Driving While Black in Mexico

Mexico: Land of the War God

My worst fear came to pass when I rented a car from Cancun to Tulum.

The drive is almost two hours long. You’d think it would happen then but not exactly!

As a Black driver in America,  I fear for my life every time I’m stopped by the police.

So upon hearing that Mexican police are notorious for accident fraud, bribes and false charges/arrests I was wary about renting a car for my 42nd birthday trip.

I joined a Facebook group called Black in Tulum which had a heavy expat following.

The majority recommended only day driving and giving in to the police’s bribes.

I later learned the former was partially due to the darkness in Tulum and large speed bumps.

They’re called topes and seem to come out of no where. If speeding, they have the potential of throwing off a car’s suspension.

For a split second that day, I contemplated listening to the latter advice. But that goes against everything I am!

The group had  accounts of both tourists and residents giving all of their spending money or surrendering it via an ATM.

Some even recommended keeping a certain amount visible to appease the police (just in case).

I later learned that taxi drivers had become astonishingly greedy with Tulum’s popularity.

So it seemed almost impossible to avoid the fraud!

Choices Choices

Black people are traumatized enough in the U.S and the fear of a Mexican jail overrode all common sense or self preservation from stories I’d heard.

Surprisingly, most White bloggers had opposite advice about driving in Tulum.

They stressed the importance of holding the police accountable so that these practices would not continue. The “rebel” in me agreed.

They tend to have less stops and better experiences.

One blogger had a printed letter which explained Mexican tourists’ rights and laws.

The most important stipulation was that police was obligated to give you a ticket which should be paid at the station (not directly to them).

My printer ran out of ink but I downloaded the PDF to my phone.

I found out later that the form was an attempt at a tourist card to encourage police integrity, but that initiative fell through.

Stuck between a “rock and a hard place”, I decided I would drive carefully, pray , and hope for the best ( no different than every day life).

I also read accounts about lack of safety with taxi or personal drivers.

With my usual hectic itinerary,  I knew it would be expensive with either taxis or a personal driver.

Car rental prices were very reasonable in Mexico even with the major companies.

In hindsight, the reason may be due to lack of demand.

Mexican Car Rental

At the last minute I booked with I Drive Car Rent. They quoted me thru WHATSAPP ( fee and deposit) and picked me up from the airport.

I liked that they accepted cash or credit/debit and had a low deposit. All amounts quoted are in Mexican dollars.

It’s actually better to use cash because they charge a credit card fee.

The rental car was a Mazda 626 SUV. They could’ve done a better job with detailing but I’m happy there were no mechanical failures.

Budget was one of the few that had a deposit requirement similar to the states ($500 or under as long as you purchased full coverage insurance).

Anyway, back to the police stop.

I drove to Tulum, the Riviera Maya near Cancun and back without incident. There were check points everywhere and I breezed through each one.

The last morning, on the way back to Cancun, my travel companion and I were just discussing how smooth renting the car had been.

I mentioned that maybe people had exaggerated accounts of police behavior because it been such an uneventful couple of days.

I look in the rear view mirror and see flashing lights. The police car lights were always flashing in Tulum so I wasn’t sure if I was being stopped.

It was clear shortly after.

Show me the Pesos

I pulled over and the cop said I was speeding.

Another one joined him but retreated early.  Maybe the farce was too much for him or he knew we wouldn’t buy it!

I can’t remember if the cop asked for 300 (USD) or if he stated it in Mexican pesos. Just as I had read, he stopped us right across from an ATM and pointed at it.

I told him I had no money and was on my way to the Cancun airport.

After my first plea went unheard, I pulled up the bilingual PDF.

He said the police station was closed so I had to pay him directly. (All illegal)

I told him I would wait and he could give me a ticket.

He never attempted to give me a ticket but he pulled up Google translate to tell me the PDF only applied to minor offenses and that my “speeding” was major.

I don’t know how long the back and forth went with me and my passenger insisting we spent all of our money.

I refused on principle to give him a red cent.

I didn’t even care about missing my flight at that point.

I was more angry than fearful and the officer had the authoritative presence of a security guard (flash light cop).

He even offered us a “discount ” at one point! How absurd!

So everything I had read was true. They target rental cars and drivers who don’t look Mexican.

It was also early Monday morning when most would be leaving for their flights to Cancun.

Standing My Ground

Standing our ground worked eventually and he let us go after my passenger showed him our boarding info.

I don’t know if I’ll ever return to Tulum let alone drive in Mexico again! That’s not something I want to experience ever again! (Very ghetto, don’t recommend)

As a Black person, I know it could have went another way. But Mexico, y’all gotta do better.

No one wants to get harassed and bribed EVER…and especially not on vacation!

~Poof…Bee Gone

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