Yes, from experience, Rodrigo and RVGRINGO are correct. Three winters ago we had an accident along the coastal highway near Pinotepa Nacional in Oaxaca State. I was turning left off the highway into a PEMEX station, and smashed into the side of a local taxi who was trying to overtake me on the left just at that time. The taxi was passing on a solid double yellow line. The taxi driver was skillful enough to prevent his car from rolling. Damage to my left front bumper was minimal...almost unnoticeable....but there was a long, large dent all along the left side of the Nissan taxi, from the front panel all the way to the back of the car. (This was in a 30km speed zone....the taxi was driving at twice that speed).

No police were called. We waited almost 5 hours for my insurance representative to come from Puerto Escondido..... some 75 km down the road. A Federale did show up....but only to check out the large group of people standing along the side of the road. He asked no questions, listened to my insurance agent, then drove away. No insurance agent or representative ever showed up to assist the taxi driver.

Although my Spanish is rudimentary at best, it was clear that my insurance agent was telling the taxi driver that he (the taxi) was totally in the wrong. After arguing for an hour or so, it was agreed that I would pay the taxi driver 100 pesos for the use of his cellphone....period. My damages didn't require repairs. I would guess that a repair garage in the US or Canada would have charged $1000 to fix the taxi, but he would probably have paid no more than $100 or $200. The taxi was more concerned about his lost revenues for the day, and tried to get me to pay 500 pesos to cover those losses, but my insurance agent, (who spoke not one word of English) made it clear that I should not pay anything.