"IN DEPTH"EXTENSIONS TO THE QUICK STATS ON MEXICAN LAW AND CUSTOM
LEGAL STATUS OF PROSTITUTION IN MEXICO:
Prostitution in Mexico is LEGAL. Or rather, it is not criminalized. This means there are no laws specifically defining commercial sex in Mexico as illegal. In California, and in most of the USA, there are laws specifically defining the exchange of sex for money as a criminal activity. There are no such laws in Mexico. Thus, it is legal.
In Mexico the age of consent is 18 years old--which is also the age at which a person is considered legally as an adult, with full rights of vote and purchase of alcohol. This does not mean that underage prostitutes do not exist in Mexico, but you should keep in mind that having sex with an underage prostitute is one hell of a risk which often is not worth taking. Keep reading:
There are many underage prostitutes in Mexico, but they are not supposed to be in the sex trade *legally.* While underage, prostitutes are not allowed to take the bi-weekly health test requiered by all sex workers, thus they are at high risk of having a sexually transmitted disease and not even knowing it. And since only sex workers with health tests are allowed to work at bars, underage prostitutes are usually "street girls" who may charge less than "bar girls" but at a higher risk to the patron.
There's one last note on the issue of age: According to Mexican law the age for "corruption of minors," that is, the age at which inducing a minor to the use of drugs or to prostitution is illegal was LOWERED from under 18 years of age to 16 years of age. Perhaps the reason for this was to held minors accountable for their actions and thus apply a heavier punishment (specially for drug use).
By law every person who wishes to work either as a prostitute or as a stripper must take a bi-weekly health check for Sexually Transmitted Diseases. This health check includes every possible test you can imagine, and covers everything from HIV to cervical cancer, as well as oral, anal, vaginal, and breast scans to look for the presence of any infectious agent.
Sex Workers are given a health card as proof of health check compliance, and it must be stamped by the Mexican health department every two weeks with each check. Authorities from the Mexican Public Ministry may also require the Sex Workers to produce the card during monthly checks to the bars. Without this updated card Sex Workers are not allowed by the bars to work in their premises, since Mexican regulations require bar owners to make sure the Sex Workers from their stablishment have a health card. If the Sex Worker cannot produce a health card upon request by the Public Ministry then the bar owners may very well be fined.
Although I am not particularly proud of this, I'm not going to deny it either: You may get out of a minor altercation with the Mexican police by offering a certain amount of money.
There are two things to consider about this, though; First, you can only get away with it if your infraction is in fact minor. An example would be a minor traffic violation (you ran over a red light, for example, or you were speeding). But if you drove over the sidewalk, or if you caused an accident then you won't be able to get away with it. Cops know where the limit is.
You can also forget about getting away with it if you break a federal law. In Mexico, for example, damaging, or tampering with a public telephone, or a telephone line is a federal offense known as "attack to the means of communication." A couple of years ago some guy managed to hook a convetional home telephone to a public phone's line, thus being able to make long distance calls for free. However, one night he got caught by a passing patrol car and he was taken in on the spot--even though he offered some serious amount of money to be let go. Again: Cops know where to draw the line.
The second thing you should keep in mind is that you can't just bribe a cop. There is a certain protocol. If you act arrogantly--as if you owned the cop--you can expect not only your bribe to be refused, but to be added to your list of charges. A classic example of this are a couple Marines (both of Latin descent) who were visiting Mexicali and, after running a stop sign, got pulled over by a patrol car. When the cop got to their car they simply slapped him a few bucks apparently under the impression that they were going to be let go by doing this. The result? They went straight to jail for attempted bribing, and yes, for running over a stop signt.
So no, it is not that simple to bribe a cop. Much subtlety, and the proper "submissive" attitude must be employed in order to get away with it (assuming you did some minor misdeed).
There are many, but for the sake of simplicy I'll keep it basic:
1. Always remember that Mexican social interactions are based on POLITENESS. Be corteous or you'll get "the eye" --and a not so splendid service.
2. Always leave a tip. This will ensure you a good service when you return. If you get a drink at a bar then give the waiter a 1 buck tip. That will get him on your side.
3. If riding a cab, ride in the front whenever possible. Seriously: In Mexico it is considered polite to drive in the front as away to tell the driver that he is not your driver, and that both of you are at the same level.
