I live in El Paso (population of about 600,000), which borders the Mexican city of Juarez (population of 1,500,000) where some 1500 people were killed in cartel related violence last year and the police chief was just killed yesterday along with 3 other officers in his escort. In Juarez, things are bad. In El Paso there is an eerie tranquility. I think there were a mere 15 murders here in 2008 and statistically, we are one of the safest cities in the country.
There is no doubt that El Paso has a veneer of safety because it's much better to kill someone in Mexico than in the US.
Still, there have been prior periods in the late 20th century -- absent cartel wars -- were things were believed to be worse for El Pasoans. Several years ago, Border Patrol agents were regularly fired on and bandits would plant objects to disable vehicles on a highway that ran along the border. When the cars would stop, the bandits would rob and often brutalize the motorists and then flee back across the river. But this sort of thing hasn't happened in a while. Mexican criminals have more lucrative pursuits now. Back even further, in the early 20th century when Mexico was rife with revolution, El Pasoans would sit on hills and buildings overlooking the Rio Grande and actaully watch revolutionary armies fight. Some El Pasoans were of course hurt by stray rounds. But that period sums it up. Mexican events are often considered no more then a curiousity here.
This is not to say that there hasn't been an impact. There are many families with members that work or live on both sides of the border that have experienced loss and there are a lot of Federal jobs here for those fighting the drug war. The Juarez bars, restaurants, pharmacies and other businesses that used to depend on Americans for most of their business are all but closed now so even if you wanted to go to Juarez for dinner, you couldn't. On the other hand, wealthy Mexicans have been buying houses in El Paso since they don't want to stay in Mexico. They go over to Mexico to attend to their business but sleep in the US as often as they can. If you drive past the right houses, you can see their bodyguards waiting outside in pickups or in their garages. Some restaurants also seem to serve mostly wealthy Mexican clients so some businesses here have done very well because of the troubles in Juarez.
Finally, I don't put much faith in rumors of political unrest in Northern Mexico. I've been hearing rumors for 30+ years about Northern succession and I give it the same amount of credence as I do Elvis sightings. As a parallel to the web-initiated rumors of political unrest, some weeks ago a vigilante group announced itself on a website and said it would start killing criminals -- but not until June. Some things still move at a slow pace in Mexico.
So I'm not doing anything extra to prepare for any political unrest. After all, El Paso also has Ft. Bliss and thousands of soldiers to protect the Border if is should come to the point where something like that is needed. Plus we also have a new fence!
Article on recent protests in Juarez and the Police Chief:
http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_11731567