The municipality boasts hundreds of luxurious hotels and 45,000 inhabitants settled in risk zones.
With a population exceeding 351,111, accounting for 44 percent of the population of Baja California Sur, Los Cabos has become an important international tourist destination. However, the municipality is overwhelmed with a lack of basic services, security issues, domestic violence, and thousands of people living in risk zones.
According to the Los Cabos Tourism Trust (Fiturca), 3.85 million tourists visited Los Cabos in 2023. The significant growth of the destination has made it an ideal site for business investment, as well as for the influx of migrants from other states of the republic who settled there hoping for employment opportunities.
The tourist destination is the primary recipient of migration in the state, with 55.8 percent of its population born in another state or country. One in every two people living there is native to Los Cabos, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI).
“I am from the state of Guerrero. I arrived in Los Cabos to live with my husband and also with family who came along 10 years ago. Where I am from, there is no work, and we mainly came to live here because there is work. My husband works in construction when hotels are being built, and we have three children,” said Adriana de la Cruz.
According to data from the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS), Los Cabos represents a job opportunity for 122,017 people in formal companies; they mainly work in the provision of tourist services and commerce. In 2023, the municipality had the highest salary nationwide, according to the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (IMCO); the average monthly salary is 14,935 pesos.
Social Inequality
In the last 55 years, Baja California Sur has experienced the impact of over 60 cyclones, including 3 category 3 hurricanes that caused disasters; Hurricane Olivia (1967), Kiko (1987), and Odile (2014). The latter left 18 dead and thousands of people affected in Los Cabos, with Cabo San Lucas remaining without electricity and water for up to a month.
Each hurricane season highlights the issue of a lack of decent housing in Los Cabos. The state sub-secretariat of Civil Protection estimates that there are approximately 45,000 people settled in high-risk zones. Most are families who arrived from other states of the country and located themselves near streams and rivers.
“I live in Colonia Esperanza. We don’t have drainage, electricity, or water services. The colony is new, and we indeed struggle with services because we have to buy water. Whenever there is a hurricane, we have to go to shelters because we live in a stream,” said a resident.
Inequality
Alba Eritrea Gámez Vázquez, a researcher-teacher at the Department of Economics of the Autonomous University of Baja California Sur (UABCS), explained that in some areas, such as San José del Cabo, the growth and separation between zones are visible, reflecting an unequal distribution of public investment, as well as areas of extreme poverty, mainly located on the outskirts.
According to the National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development Policy (CONEVAL), Los Cabos is the municipality with the highest percentage and number of people in poverty (31.7 percent) and extreme poverty (4.8 percent) at the state level.
Gentrification and Unregulated Touristification
Both gentrification and unregulated touristification affect the supply of basic services such as drinking water, electricity, and public transportation.
“If the construction of thousands of tourist rooms is being favored, the private and public sectors are obliged to ensure that there is housing and dignified public service conditions for the working population. That is part of the process; it’s not only necessary to plan the hotel room, but also what will happen with the city,” detailed.
Gender Violence and Security
In addition to the problems of lack of housing, basic services, and education, gender violence is also a concern; Los Cabos is the most insecure municipality for women in Baja California Sur, according to the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System. From 2019 to date, 14 femicides have been recorded in this tourist destination, making it the most dangerous municipality.
The criminal traffic light has positioned this municipality as the one with the highest incidences of domestic violence, rape, femicides, and drug dealing. For comparison: in 2019, there were 1,252 incidents of domestic violence, while in 2023, the number increased to 1,509. In rapes, from 126 that occurred in 2019, last year 160 cases were recorded.
The neighborhoods with the highest reports of gender violence are: Caribe, Gastélum, Tierra y Libertad, El Zacatal, and La Ballena, with 9 to 15 calls for help due to gender violence per day.
The crime of drug dealing saw a 200 percent increase, from 171 incidents reported in 2019, to 373 complaints in the period of 2023.
These figures show that the main destination generating economy in Baja California Sur is a paradise overwhelmed with significant violence problems.
Source: El Sol de Mexico
