An Urban Legend that Continues to Haunt People in Central Michoacan

The urban legend of "Pagas Puerco" continues to haunt people in Central Michoacan which was a simpler and happier place prior to the legend, according to an article published in Mexico News Daily.

The story of the urban legend was about choosing between two options: Either you pay for the pig or you get a beating.

A long time ago, there was a way people could quickly make big money easily. They did this on the road from Uruapan to Guadalajara. It is a scheme that locals practiced for generations.

Locals secretly hid behind a wall or beside a tree carrying with them a pig while waiting for passing travelers or vehicles. Once the locals spotted their target, they would immediately release the pig which they hoped would create a collision.

It would be too late for the driver to stomp the break or swerve the vehicle to the other side to avoid the swine. This would lead the poor animal to die on the street.

Meanwhile, the horrified driver of the vehicle along with his or her family would eventually get out of their car to check on the injured animal. Minutes after, the owner of the pig would appear pretending as if he did not cause the incident. He would be with his accomplice and would confront the driver.

The scammer would confront the driver and say things like, "Pagas puerco; o chingas madres" or "You pay the pig, or you get the beating."

In this situation, the driver of the speeding car would need to have a cool head when arguing with the owner of the pig or else something worse might happen. There are those however, who instead choose to pay what the owner of the swine demanded, rather than argue.

Once they are done and have closed the deal, the owner of the speeding car might also take the dying swine.

It would surely be a one year stock of bacon.

However, the scheme of ploying a pig to earn big bucks has long been gone, but the legend of this scheme has returned and is getting worse. This time, it's not through swine anymore, but threats and extortion.

The new generation of cartel groups in Jalisco are coming down hard on locals. They have extorted business owners and some civilians were murdered yet there is no response from the local government or authorities.

One avocado producer shared the experience he had with a group of armed men who presented themselves as members of the Jalisco organization. Those men wore full combat gear and carried high-powered rifles.

The leader of the Jalisco organization did a rundown of the harvest of the avocado producer based on how many tons he had produced, how many workers he had, and how much he had earned. This is how the armed man computed the amount to be extorted.

After the leader had finished his calculation, the avocado producer was told to give $10,000 in cash at an agreed place, chosen by the thug.

If the farmer didn't comply, well, we already know what the consequences would have been.

Without any hesitation and out of pure fear, he gave what the man demanded.

Those who try to refuse to give the amount demanded by the cartels are subsequently beaten or worse, murdered. It was just once a legend, but it continues today and with a much more horrifying and brass tactic.