press rank #121 · ~$1,200/mo

Can you live unwatched in Mexico?

Cash everywhere and easy to disappear into, dangerous for journalists.

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The privacy scorecard

State surveillance3/5
Facial recognition3/5
No national ID3/5
Data-protection law3/5
Encryption4/5
VPN freedom5/5
Democracy3/5
Free expression2/5
Cash still works5/5
Financial privacy3/5
Crypto freedom4/5
Easy to stay4/5
Off-grid living5/5
8 cameras / 1,000 people press rank #121 ~$1,200/mo national average

Childhood vaccines: compulsory by law

The General Health Law makes the schedule compulsory, and the Cartilla Nacional is the document that proves it.

If you skip them: A fine, and the vaccination card is asked for at school enrolment.

Exemptions: Medical only.

Source: Georgetown AMP EID, survey of national legislation, 2024

Legal & financial exposure

Facts about the law, not a privacy score: whether each one helps or hurts depends on what you are trying to do.

Reports your account balances abroad (CRS)

Extradition treaty with the US

5 of 7 signals are unverified for this country: not shown, rather than guessed.

72 real places in Mexico

Facial recognition, Bitcoin friendliness and cost vary by city even inside the same country.

Mexico City

~$1,250/mo! facial recognition present₿ crypto 3/5

Tijuana

~$1,400/mo! facial recognition present₿ crypto 3/5

Puebla

~$1,100/mo! facial recognition present₿ crypto 3/5

Guadalajara (MX)

~$1,350/mo! facial recognition present₿ crypto 3/5

Juarez

~$1,400/mo! facial recognition present₿ crypto 3/5

Monterrey

~$1,200/mo! facial recognition present₿ crypto 3/5

Mérida

~$1,400/mo! facial recognition present₿ crypto 3/5

Querétaro

~$1,400/mo! facial recognition present₿ crypto 3/5

Aguascalientes

~$1,400/mo! facial recognition present₿ crypto 3/5

Chihuahua

~$950/mo! facial recognition present₿ crypto 3/5

Toluca

~$1,350/mo! facial recognition present₿ crypto 3/5

Cancún

~$1,250/mo! facial recognition present₿ crypto 3/5

Weigh Mexico against your own threat model

Surveillance, speech, money: filter thousands of real places across every country and see where Mexico actually ranks.

Browse every place

Not just privacy?

Arcadia matches the same real places against how you actually want to live: weather, cost, healthcare, schools, internet.

Find where to live on Arcadia

Country-level estimates for orientation, not legal advice. Surveillance law changes fast: verify anything you would act on.