How safe is Mexico?

Tim Johnson addressed this question recently in an article for McClatchy Newspapers. He went on to inquire about this in an interview with Rodolfo López Negrete, deputy director general of the government’s Mexico Tourism Board.
"Our job isn't to talk about security. Our job is to talk about the assets we have as a country," Lópe Negrete told Johnson.
Johnson then took a look at the 10 “Tourism Routes” the board is promoting: “Here's a brief safety review of the routes, based on recent news reports and the State Department warnings. The rating uses green, cautionary yellow and a "don't-go" red, and errs on the side of caution.”
Among the areas listed as red were Acapulco and Copper Canyon, the latter reached by a rail line that runs from Chihuahua into Sinaloa, two states hit hard by violence. Although Johnson reported 22,700 deaths attributed to the narcotics wars since 2006, Mexican officials recently said the number was more than 28,000. What Johnson did not mention is that no tourists are among the dead.

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Jimm Budd
Reporting from Mexico City
Member of the Society of American Travel Writers