Mexico, Tourism and Corruption

I recently read an article in the New York Times which discussed the death of a fifteen year old boy, Manuel Morales Borja. The death occurred in Acapulco, an American tourist hotpot. This article struck me in two ways. The first, was the seldom talked about, but very real component of cultural interaction among different nationalities occurs through tourism, which provides significant economic revenue for some Latin American countries. This avenue of economic tourism is a potentially very influential factor in International Relations.
Also, the article discussed the continuing corruption associated with democratic elections in Mexico. I was once again reminded of the secondary importance democracy is on the US foreign policy agenda, despite the avid proclamation of democracy. It is clear, that the US is willing to turn a blind eye to corrupt processes in Mexico in hopes of stability and positive US/Mexico relations in lieu of the many issues at hand, such as the drug cartel, immigration, tourism and economic relations.