Mexico’s Safest State Risks Being Overwhelmed by Its Own Success
Yucatán needs to balance growth with protecting its fragile environment if it doesn’t want to become the next Cancún.
Not just beautiful, but safe: the Kukulcan Pyramid at the Mayan archaeological site of Chichen Itza in Yucatan State
Photographer: Daniel Slim/AFP/Getty Images
Taking off from Mérida’s airport, in Mexico’s southeastern Yucatán state, offers some breathtaking views: the emerald waters of the Gulf of Mexico, the unusual geography shaped by an asteroid millions of years ago. But you might also note something else: gaps in the forest cover gashed out by massive real estate projects — private neighborhoods that allow families to enjoy the good life and, on the side, dabble in land speculation.
Yucatán may be famous for its spectacular Mayan ruins, its underground caves and cenotes, and its delicious food. But the main reason for its growing popularity among locals and foreigners is more mundane: It’s Mexico’s safest state — and by quite some margin. Even as parts of the country are experiencing something resembling a civil war, Yucatán’s homicide rate is about 2 per 100,000 people, a tenth of the national average — by comparison, Florida’s 2022 murder rate was 7.2 per 100,000 people, similar to Mexico City’s.