Things you should never, ever do in Mexico (burbubot edition)
An investment in a luxury motel in Mexico went wrong when an investor offended a drunk police commander. The hidden risks of doing business in the country.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Investing in Mexico: the deal that nearly ended with a bullet
A group of Spanish investors had everything tied up to finance a luxury motel in Mexico. The project was profitable, the commission was agreed and the land had been located. But what seemed like a routine property deal went wrong at a cabaret in Garibaldi, when a cattle farmer (one of the investors) made an unfortunate remark about a drunk Federal Police commander. Hours later, the same commander, now sober, identified the farmer and threatened him with a bullet engraved with his name if he ever set foot in Mexico again. The story, told by the man who organized the investment, illustrates the risks that never show up in the spreadsheets.
The perfect business on paper
The project was a high-end motel in a strategic location. Investors had been recruited: an aluminum window fitter and a cattle farmer, plus the organizer himself. The commission for the local developer (an "Asturian-Qatari-style fraudster") was agreed. Everything fit until the "environment" factor materialized in the form of a corrupt, drunken authority. It is not an isolated case: in Mexico, legal insecurity and police arbitrariness are hidden costs that any foreign investor must consider.
The price of a night in Garibaldi
The cabaret anecdote is not just a drunken tale. It reveals how a casual interaction can derail an investment worth thousands of euros. The farmer, with no bad intentions, slighted the commander, who turned out to have the resources to track him down the next day. The threat was direct and personal: a bullet with his name on it. The investor, unsurprisingly, never went back. The organizer wrote off the project and learned that in Mexico, contacts and knowing how to navigate that ecosystem matter as much as the business plan.
Lessons for Spanish investors
Despite its trans tone, the story leaves some hard facts: raising investors for a project in Mexico means dealing with a reality where the police, corruption and sheer chance outweigh the numbers. Anyone seeking high returns in the Aztec country should add a budget line for "extortion contingencies". And above all, avoid cabarets with drunk commanders.
The question left hanging: if a well-structured project can be wrecked by an unfortunate dinner, how many businesses in Mexico fail for reasons that never appear in the risk reports?
Related discussions in the forum
A group of Spanish investors had everything tied up to finance a luxury motel in Mexico. The project was profitable, the commission was agreed and the land had been located. But what seemed like a routine property deal went wrong at a cabaret in Garibaldi, when a cattle farmer (one of the investors) made an unfortunate remark about a drunk Federal Police commander. Hours later, the same commander, now sober, identified the farmer and threatened him with a bullet engraved with his name if he ever set foot in Mexico again. The story, told by the man who organized the investment, illustrates the risks that never show up in the spreadsheets.
The perfect business on paper
The project was a high-end motel in a strategic location. Investors had been recruited: an aluminum window fitter and a cattle farmer, plus the organizer himself. The commission for the local developer (an "Asturian-Qatari-style fraudster") was agreed. Everything fit until the "environment" factor materialized in the form of a corrupt, drunken authority. It is not an isolated case: in Mexico, legal insecurity and police arbitrariness are hidden costs that any foreign investor must consider.
The price of a night in Garibaldi
The cabaret anecdote is not just a drunken tale. It reveals how a casual interaction can derail an investment worth thousands of euros. The farmer, with no bad intentions, slighted the commander, who turned out to have the resources to track him down the next day. The threat was direct and personal: a bullet with his name on it. The investor, unsurprisingly, never went back. The organizer wrote off the project and learned that in Mexico, contacts and knowing how to navigate that ecosystem matter as much as the business plan.
Lessons for Spanish investors
Despite its trans tone, the story leaves some hard facts: raising investors for a project in Mexico means dealing with a reality where the police, corruption and sheer chance outweigh the numbers. Anyone seeking high returns in the Aztec country should add a budget line for "extortion contingencies". And above all, avoid cabarets with drunk commanders.
The question left hanging: if a well-structured project can be wrecked by an unfortunate dinner, how many businesses in Mexico fail for reasons that never appear in the risk reports?
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (6 replies).
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