Boris and the CatrinaOriginally uploaded by planeta.

Things are a little dicey in Oaxaca, Mexico, but do some digging to find out what’s happening at ground level.

I just had a phone conversation with Ron Mader, who runs the responsible travel site Planeta.com. He lives in Oaxaca and is in close touch with the vendors and people who run the tourism infrastructure. While the political situation there is far from settled, it’s more nuanced (as usual) than what you see on the 24-hour news channels.

“Teachers went on strike, the government sent in the state police, then the locals basically kicked out the police,” Mader said. “As a result, tourism has dropped 95%. Shops are open now though. The governor may be on the run, but it’s not as crazy here as many outsiders think it is.”

It’s often hard to find out from people living in a place what the situation on the ground is really like. He has set up a page with safety information and a link to a forum–the latter containing only posts from people who live there. So to get the real deal, go here:
Oaxaca forum.

Related posts:

1. Things that Help the Locals (and Things that Hurt)
2. The March of Progress in San Cristobal de Las Casas
3. “That place was surreal” (for real)