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How To Retire Without Money
By Bob Belmont
CHAPTER 8 MEXICO
Page 4 of 15
To the other extreme are the natives—you might almost say
savages—who live in the jungles of the interior in Yucatan,
Quin-tana Roo and Campeche. They exist much as did their
ancestors before the coming of the Spaniards, even the bow and
arrow being in daily use.
Between these two extremes is the average Mexican. Proud of
his country and its revolutionary traditions, he is the most
courteous person in the world. He is also generous, a great
lover of his family, hard working (in spite of all of our
"siesta" jokes to the contrary), loyal to his friends, and
hospitable to strangers.
And above all, he is picturesque. There is nothing in Europe
to equal the Mexican fiesta. The costume, the fireworks, the
dancing and music in the streets. All over Mexico are dancing
clubs, somewhat similar to our "square dance societies" which
keep alive the dances of the Aztecs, Mayans and other
pre-conquest Mexican peoples.
To think of the Mexican as an ignorant, shifty-eyed,
untrustworthy "greaser" is as silly as to picture the average
Russian as black bearded and with a bomb in each hand.
§
MONEY. One of the reasons why Mexico is so very cheap for
Americans is the excellent exchange between peso and dollar.
We receive 12.50 pesos for each dollar, and in many
commodities you will find a peso will buy almost what a dollar
will in our own country.
As the international finance expression goes, the peso is
"pegged" to the dollar. The United States supports the peso,
in other words, and on the money market in Switzerland and
Tangier if the dollar goes up so does the peso and vice versa.
There is no advantage then in attempting to buy pesos at cut
rates on the money markets. Yet get as good an exchange in a
Mexican bank as you will anywhere.
By the way, Mexican banks pay from 6% to 8% on savings
accounts and Mexican bonds up to 10% interest. So,
theoretically, if you had one hundred twenty to one hundred
thirty thousand dollars in capital on hand, you could retire
in Mexico and live off the interest. Trouble here is that in
the last ten years Mexico has devaluated the peso more than
once, and there is no particular reason to believe she won't
do it again. It would be a mistake then to transform your
dollars into pesos on a long term investment.
§
WORK PERMISSION. You are not allowed to take employment in
Mexico without a work permit, nor are you allowed to start a
business except under certain conditions. However, the
conditions are not difficult to meet, or, in many cases are
ignored.
>>> CHAPTER
8 MEXICO Page 5
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