Apr
19
Media Hysteria? Canada vs Mexico
April 19, 2007 | Tags: News, Crime | Leave a Comment
It’s starting to take on the feeling of a trade war or a World Cup match (if Canada was ever competitive in World Cup soccer).
Yet another story (see my article from March 30) with a lurid headline about a Canadian victim of crime in Mexico: Gunned down in Mexico, Local Man Shot Three Times; Lives to Tell Harrowing Story.
Although I do note that this story was actually in the The Star Phoenix rather than in the Canadian Media. Although maybe the Canadian media just hasn’t picked up on it yet.
There’s starting to be some anger on the boards from people living in Mexico about how their home is being portrayed. While they would no doubt agree that crime and the justice system in Mexico are problems, that seems to be the only thing that is reported, giving gringos a very warped view of Mexico.
Mar
30
This year seems to have been a year of terrible PR for Mexican vacation spots in the Canadian media. The murder of a couple in Cancun last February continues to receive attention. The apparent hit and run of a teenaged Canadian tourist in Acapulco in January. In both these cases, the family in Canada have strongly disagreed with the conclusions of Mexican police who have come off as trying to play down the crime or push it away rather than really solve it.
The latest incident receiving coverage was the recent drowning of a 72 year old Canadian swimming at the beach in front of the Palladium resort in Punta Mita just north of Puerto Vallarta. It wasn’t the drowning per se that was the cause of the media frenzy. Again it was the response to the events - neither the hotel or emergency officials were at all helpful in searching for the man. The man’s son, Gordon Zimmerman, was quoted as saying that “the assistant manager, the person in charge, informed me there was no ability for them to go out on the water, or any ability to search for someone in the water. No boat. The Jet Ski they had was broken, and had been broken for two years.”  The hotel apparently rather than helping with the search seemed more interested in playing down the whole event and not alarming other clients on the beach.
On CBC radio today, a travel “expert” today suggested people traveling to the “developing world like Mexico” should bring lots of cash and wave fistfulls of cash at people when an emergency occurs to get the help.
Clearly Mexico is developing a PR problem. Does someone need to tell them the first rule of public relations in a disaster is to come clean not to try and cover it up with more lies? Or does this run counter to Mexican culture?
Locate it on the map: Palladium Vallarta.
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