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91Èȱ¬ Mundo survey: two in five urban Mexicans have contemplated leaving country due to impact of drug cartels
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A 91Èȱ¬-commissioned survey of Mexicans in seven major cities suggests that they are increasingly concerned about the impact of drug cartels on their lives.
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Over a third of the respondents said the impact of the drug cartels had made them think of leaving Mexico.
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The survey was conducted for the 91Èȱ¬'s Spanish-American website, bbcmundo.com, by the pollster, Synovate, to inform a special project exploring the effect of drugs on the fabric of the Mexican society.
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Almost two in five (37%) of the respondents agreed that the impact of the drug cartels had made them contemplate leaving Mexico.
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When asked about their personal experience, a tenth – 9% – of those surveyed said they had been directly affected by drugs-related violence, while 32% said they had been indirectly affected.
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Sixteen per cent knew someone who had been tempted to enter the world of drug-trafficking in order to increase their personal income.
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The respondents appeared polarised on possible legalisation of drugs, with 44% in favour and 46% against such legalisation.
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Forty-two per cent of those surveyed attributed the boom in drug cartels to unemployment and the poor state of economy.
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Eighty-two per cent of urban Mexicans agreed that they were worried about the consumption of drugs inside Mexico.
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An overwhelming majority of the respondents – 80% – agreed that drug gang culture was becoming glorified.
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A similar proportion – 81% – agreed that drug gang culture was being reflected in the Mexican society through music and arts.
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It emerged from the survey that drug-trafficking was considered the second most important concern in the respondents' lives (20%), following corruption (28%), and above the economy, general crime, education and social inequality.
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Two in five – 42% of those surveyed – said they felt less safe than they did a year ago.
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A majority of the Mexicans surveyed – 61% – agreed that the government's decision to give more priority to fighting the war on drugs than to other policy areas was correct.
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Sixty-eight per cent of the respondents also agreed that the government's decision to involve military services in the battle against drugs was right.
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However, 80% thought that the government should consider seeking other ways to end the problem of drug cartels.
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The survey was conducted on telephone among adults aged 18 to 64 in Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Hermosillo, Merida and Queretaro in July-August 2008.
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Notes to Editors
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 91Èȱ¬ Mundo is 91Èȱ¬ World Service's multimedia Spanish-language service for the Americas, offering breaking-news coverage, analysis, interactive debates, forums, video and on-demand access to the latest news bulletins in audio.
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Its website, bbcmundo.com, is a unique online resource for Spanish-speaking news seekers in the Americas, offering objective and unbiased international and regional news and analysis.
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Its engaging mix of international and regional news is provided by the 91Èȱ¬'s extensive global newsgathering operation with correspondents based worldwide.
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The website is in constant dialogue with its users, offering interactive content, enabling its users to express their opinions about news events and social issues making an impact upon their daily lives.
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bbcmundo.com generated around 23 million page impressions in August 2008. Ìý
The poll about attitudes to drug cartels in Mexico was conducted for 91Èȱ¬ Mundo by Synovate.
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Interviews were conducted on the telephone using Mexican Spanish speakers.
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Fieldwork was conducted in Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Hermosillo, Merida, Culiacan and Queretaro between 28 July and 20 August 2008.
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Interviews were only conducted with respondents in social grade D or higher.
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A total of 1,266 interviews were conducted.
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Quotas were placed on the sample to ensure the cities were represented in the correct proportions to each other.
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Quotas were also applied to ensure the composition of the sample by gender/age/social grade was correct.
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91Èȱ¬ World Service Publicity
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