The big fear in Mexico is that American will stay away, or this is what a good friend told me.  Tourism is a big deal south of the border, and Americans are the ones those resorts and hotels were built for.  It's worth $22 billion, or about 2% of their GDP.  To be fair, not all that money comes from the U.S., but a huge chunk does.  After all, Cancun and Acapulco are two-hour flights from Dallas or Houston.

This is why they hate stories like this one at the BBC:

Authorities in the US state of Texas have advised American citizens not travel to Mexico during the spring break holidays for security reasons.

The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) said that drug cartel violence represented a significant threat for anyone crossing into Mexico.

It comes after four Americans were kidnapped shortly after crossing the border last week.

Two of them were murdered, while two were released unharmed.

Three American women who went to Mexico to sell clothes at a market have been missing for more than two weeks.

"Drug cartel violence and other criminal activity represent a significant safety threat to anyone who crosses into Mexico right now," said DPS director Steven McCraw.

"Based on the volatile nature of cartel activity and the violence we are seeing there, we are urging individuals to avoid travel to Mexico at this time."

We've had warnings like this in the past.  However, we've never had a Mexican president say he is going to work on defeating Republicans in the next election.  My guess is that President Andrés López-Obrador will walk it back and maybe even apologize or say he chose the wrong words.  Nevertheless, a lot of people heard him say it and may just change their vacation plans.  Mexicans know they are not the only beach destination in the neighborhood.

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Image: Joachim Pietsch.