Halloween is gaining ground in Mexico, but in a country wracked by drug cartel violence there are real fears about ghosts, ghouls and skeletons walking the streets.
Authorities in the Mexican state of Sinaloa have ordered residents not to don masks or costumes for Halloween to avoid being confused with criminals amid a worsening cycle of cartel violence.
The concern isn’t so much about competition for Mexico’s traditional, home-grown Day of the Dead celebrations, which are going off Friday and Saturday without a hitch in cemeteries around the country this year.
The intra-cartel warfare has left hundreds of people dead or missing since September, and the federal government has deployed hundreds of soldiers to the region.
“Do not wear a costume or a mask, carry plastic guns, or dress up as anyone,” the state’s security secretary, Gerardo Mérida, instructed residents, also warning people not to be on the streets late at night.
“It’s already in the regulations that you can’t wear masks,” said Arnulfo Guerreo, the local government secretary for the city of Tijuana, a rule that largely refers to the ski masks favored by gunmen.
The rules also sought to protect would-be Halloween revelers from being mistaken for criminals, Merida implied, using a famous Mexican phrase, “all cats look grey at night,” which means that in the dark everything looks the same.Last week, a shootout between soldiers and suspected gang members killed more than a dozen people.Local authorities in other Mexican states, including Baja California and Sonora, have imposed similar measures in recent years in response to high crime rates. Sinaloa, too, has opted for such anti-Halloween rules in the past.
“The recommendation is not to go out too late, go out trick or treating, or wear disguises,” said state police chief Gerardo Mérida, adding the spooky phrase “at night, all cats are black.”