August 29, 2007

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Most people in Mexico express grave concerns about their personal safety, according to a poll by Consulta Mitofsky. 61 per cent of respondents are personally very fearful of being victims of an armed robbery.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Most people in Mexico express grave concerns about their personal safety, according to a poll by Consulta Mitofsky. 61 per cent of respondents are personally very fearful of being victims of an armed robbery.

In addition, 56 per cent of respondents greatly fear a kidnapping, while 47 per cent are very afraid of becoming victims of a terrorist attack.

Mexico City has become infamous over the past few years for its "express kidnappings"—a form of quick hostage-taking in which victims are forced to vacate their bank accounts from automated tellers at gunpoint.

Since January, Mexican president Felipe Calderón has placed more than 3,300 soldiers in northern areas as part of a crackdown against organized crime and illegal drug trade operations. Violence related to drug trafficking has been considered as one of the president's main challenges during his six-year term. Drug gangs were blamed for more than 2,000 murders nationwide in 2006. Northern towns like Tijuana have shown particularly high death tolls.

Calderón and United States president George W. Bush are currently discussing how to implement a strategy to combat organized crime in Mexico similar to the U.S.-led "Plan Colombia" in the South American nation.

On Aug. 21, Bush declared: "Once the aid package is finalized it will be robust enough to accomplish the goal of tackling drug-related violence along the common border, which is also a shared responsibility."

Polling Data

How much do you personally fear being the victim of...

	A lot	Some	A little	None
An armed robbery	61%	21%	9%	8%
A kidnapping	56%	16%	12%	13%
A terrorist attack	47%	19%	14%	17%

Source: Consulta Mitofsky
Methodology: Face-to-face interviews with 3,000 Mexican adults, conducted from May 26 to May 30, Jun. 28 to Jun. 30, and Jul. 27 to Jul. 31, 2007. Margin of error is 2.4 per cent.