Fees paid by tourists to enter Mexico will be passed on to the military. In addition to being responsible for the beaches —as happened at Easter—, they will also manage the tourist funds.
The Mexican army will manage 80% of the funds from the fees paid by each tourist to enter the territory. Soon, any foreigner who travels to the Latin American country will be directly helping to finance the military.
The measure proposed by the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, provides for the creation of a company, administered by the army, which will be responsible for funds from tourismrailways, airports and culture.
Mexico is one of the countries that receives the most tourists per year. According to the newspaper El Confidencial, only in 2019 it had more than 45 million visitors. To enter, whether by air, sea or land, it is mandatory to pay a fee of about 25 euros per person. If you travel by plane, it is included in the tickets, if the entry is made by land, it must be paid at the border.
This will be another step in the militarization of the country. If before the armed forces were only in charge of national security, now they seem to be everywhere, even on the beach, as it happened in Easter week.
Photography. Soldiers equipped with machine guns patrol the beaches of Cancun after the death of 8 people
In addition to participating in the construction of the Felipe Ángeles Airport, inaugurated in 2022, and the “Tren Maya” tourist train, they will be able to manage a new commercial airline, the creation of which was promulgated last week.
According to El Confidencial, Braulio Arsuaga, president of the National Tourism Business Council, does not agree with the creation of a company run by the army for tourism. in what is considered the most corrupt country in the OECD —according to the 2022 Corruption Perception Index— tourist destinations and cultural heritage should, according to it, be in the hands of specialized companies.
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Despite the fear that the presence of the army in power could cause among the population, in 2021 a survey concluded, according to the same newspaper, that 40% of Mexicans agree with a government led by the military. The main reasons were based on insecurity, growing corruption and the impoverishment of the country.
Source: Observadora
