in making informed decisions relating to security
Mexico General Security Advice for the Visitor
Mexico is a beautiful and vibrant country that has a rich cultural heritage and which is generally warm and friendly to outsiders. The great majority of people who have the opportunity to live and work in Mexico, or even just to visit, will have a positive experience. Like everywhere in the world though, Mexico has its own particularly security challenges and does, often unfairly, attract negative media attention as a result. It is therefore essential that anyone coming to visit Mexico, for long or short term, is adequately prepared.
That preparation should start with an understanding of the Mexico threat environment – understanding the specific security threats that you might face during your stay in Mexico and the preventive measures that can be adopted to help protect you. A good starting point for this is the Government of Canada which provides comprehensive advice on its website. This advice can be found here:
http://travel.gc.ca/destinations/mexico#advisories
We would specifically bring to your attention the Risk Level advisories which highlight specific areas in the north and west of the country where non-essential travel is recommended against.
The Safety and Security tab also provides useful advice and preventive measures that can be adopted to lower the risk exposure of the visitor.
The Laws and Culture tab is especially relevant and highlights some of those areas that often get the visitor into trouble with authorities. For example, did you know that it is illegal to drink alcohol on the street in Mexico?
And lastly, we would encourage all Canadian nationals to carry the contact details for the Embassy of Canada and, if travelling outside of Mexico City, the respective consulates. This detail can be found under the Assistance tab.
For non-Canadian visitors to Mexico, you should seek relevant information from your own government.
Doing Business in Mexico
From a business standpoint, the level of investment a business makes in security will be dependent on a number of factors. These include the nature of the business and the sector in which it operates, the geographic area of Mexico in which the business is situated, previous security incidents that the business has suffered, and the risk tolerance of the management team. There are, however, a number of basic measures that the CanCham Security Committee would recommend for all businesses operating in Mexico. These include:
- Have a clearly identified security management function. Some businesses decide to give responsibility for security to another department such as HR. It is our experience that this can often lead to security being neglected, at least until there is an incident, and we would recommend the engagement of a dedicated security manager or coordinator.
- Develop a security awareness culture in the organization. Staff members can be a significant vulnerability for a business and it is important that they understand that everyone has a responsibility for security. The starting point for this may be a security training programme for staff members that gives them preventive security advice and teaches them how to respond if they become victims of crime.
- Conduct a vulnerability assessment of the business to identify those security risks to which the business is potentially exposed and the security measures that are required to mitigate them. This should include a review of the existing physical protection system to ensure that it is fit for purpose.
- Develop measures to allow the organisation to effectively respond to a security incident. These measures typically include the identification of staff to manage incidents and crises, and plans to assist them in responding.
Any business already operating inside Mexico, or with plans to invest in this market, that wishes to discuss security concerns, can contact the CanCham Security Committee at comites@canchammx.com. While the Security Committee cannot replace the corporate security function, its members have a wealth of experience of managing security in Mexico and may be able to offer some useful advice.
Further Information
Additional advice and information on the security situation in Mexico can be found on the following websites:
| Mexican Government Bodies | |
| Secretaria de Gobernacion (SEGOB)
Secretariado Ejecutivo del Sistema Nacional de Seguridad Pública: Datos abiertos de incidencia delectiva |
http://secretariadoejecutivo.gob.mx/incidencia-delictiva/incidencia-delictiva-datos-abiertos.php |
| Instituto Nacional de Estadisticas y Geografia (INEGI): Encuesta Nacional de Victimización y Percepción sobre Seguridad Pública (ENVIPE) | http://www.beta.inegi.org.mx/proyectos/enchogares/regulares/envipe/2016/ |
| Instituto Mexicano para la Competitividad (IMCO) | http://imco.org.mx/publicaciones-imco/#/ |
| Secretaria de Comunicaciones y Transportes (SCT) | http://ttr.sct.gob.mx/mappir/ |
| Camara de Diputados:
Centro de Estudios Sociales y de Opinion Publica (CESOP) |
http://www5.diputados.gob.mx/index.php/camara/Centros-de-Estudio/CESOP |
| Organization of American States (OAS) Hemispheric Security Observatory | http://www.oas.org/dsp/english/cpo_observatorio_glosario_crimenyviolencia.asp |
| Foreign Government Advice | |
| US Department of State: Mexico Travel Warning | https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/alertswarnings/mexico-travel-warning.html |
| British Foreign and Commonwealth Office | https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/mexico |
| Security Associations | |
| American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS): Reportes de Seguridad | http://www.asis.org.mx/publicaciones-asis/reportes-de-seguridad.php |
| Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) | https://www.osac.gov/pages/CountryHome.aspx?CatalogLocationId=491 |
| Semáforo Delictivo | http://www.semaforo.com.mx |
| Local NGOs | |
| Causa en Común | http://causaencomun.org.mx |
| Observatorio Nacional Ciudadano (Seguridad, Justicia y Legalidad) | http://onc.org.mx |
| Mexico Unido Contra la Delincuencia | http://mucd.org.mx |
| Consejo Ciudadano para la Seguridad Pública y la Justicia Penal A.C. | http://www.seguridadjusticiaypaz.org.mx |
| Institute for Economics and Peace: 2017 Mexico Peace Index | http://economicsandpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/MPI17_English_Report_WEB_03.04.pdf |
| Centro de Investigacion para el Desarrollo (CIDAC) | http://cidac.org |
| Seguridad, Justicia y Paz | http://www.seguridadjusticiaypaz.org.mx |
| Mexico SOS | http://www.mexicosos.org |
| Consejo Ciudadano | http://consejociudadanodf.org.mx |
| Newspapers and online news sites | |
| Reforma | http://www.reforma.com |
| El Universal | http://www.eluniversal.com.mx |
| Milenio Noticias | http://www.milenio.com |
| Excélsior | http://www.excelsior.com.mx |
| Proceso | http://www.proceso.com.mx |
| Sopitas.com | http://www.sopitas.com |
| Mural | http://www.mural.com |
| La Policiaca | http://www.lapoliciaca.com |
| La Jornada | http://www.jornada.unam.mx/ultimas |
| El Norte | http://www.elnorte.com |
| Blogs | |
| Animal Político | http://www.animalpolitico.com |
| El Blog del Narco | http://www.elblogdelnarco.com |
| Borderland Beat | http://www.borderlandbeat.com |
| Pablo Hiriart | http://pablohiriart.com |