Drug trade makes Mexicans want to leave

MEXICO CITY, Sept. 22 (UPI) -- More than a third of residents have thought about leaving Mexico because of the drug cartels, a survey released Monday indicates.

The survey, conducted in seven major Mexican cities for the BBC's Spanish-American Web site, bbcmundo.com, by the pollster Synovate, found nearly two in five, or 37 percent, of respondents agreed the impact of the drug cartels had made them contemplate leaving Mexico.

Asked about their personal experiences, 9 percent of those surveyed said they had been directly affected by drug-related violence while 32 percent said they had been indirectly affected. A further 16 percent said they knew someone who had been tempted to enter the world of drug trafficking to increase their personal income.

On the subject of legalizing drugs, the BBC survey respondents were polarized, with 44 percent favoring it and 46 percent against legalization. Some 42 percent of those surveyed attributed the boom in drug cartels to unemployment and the poor state of the economy.

The BBC said the telephone survey was conducted among an unnamed number of adults aged 18 to 64 in Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Hermosillo, Merida and Queretaro in July and August.