"Meet with Professional Coyote"

[AnnInLa]

Hi all....just back last night from 2 weeks in Isla Mujeres, Mexico. Isla Mujeres is a small island off the coast of Cancun, about a 25 minute power-ferry ride away from CUN. Have been going there for 7-8 years, and originally, it was a laid-back, mainly-undiscovered, old-hippie sort of place. In the last few years, however, it has been growing by leaps and bounds due to the tourist trade from Cancun. I'd say the average daily wage on the island for laborers is @ $15-20 per day (US dollars.) Anyway, compared to many places in MX, the locals there are in good shape, financially, enjoying the dollars brought in from American, Canadian, Italian, German and Israeli tourists. The houses all have cable TV, the kids are dressed very well, everyone rides mopeds or golf-carts. I know many of the locals, and they will tell you that they are not the Mexicans who want to come to America, they are doing very fine, thank you. They have no interest in America, beyond the dollars that are brought in. (BTW, they absolutely hate GWB.)

On this particular trip, I was surprised to see signs in many of the small Mexican-owned hotels. The signs, translated into English, read, "Meet with Professional Coyote! No children or pets." Then the date and time would be listed. I asked my local MX friends about these signs, and they said that coyotes are getting more and more greedy, seeking out customers even from Mexicans who are doing fine (comparatively). Said that many of the younger Mexicans who have been tasting the recent influx of American dollars are signing up with the coyotes to come to the US to make even more and more dollars. The older locals there just shake their heads at the "foolishness" of the younger generation who would take risks to leave the island paradise. The signs are just everywhere on the island, and evidently, there is no problem with local officials about their posting or their recruitment. The signs did get some double-takes from the American tourists tho.