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| Mexico | Introduction | Back to Top |
Mexico, in full United Mexican States (in Spanish, Estados Unidos Mexicanos), federal republic in North America, bordered on the north by the United States; on the east by the United States, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea; on the south by Belize and Guatemala; and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. Mexican federal jurisdiction extends, in addition to Mexico proper, over a number of offshore islands. The area of the country is 1,958,201 sq km (756,066 sq mi). The capital and largest city is Mexico City.
Population 95,772,462 (1996 official estimate) Population Density 49 people/sq km (127 people/sq mi) (1996 estimate) Urban/Rural Breakdown 71% Urban 29% Rural Largest Cities Mexico City8,236,960 Guadalajara1,628,617 Monterrey1,064,197 Puebla1,057,454 (1990 census) Largest Metropolitan Areas Mexico City15,047,685 Guadalajara1,650,205 Monterrey1,069,238 Puebla1,454,526 (1990 census) Ethnic Groups 60% Mestizo 30% Native American 10% European mainly of Spanish descent Languages Official Language Spanish Other Languages Native American languages Religions 93% Roman Catholicism 7%Other including Protestantism and Judaism
| Mexico | Provinces | Back to Top |
31 states (estados, singular - estado) and 1 federal district* (distrito federal); Aguascalientes, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Colima, Distrito Federal*, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Mexico, Michoacan de Ocampo, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro de Arteaga, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz-Llave, Yucatan, Zacatecas
| Mexico | People | Back to Top |
At the time of the Spanish conquest in the early 1500s, numerous advanced Native American civilizations existed in Mexico. Among the most important were the Maya, who resided in the southern and southeastern part of what is now Mexico, including the present states of Chiapas, Quintana Roo, and Yucatán. Central Mexico was dominated by the Aztecs, who had developed an extensive capital surrounded by a lake at Tenochtitlán, Mexico City’s present site.
Mexico's population is composed of many ethnic groups. At the time of European arrival in the early 1500s, the country was inhabited by people who are thought to have migrated into the New World from Asia some 40,000 to 60,000 years ago by crossing a former land bridge in the Bering Strait. After their arrival into what is now Mexico, centuries of isolation allowed the evolution of unique cultural traits among the many separate clusters. Highly organized civilizations occupied various regions for at least 2,000 years before European discovery.
| Mexico | History | Back to Top |
Ancient Mexico and Central America were home to some of the earliest and most advanced civilizations in the Western Hemisphere. This region is known historically as Mesoamerica, a term that refers to the geographic area and cultural traditions of the pre-Columbian civilizations of Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Evidence indicates that hunting and gathering peoples populated Mesoamerica more than 15,000 years ago and that crop cultivation began around 8000 bc. The bottle gourd, useful for holding water and other liquids, is believed to have been one of the earliest domesticated crops; corn, beans, and squashes became the basis of the Mesoamerican diet during the period between 8000 and 2000 bc.
Mesoamerican civilization began to emerge around 2500 bc, as agriculture increasingly provided a reliable food source that could support larger and larger populations. Freed from having to constantly search for food, the formerly nomadic peoples were able to establish permanent settlements. The shift from a hunting-gathering existence to one that revolved around agriculture and village life also gave people more time to devote to architectural and cultural pursuits. This made possible large public projects such as irrigation canals and temples, as well as the creation of fired clay objects such as dishes and containers.
One of the first major Mesoamerican civilizations was established by the Olmec, a people who flourished between about 1500 and 600 bc in the swampy lowlands of what are now the Mexican states of Tabasco and Veracruz. Many scholars consider Olmec civilization to be one of the primary cultures from which subsequent Mesoamerican civilizations drew many of their beliefs, traditions, and architectural styles. The Olmec appear to have been the source of the widespread worship of several Mesoamerican deities. They began developing mathematics, used a calendar based on observation of the planets, and produced a variety of intricate jade figurines. Between 900 and 400 bc the major sites of the Olmec were destroyed.
| Mexico | Culture | Back to Top |
Because of its ethnic and regional diversity, as well as the socioeconomic divisions within the population, Mexico is culturally heterogeneous. Among rural peoples there are strong regional affinities and allegiances, often referred to as patria chica (“small homeland”), which help to perpetuate cultural diversity. The large number of Indian languages and customs still extant, especially in the south, also accentuate cultural differences. In an attempt to unite the nation culturally by identifying a uniquely Mexican culture, the government has supported indigenous folk arts and crafts as well as the European-inspired classical arts. Since the 1930s, indigenismo, or pride in the Indian heritage, has been a major unifying theme of the country.
Mexico has a rich heritage in art and architecture and is recognized internationally for the contributions of its 20th-century mural artists, who created murals that reflected not only Mexico’s history and culture, but also its current social issues. Mexico’s blend of indigenous and European influences has affected many of its traditions and much of its culture. This ethnic heritage has contributed to the development of notable musical styles, folk art, and cuisine, all of which are also now found throughout the United States.
The country's best-known writers have gained their reputations by dealing with questions of universal significance, as did Samuel Ramos, whose philosophical speculations on man and culture in Mexico influenced post-1945 writers in several genres. The prolific critic and cultural analyst Octavio Paz is considered by many to be the foremost poet of Latin America. The novels of Carlos Fuentes are honoured throughout the world, Gustavo Sainz is a leader in Spanish-language literature, and Juan José Arreola's fantasies are widely admired. Among dramatists, Rodolfo Usigli has been extremely influential, and Luisa Josefina Hernández and Emilio Carballido have made important contributions.
| Mexico | Life | Back to Top |
Mexicans place a high value on family and traditional values. Although women make up an increasingly large portion of the labor force (about one-quarter in the mid-1990s), many women continue to work within the home. Children, especially in middle- and upper-income homes, typically remain at home longer than their counterparts in the United States. There are vast differences, however, in the daily lives of Mexican women depending on income level. Women in middle- and upper-income households typically have outside help with child care, cleaning, and meal preparation. Women in poor and working-class households often work both inside and outside the home, with many of them working at more than one outside job.
| Mexico | Land | Back to Top |
Mexico is located in one of the Earth's most dynamic tectonic areas. It is a part of the circum-Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a region of active volcanism and frequent seismic activity. Towering peaks, such as Citlaltépetl (also called Orizaba; 18,701 feet [5,700 metres]) and Popocatépetl (17,883 feet [5,452 metres]), are extremely young in geologic terms (late Tertiary) and are examples of the volcanic forces that built much of the central and southern parts of the country. Mexico is situated on the western, or leading, edge of the huge North American Plate, whose interaction with the Pacific, Cocos, and Caribbean plates has, over geologic time, given rise to the earth-building processes of the area. The complexity found in southern Mexico's physiography is due to the interaction among these tectonic plates, which produces numerous and severe earth movements. It is in this dynamical but often unstable physical environment that the Mexican people have built their nation.
| Mexico | Plants and Animal | Back to Top |
Some of the animals found in Central and South America—such as monkeys, tapirs, and jaguars—remain in parts of southern Mexico. This is especially true in the rain forests of Chiapas and the southern Pacific coast, where human settlement is sparse and population densities have remained relatively low compared to the northern regions of the country. As a consequence, more of the natural flora and fauna have survived in southern Mexico. The introduction of large numbers of domesticated animals in central and northern Mexico, as well as the density of human settlement, have considerably reduced the natural wildlife populations in these regions. However, bear, deer, coyote, peccary, and mountain lion remain in the rugged, mountainous regions of the Sierra Madre. Environmental groups have tried to protect Mexico’s endangered species, particularly marine turtles, from further exploitation and decline, but 39 bird species, 69 mammal species, 18 reptile species, 88 fish species, 40 invertebrates, and 4 amphibians have been deemed to be threatened in Mexico as of 2000.
| Mexico | Economy | Back to Top |
Mexico—like Argentina, Brazil, and Chile—is a semi-industrialized country. The country is rich in industrial resources, including petroleum and several metals. Mexico’s manufacturing output includes many basic goods, such as steel, machinery, and petrochemicals, as well as a wide range of consumer goods. Agriculture still provides more jobs than industry, however. Many farm families earn barely enough to survive, and many city dwellers are unable to find jobs.
Since the Revolution of 1910, Mexico's most notable economic achievement has been the sharp reduction of foreign ownership of the means of production while maintaining overall national growth. The economy is a combination of private, state, and mixed-capital enterprises. The state regulates the operation of private concerns in a number of ways, including the issuance of import licenses, the establishment of production quotas, and the control of prices on some products. In addition, private capital is barred from investment in certain activities. Private capital interests, with a majority of shares owned by Mexican nationals, control most industrial manufacturing activities, while semiautonomous state corporations operate the petroleum industry, generate and distribute electricity, run the banks, and oversee the telephone and telegraph systems. The government also controls foreign capital investment, usually by prohibiting it from certain industries, such as insurance, petroleum, and forestry, or by limiting it to a minority interest in others, such as mining, transportation, broadcasting, and soft-drink production.
Mexico has a free market economy with a mixture of modern and outmoded industry and agriculture, increasingly dominated by the private sector. The number of state-owned enterprises in Mexico has fallen from more than 1,000 in 1982 to fewer than 200 in 2000. The ZEDILLO administration privatized and expanded competition in seaports, railroads, telecommunications, electricity, natural gas distribution, and airports. A strong export sector helped to cushion the economy's decline in 1995 and led the recovery in 1996-2000. Private consumption became the leading driver of growth in 2000, accompanied by increased employment and higher real wages. Mexico still needs to overcome many structural problems as it strives to modernize its economy and raise living standards. Income distribution is very unequal, with the top 20% of income earners accounting for 55% of income. Trade with the US and Canada has tripled since NAFTA was implemented in 1994. Mexico completed free trade agreements with the EU, Israel, El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala in 2000, and is pursuing additional trade agreements with countries in Latin America and Asia to lessen its dependence on the US.
| Mexico | Communications | Back to Top |
general assessment: low telephone density with about 11 main lines per 100 persons; privatized in December 1990; the opening to competition in January 1997 has brightened prospects for development domestic: adequate telephone service for business and government, but the population is poorly served; domestic satellite system with 120 earth stations; extensive microwave radio relay network; considerable use of fiber-optic cable, coaxial cable, and mobile cellular service international: satellite earth stations - 32 Intelsat, 2 Solidaridad (giving Mexico improved access to South America, Central America, and much of the US as well as enhancing domestic communications), numerous Inmarsat mobile earth stations; linked to Central American Microwave System of trunk connections; high capacity Columbus-2 fiber-optic submarine cable with access to the US, Virgin Islands, Canary Islands, Morocco, Spain, and Italy (1997)
| Mexico | Languages | Back to Top |
Spanish control of Mexico led to the dominance of Spanish, the official language. As many as 100 Native American languages are still spoken in Mexico, but no single alternative language prevails. Eighty percent of those Mexicans who speak an indigenous language also speak Spanish. The most important of the Native American languages is Nahuatl. It is the primary language of more than a million Mexicans and is spoken by nearly one-fourth of all Native Americans in the country. This is followed by Maya, used by 14 percent of Native Americans, and Mixteco and Zapoteco, each spoken by about seven percent of Native Americans. No other indigenous language is spoken by more than five percent of Mexico’s Native Americans. See also Native American Languages.
| Mexico | Politics | Back to Top |
Convergence for Democracy or CD [Dante DELGADO Ranauro]; Institutional Revolutionary Party or PRI [Dulce Maria SAURI Riancho]; Mexican Green Ecological Party or PVEM [Jorge GONZALEZ Torres]; National Action Party or PAN [Luis Felipe BRAVO Mena]; Party of the Democratic Center or PCD [Manuel CAMACHO Solis]; Party of the Democratic Revolution or PRD [Amalia GARCIA Medina]; Party of the Nationalist Society or PSN [Gustavo RIOJAIS Santana]; Social Alliance Party or PAS [Jose Antonio CALDERON Cardoso]; Workers Party or PT [Alberto ANAYA Gutierrez] Political pressure groups and leaders: Confederation of Employers of the Mexican Republic or COPARMEX; Confederation of Industrial Chambers or CONCAMIN; Confederation of Mexican Workers or CTM; Confederation of National Chambers of Commerce or CONCANACO; Coordinator for Foreign Trade Business Organizations or COECE; Federation of Unions Providing Goods and Services or FESEBES; National Chamber of Transformation Industries or CANACINTRA; National Peasant Confederation or CNC; National Union of Workers or UNT; Regional Confederation of Mexican Workers or CROM; Revolutionary Confederation of Workers and Peasants or CROC; Roman Catholic Church
| Mexico | Government | Back to Top |
Mexico’s political model theoretically has much in common with that of the United States. As with the U.S. government, Mexico’s government is divided into three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. In Mexico, however, the executive branch dominates the other branches to such an extent that the country effectively has a political system that is controlled by its president. For most of the 20th century, only one political party, the government-controlled Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), played an influential role in politics or in the decision-making process. After it was founded in 1929, the government party monopolized most national political offices. The PRI did not lose a senate seat until 1988 or a gubernatorial race until 1989. It lost the presidency for the first time in 2000, when Vicente Fox of the National Action Party (PAN) defeated the PRI candidate.
| Mexico | Legal | Back to Top |
Legal system: mixture of US constitutional theory and civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory (but not enforced) Executive branch: chief of state: President Vicente FOX Quesada (since 1 December 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Vicente FOX Quesada (since 1 December 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president; note - appointment of attorney general requires consent of the Senate elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 2 July 2000 (next to be held NA July 2006) election results: Vicente FOX Quesada elected president; percent of vote - Vicente FOX Quesada (PAN) 42.52%, Francisco LABASTIDA Ochoa (PRI) 36.1%, Cuauhtemoc CARDENAS Solorzano (PRD) 16.64%, other 4.74% Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress or Congreso de la Union consists of the Senate or Camara de Senadores (128 seats; 96 are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms, and 32 are allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote) and the Federal Chamber of Deputies or Camara Federal de Diputados (500 seats; 300 members are directly elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; remaining 200 members are allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote, also for three-year terms) elections: Senate - last held 2 July 2000 for all of the seats (next to be held NA 2006); Chamber of Deputies - last held 2 July 2000 (next to be held NA 2003) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRI 59, PAN 45, PRD 17, PVEM 5, PT 1, PCD 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRI 211, PAN 208, PRD 50, PVEM 16, PT 7, PCD 3, PSN 3, PAS 2 Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges are appointed by the president with consent of the Senate)
| Mexico | organization | Back to Top |
APEC, BCIE, BIS, Caricom (observer), CCC, CDB, CE (observer), EBRD, ECLAC, FAO, G-3, G-6, G-11, G-15, G-19, G-24, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA (observer), IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM (observer), NEA, OAS, OECD, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
| Mexico | Education | Back to Top |
Throughout most of Mexico’s history, beginning with the colonial period, education was the task of the Catholic Church. After independence, Mexicans were concerned about the church imposing its values and beliefs on the population and started a public educational system. Religious influences of any sort were banned in primary school (grades 1 through 6). The federal government controls the curriculum and provides the textbooks for primary schools.
| Mexico | Defence | Back to Top |
Military branches: National Defense Secretariat (includes Army and Air Force), Navy Secretariat (includes Naval Air and Naval Infantry)
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age
note: starting in 2000, females will be allowed to volunteer for military service
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 26,703,300 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 19,394,184 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 1,077,536 (2001 est.)
| Mexico | International Disputes | Back to Top |
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