Mexico's Newest Luxury Item

Several weeks ago, Mexican police in Ciudad Juarez had some unexpected visitors—or at least parts of them. In a cooler left by a station near Ascension, the police discovered the heads of four men between the ages of 25 and 35. Officers reported some difficulty in identifying the severed heads, as they could belong to any of nearly a dozen local victims who were kidnapped by gunmen the previous week.

Ciudad Juarez, reportedly the most dangerous city in the Mexico, is at the forefront of a nation-wide spike in crime rates. Although the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), Mexico’s previous ruling political party, had turned a blind eye to traffickers for years, the National Revolutionary Party (PAN) adopted a strict approach against drug trafficking and related crime shortly after it came to power in 2000. In reaction to new policies, particularly President Felipe Calderon’s two-year-old crackdown on drug trafficking violence, noncombatant deaths—numbered at 3,000 since January 2008—have risen significantly.

One unusual consequence of the ensuing chaos has manifested itself in the Mexican world of fashion. Colombian designer Miguel Caballero has opened a new shop in Mexico City that is drawing worldwide attention for its merchandise: luxury bulletproof clothing. With prices ranging from a few hundred dollars to $7,000, Caballero’s leather jackets, polo shirts, coats, shorts and ruffled tuxedo shirts are becoming increasingly popular with political leaders and celebrities from around the world.

Caballero’s posh protective apparel, sold in the more affluent part of Mexico City, can withstand ammunition from weapons including a nine-millimeter pistol, a submachine gun, a .44 Magnum, a 3.57 revolver and even knives, allowing customers to escape gunshots and stabs with little more than a bruise. According to Caballero’s web site, titled “High Security Fashion,” his multiple lines of fitted jackets and elegant collared shirts provide the opportunity to “minimize…risk and preserve…life.” In fact, Caballero, who has come to be known as the “Armani of armor,” routinely demonstrates the life-saving capabilities of his products by allowing potential customers to shoot hired salespeople clothed in the bulletproof apparel.

Although they have not offered exact figures, Caballero’s spokespeople have reported that increased crime rates have helped business significantly. Caballero’s success speaks to a disturbing trend among the Mexican elite. Bulletproof clothing is emblematic of a greater divide between Mexican problems and Mexican money; as a BBC report revealed in October, the Mexican wealth gap is the largest in the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), with “some parts [comparable] to Spanish or German cities, but other parts…more like the poorest parts of Africa.”

But just because the Mexican elite can afford to forget about the social issues of their communities doesn’t mean that they should. That wealthier individuals can pay for the resources necessary to survive social turmoil is a given in any society, but what distinguishes Caballero’s customers is that they seem to embrace their greater access to security in a particularly conspicuous and inconsiderate manner. No one would insist that all Mexican citizens bear the burden of the heightened crime rates equally or that wealthy and influential Mexicans pour all their excess funds into law enforcement; however, it is fair to expect that all Mexican citizens show some engagement and investment in the problems, even when they are not as directly affected as their fellow citizens. A crime is not merely the making of one criminal nor the tragedy of its victims. It is rather the convergence of societal forces for which all citizens are responsible. The Mexican elite should act accordingly and not behave so frivolously in the face of calamity.

Sabrina G. Lee ’12, a Crimson editorial writer, lives in Greenough Hall .