TLDR: It really depends on where you are. Stick to the tourist and safe cities and states and you will be fine. CDMX, Yucatan, Oaxaca, and many of the frequent

TLDR: It really depends on where you are. Stick to the tourist and safe cities and states and you will be fine. CDMX, Yucatan, Oaxaca, and many of the frequently touristed areas are very safe. There has been increasing cartel activity in Riviera Maya (Cancun, Tulum, etc) with shootings between cartel members being more common, but AFAIK it hasn't gotten bad enough for people to feel unsafe. It's a whole different story in the states of Tamaulipas, Sinaloa, Chihuahua, Colima, etc. There you have strong cartel presence and constant fighting. However, even in those states you can probably be safe if you know which areas to stick to. When I visit home (I am from Juarez, Chihuahua), I don't feel unsafe, but I do stick to the "safe" areas. Moreover, in my city, most of the violent crime is just cartel-on-cartel shootings so I don't worry about petty crime or kidnappings or what not (this was not the case back in 2008). There are states like Guanajuato where you have record numbers of homicides. But within the state you have Guanajuato city and San Miguel de Allende that are famous tourist destinations (beautiful places) and are remarkably safe.