Yes --- the middle class there has it pretty rough but even some of the not-too desperately poor middle class have servants just because servants are so cheap. Mexicans from that middle class can be pretty bitter because they are the ones that realize the best the lost potential of that country. It didn't have to be that way.
The news here has been pretty interesting --- they're arresting police officers right and left --- I think there may be some real serious things going on --- hopefully some major changes. 13 police so far arrested in Ciudad Juarez, a hunt for a commander who has fled town. I think this might end up being a very serious shake-down and must have some high up officials shaking in their boots --- I wouldn't be surprised if many aren't boarding airplanes right now making their escape.
Luckily, my husband's poverty took place in a town with 65 degree weather year-round, a safe, well-kept neighborhood with strong religious beliefs, and generally good morals. There were no whorehouses there either which is rare. As far as taking a neighborhood to raise a kid, he swears by it. He was lucky. His poor upbringing was also surrounded with people who cared, and he turned out strong and caring. Kids in his situation in an inner city are exposed to corruption before they know how to understand it, and learn all kinds of sneaky ways to get what they want.
About the police in CJ: There is so much really scary stuff in that town. I don't have a link right now, but a while back there was a bus driver who worked the busline from the maquilladoras to the residential areas at night. He took the female factory workers home after work. If there was only one woman left in the bus, he would drive into a deserted area, saying that his bus was breaking down. He would then let on some of his buddies, they would rape her, and murder her, then dump her body. Just awful stuff. Then these bodies that were just found supposedly killed by police officers. What a mess.