8:28 PM
Wikipedia
Mexico (pronounced 
i /ˈmɛksɪkoʊ/; Spanish: México [ˈmexiko] (
listen)), officially known as the United Mexican States (Spanish: 
Estados Unidos Mexicanos (help·info)), is a federalconstitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and theCaribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico. Covering almost 2 million square kilometres (over 760,000 sq mi),[12] Mexico is the fifth-largest country in the Americas by total area and the 14th largest independent nation in the world. With an estimated population of 111 million, it is the 11th most populous country and the most populous Hispanophone country. Mexico is a federation comprising thirty-one states and a Federal District, the capital city.
i /ˈmɛks listen)), officially known as the United Mexican States (Spanish: Estados Unidos Mexicanos (help·info)), is a federalconstitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and theCaribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico. Covering almost 2 million square kilometres (over 760,000 sq mi),[12] Mexico is the fifth-largest country in the Americas by total area and the 14th largest independent nation in the world. With an estimated population of 111 million, it is the 11th most populous country and the most populous Hispanophone country. Mexico is a federation comprising thirty-one states and a Federal District, the capital city.In Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica many cultures matured into advanced civilizations such as theOlmec, the Toltec, the Teotihuacan, the Zapotec, the Maya and the Aztec before the first contact with Europeans. In 1521, Spain conquered and colonized the territory, which was administered as the Viceroyalty of New Spain. This territory would eventually become Mexico as the colony independence was recognized in 1821. The post-independence period was characterized by economic instability, the Mexican–American War and territorial cession to the US, a civil war, two empires and a domestic dictatorship. The latter led to the Mexican Revolution in 1910, which culminated with the promulgation of the 1917 Constitution and the emergence of the country's current political system. Elections held in July 2000 marked the first time that an opposition party won the presidency from the Institutional Revolutionary Party(Spanish: Partido Revolucionario Institucional, PRI).
After rapid economic, social and technological growth beginning in the 1990s, Mexico is now both one of the world's largest economies and one of the fastest growing economies in the world, with a stable growth rate of 7.6%.[14][15] As a regional power,[16][17] and since 1994 the first Latin American member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Mexico was firmly established as an upper middle-income country,[18] and in 2009 Mexico surpassed the world bank's high income economic threshold to become a high income country.[19] Mexico is considered a newly industrialized country and an emerging power. It has the 13th largest nominal GDP and the 11th largest by purchasing power parity. The economy is strongly linked to those of its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners, especially the United States, as well as tourism, being the world's tenth most visited country with over 21.4 million international arrivals. Mexico boasts a long tradition in the arts, renowned cuisine, and culture, and it ranks fifth in the world and first in the Americas on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites with 31.
Etymology
After New Spain won independence from Spain, it was decided that the new country would be named after its capital, Mexico City, which was founded in 1524 on top of the ancient Aztec capital of México-Tenochtitlan. The name comes from the Nahuatl language, but its meaning is not known. It has been suggested that it is derived from Mextli or Mēxihtli, a secret name for the god of war and patron of the Aztecs, Huitzilopochtli, in which case Mēxihco means "Place where Mēxihtli lives".
Another hypothesis suggests that the word Mēxihco derives from the mētztli ("moon"), xictli("navel", "center" or "son"), and the suffix -co (place), in which case it means "Place at the center of the moon" or "Place at the center of the Lake Moon", in reference to Lake Texcoco.[32] The system of interconnected lakes, of which Texcoco was at the center, had the form of a rabbit, the same image that the Aztecs saw in the moon. Tenochtitlan was located at the center (or navel) of the lake (or rabbit/moon).[32] Still another hypothesis suggests that it is derived from Mēctli, the goddess of maguey.
The name of the city was transliterated to Spanish as México with the phonetic value of the x in Medieval Spanish, which represented the voiceless postalveolar fricative /ʃ/. This sound, as well as the voiced postalveolar fricative /ʒ/, represented by a j, evolved into a voiceless velar fricative /x/during the sixteenth century.[33] This led to the use of the variant Méjico in many publications in Spanish, most notably in Spain, whereas in Mexico and most other Spanish–speaking countries México was the preferred spelling. In recent years the Real Academia Española, which regulates the Spanish language, determined that both variants are acceptable in Spanish but that the normative recommended spelling is México.[34] The majority of publications in all Spanish-speaking countries now adhere to the new norm, even though the alternative variant is still occasionally used.[35] In English, the x in Mexico represents neither the original nor the current sound, but the consonant cluster /ks/.
The official name of the country has changed as the form of government has changed. On two occasions (1821–1823 and 1863–1867), the country was known as Imperio Mexicano (Mexican Empire). All three federal constitutions (1824, 1857 and 1917, the current constitution) used the name Estados Unidos Mexicanos[36]—or the variants Estados Unidos mexicanos[37] and Estados-Unidos Mexicanos,[38] all of which have been translated as "United Mexican States". The term República Mexicana, "Mexican Republic" was used in the 1836 Constitutional Laws.[39]
History
Indigenous cultures
The earliest human remains in Mexico are chips of stone tools found near campfire remains in the Valley of Mexico and radiocarbon-dated to ca. 21,000 BCE.[40] Around 9,000 years ago, ancientindigenous peoples domesticated corn and initiated an agricultural revolution, leading to the formation of many complex civilizations. Between 1,800 and 300 BCE, many matured into advanced pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations such as: the Olmec, the Teotihuacan, theMaya, the Zapotec, the Mixtec, the Toltec and the Aztec, which flourished for nearly 4,000 years before the first contact with Europeans.
These civilizations are credited with many inventions and advancements in fields such as architecture (pyramid-temples), mathematics, astronomy, medicine and theology. The Aztecs were noted for practicing human sacrifice on a large scale.At its peak, Teotihuacan, containing some of the largest pyramidal structuresbuilt in the pre-Columbian Americas, had a population of more than 150,000 people. Estimates of the population before the Spanish conquest range from 6 million to 25 million.
New Spain
In the early 16th century, from the landing of Hernán Cortés, the Aztec civilization was invaded and conquered by the Spaniards.[45] Unintentionally introduced by Spanish conquerors, smallpox ravaged Mesoamerica in the 1520s, killing millions of Aztecs,[46] including the emperor, and was credited with the victory of Hernán Cortés over the Aztec empire. The territory became part of the Spanish Empire under the name of New Spain. Much of the identity, traditions and architecture of Mexico were created during thecolonial period.
Independence
On September 16, 1810, independence from Spain was declared by priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, in the small town of Dolores, Guanajuato.[48] The first insurgent group was formed by Hidalgo, the Spanishviceregal army captain Ignacio Allende, the militia captain Juan Aldama and "La Corregidora" Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez. Hidalgo and some of his soldiers were captured and executed by firing squad in Chihuahua, on July 31, 1811. Following his death, the leadership was assumed by priest José María Morelos, who occupied key southern cities.
In 1813 the Congress of Chilpancingo was convened and, on November 6, signed the "Solemn Act of the Declaration of Independence of Northern America". Morelos was captured and executed on December 22, 1815. In subsequent years, the insurgency was near collapse, but in 1820 Viceroy Juan Ruiz de Apodacasent an army under the criollo general Agustín de Iturbide against the troops of Vicente Guerrero. Instead, Iturbide approached Guerrero to join forces, and in 1821 representatives of the Spanish Crown and Iturbide signed the "Treaty of Córdoba" and the "Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire", which recognized the independence of Mexico under the terms of the "Plan of Iguala".
Agustin de Iturbide immediately proclaimed himself emperor of the First Mexican Empire. A revolt against him in 1823 established the United Mexican States. In 1824, a Republican Constitution was drafted andGuadalupe Victoria became the first president of the newly born country. The first decades of the post-independence period were marked by economic instability, which led to the Pastry War in 1836, and a constant strife between liberales, supporters of a federal form of government, and conservadores, proposals of a hierarchical form of government.[49]
General Antonio López de Santa Anna, a centralist and two-time dictator, approved the Siete Leyes in 1836, a radical amendment that institutionalized the centralized form of government. When he suspended the 1824 Constitution, civil war spread across the country, and three new governments declared independence: the Republic of Texas, the Republic of the Rio Grande and the Republic of Yucatán.
Texas successfully achieved independence and was annexed by the United States. A border dispute led to the Mexican–American War, which began in 1846 and lasted for two years; the War was settled via the "Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo", which forced Mexico to give up nearly half of its land to the U.S., includingCalifornia and New Mexico. A much smaller transfer of territory in parts of southern Arizona and New Mexico — the Gadsden Purchase — occurred in 1854. The Caste War of Yucatán, the Mayan uprising that began in 1847,[50] was one of the most successful modern Native American revolts.[51] Maya rebels, orCruzob,[52] maintained relatively independent enclaves until the 1930s.[53]
Dissatisfaction with Santa Anna's return to power led to the liberal "Plan of Ayutla", initiating an era known as La Reforma, after which a new Constitution was drafted in 1857 that established asecular state, federalism as the form of government, and several freedoms. As the conservadoresrefused to recognize it, the War of Reform began in 1858, during which both groups had their own governments. The war ended in 1861 with victory by the Liberals, led by Amerindian PresidentBenito Juárez. In the 1860s Mexico underwent a military occupation by France, which established the Second Mexican Empire under the rule of Habsburg Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian of Austriawith support from the Roman Catholic clergy and the conservadores, who later switched sides and joined the liberales. Maximilian surrendered, was tried on June 14 and was executed on June 19, 1867.
Porfirio Díaz, a republican general during the French intervention, ruled Mexico from 1876–1880 and then from 1884–1911 in five consecutive reelections, period known as the Porfiriato, characterized by remarkable economic achievements, investments in arts and sciences, but also of economic inequality and political repression.
20th century
A likely electoral fraud that led to Diaz's fifth reelection sparked the 1910 Mexican Revolution, initially led by Francisco I. Madero.
Díaz resigned in 1911 and Madero was elected president but overthrown and murdered in a coup d'état two years later directed by conservative general Victoriano Huerta. That event re-ignited the civil war, involving figures such as Francisco Villa and Emiliano Zapata, who formed their own forces. A third force, theconstitutional army led by Venustiano Carranza, managed to bring an end to the war, and radically amended the 1857 Constitution to include many of the social premises and demands of the revolutionaries into what was eventually called the 1917 Constitution. It is estimated that the war killed 900,000 of the 1910 population of 15 million.[55][56]
Assassinated in 1920, Carranza was succeeded by another revolutionary hero, Álvaro Obregón, who in turn was succeeded by Plutarco Elías Calles. Obregón was reelected in 1928 but assassinated before he could assume power. In 1929, Calles founded the National Revolutionary Party (PNR), later renamed the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), and started a period known as the Maximato, which ended with the election of Lázaro Cárdenas, who implemented many economic and social reforms, and most significantlyexpropriated the oil industry into PEMEX on March 18, 1938, but sparked a diplomatic crisis with the countries whose citizens had lost businesses by Cárdenas' radical measure.
Between 1940 and 1980, Mexico experienced a substantial economic growth that some historians call the "Mexican Miracle".[57] Although the economy continued to flourish, social inequality remained a factor of discontent. Moreover, the PRI rule became increasingly authoritarian and at times oppressive[58] (see the 1968 Tlatelolco massacre,[59] which claimed the life of around 30–800 protesters).[60]
Electoral reforms and high oil prices followed the administration of Luis Echeverría,[61][62] mismanagement of these revenues led to inflationand exacerbated the 1982 Crisis. That year, oil prices plunged, interest rates soared, and the government defaulted on its debt. President Miguel de la Madrid resorted to currency devaluations which in turn sparked inflation.
In the 1980s the first cracks emerged in PRI's monopolistic position. In Baja California, Ernesto Ruffo Appel was elected as governor. In 1988, electoral fraud prevented leftist candidateCuauhtémoc Cárdenas from winning the national presidential elections, giving Carlos Salinas de Gortari the Presidency and leading to massive protests in Mexico City.[63]
Salinas embarked on a program of neoliberal reforms which fixed the exchange rate, controlled inflation and culminated with the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which came into effect on January 1, 1994. The same day, the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) started a two-week-long armed rebellion against the federal government, and has continued as a non-violent opposition movement against neoliberalism and globalization.
In December 1994, a month after Salinas was succeeded by Ernesto Zedillo, the Mexican economy collapsed, with a rapid rescue packaged authorized by U.S. President Bill Clinton and major macroeconomic reforms started by president Zedillo, the economy rapidly recovered and growth peaked at almost 7% by the end of 1999.[64]
In 2000, after 71 years, the PRI lost a presidential election to Vicente Fox of the oppositionNational Action Party (PAN). In the 2006 presidential elections, Felipe Calderón from the PAN was declared the winner, with a razor-thin margin over leftist politician Andrés Manuel López Obrador of the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD). López Obrador, however,contested the election and pledged to create an "alternative government".[65]
Administrative divisions
The United Mexican States are a federation of thirty-one free and sovereign states, which form a union that exercises jurisdiction over the Federal District and otherterritories. Each state has its own constitution, congress, and a judiciary, and its citizens elect by direct voting agovernor for a six-year term, and representatives to their respective unicameral state congresses for three-year terms.[66]
The states are divided into municipalities, the smallest administrative political entity in the country, governed by amayor or municipal president (Presidente municipal), elected by its residents by plurality.[67] Municipalities can be further subdivided into non-autonomous boroughs or in semi-autonomous auxiliary presidencies.
Constitutionally, Mexico City, as the capital and seat of the federal powers, is the Federal District, a special political division that belongs to the federation as a whole and not to a particular state, and as such, has more limited local rule than the nation's states.[68] Since 1987, it has progressively gained a greater degree of autonomy, and residents now elect a head of government and representatives of a legislative assembly directly. Unlike the states, the Federal District does not have a constitution but a Statute of Government. Mexico City is coterminous and coextensive with the Federal District.
Geography and climate
Mexico is located between latitudes 14° and 33°N, and longitudes 86° and 119°W in the southern portion of North America.[69][70] Almost all of Mexico lies in theNorth American Plate, with small parts of the Baja California peninsula on the Pacific and Cocos Plates.Geophysically, some geographers include the territory east of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (around 12% of the total) within Central America.[71] Geopolitically, however, Mexico is entirely considered part of North America, along with Canada and the United States.
Mexico's total area is 1,972,550 km2 (761,606 sq mi), making it the world's 14th largest country by total area, and includes approximately 6,000 km2 (2,317 sq mi) of islands in the Pacific Ocean (including the remote Guadalupe Island and the Revillagigedo Islands), Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, and Gulf of California. From its farthest land points, Mexico is a little over 2,000 mi in length. On its north, Mexico shares a 3,141 km (1,952 mi) border with the United States. The meandering Río Bravo del Norte (known as theRio Grande in the United States) defines the border from Ciudad Juárez east to the Gulf of Mexico. A series of natural and artificial markers delineate the United States-Mexican border west from Ciudad Juárez to the Pacific Ocean. On its south, Mexico shares an 871 km (541 mi) border with Guatemala and a 251 km (156 mi) border with Belize.
Topography
Mexico is crossed from north to south by two mountain ranges known as Sierra Madre Oriental and Sierra Madre Occidental, which are the extension of theRocky Mountains from northern North America. From east to west at the center, the country is crossed by the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt also known as theSierra Nevada. A fourth mountain range, the Sierra Madre del Sur, runs from Michoacán to Oaxaca.[74]
As such, the majority of the Mexican central and northern territories are located at high altitudes, and the highest elevations are found at the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt: Pico de Orizaba (5,700 m, 18,701 ft), Popocatépetl (5,462 m, 17,920 ft) andIztaccíhuatl (5,286 m, 17,343 ft) and the Nevado de Toluca (4,577 m, 15,016 ft). Three major urban agglomerations are located in the valleys between these four elevations: Toluca, Greater Mexico City and Puebla.
Climate
The Tropic of Cancer effectively divides the country into temperate and tropical zones. Land north of the twenty-fourth parallel experiences cooler temperatures during the winter months. South of the twenty-fourth parallel, temperatures are fairly constant year round and vary solely as a function of elevation. This gives Mexico one of the world's most diverse weather systems.
Areas south of the twenty-fourth parallel with elevations up to 1,000 m (3,281 ft) (the southern parts of both coastal plains as well as the Yucatán Peninsula), have a yearly median temperature between 24 to 28 °C (75.2 to 82.4 °F). Temperatures here remain high throughout the year, with only a 5 °C (9 °F) difference between winter and summer median temperatures. Both Mexican coasts, except for the south coast of the Bay of Campeche and northern Baja, are also vulnerable to serious hurricanes during the summer and fall. Although low-lying areas north of the twentieth-fourth parallel are hot and humid during the summer, they generally have lower yearly temperature averages (from 20 to 24 °C or 68 to 75.2 °F) because of more moderate conditions during the winter.
Many large cities in Mexico are located in the Valley of Mexico or in adjacent valleys with altitudes generally above 2,000 m (6,562 ft). This gives them a year-round temperate climate with yearly temperature averages (from 16 to 18 °C or 60.8 to 64.4 °F) and cool nighttime temperatures throughout the year.
Many parts of Mexico, particularly the north, have a dry climate with sporadic rainfall while parts of the tropical lowlands in the south average more than 2,000 mm (78.7 in) of annual precipitation. For example, many cities in the north like Monterrey, Hermosillo, and Mexicaliexperience temperatures of 40 °C (104 °F) or more in summer. In the Sonoran desert temperatures reach 50 °C (122 °F) or more. Northern Mexico is characterized by desert because it is located in a latitude where all deserts around the globe are formed.
Biodiversity
Mexico is one of the 18 megadiverse countries of the world. With over 200,000 different species, Mexico is home of 10–12% of the world's biodiversity.[76] Mexico ranks first in biodiversity in reptiles with 707 known species, second in mammals with 438 species, fourth in amphibians with 290 species, and fourth in flora, with 26,000 different species.[77] Mexico is also considered the second country in the world in ecosystems and fourth in overall species.[78] Approximately 2,500 species are protected by Mexican legislations.[78]
The Mexican government created the National System of Information about Biodiversity, in order to study and promote the sustainable use of ecosystems. Deforestation is one of the most serious environmental issues in Mexico, with more than one million hectares of forest being lost each year. As of 2002, Mexico had the second fastest rate of deforestation in the world, second only to Brazil.[79] The government has taken another initiative in the late 1990s to expand the people's knowledge, interest and use of the country's esteemed biodiversity, through the Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad.
In Mexico, 170,000 square kilometres (65,637 sq mi) are considered "Protected Natural Areas." These include 34 reserve biospheres (unaltered ecosystems), 64 national parks, 4 natural monuments (protected in perpetuity for their aesthetic, scientific or historical value), 26 areas of protected flora and fauna, 4 areas for natural resource protection (conservation of soil, hydrological basins and forests) and 17 sanctuaries (zones rich in diverse species).[76]
The discovery of the Americas brought to the rest of the world many widely used food crops and edible plants. Some of Mexico's nativeculinary ingredients include: chocolate, avocado, tomato, maize, vanilla, guava, chayote, epazote, camote, jícama, nopal, zucchini, tejocote,huitlacoche, sapote, mamey sapote, many varieties of beans, and an even greater variety of chiles, such as the habanero and the jalapeño. Most of these names come from indigenous languages like Nahuatl.
Government and politics
| Mexico |
 This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Mexico |
The United Mexican States are a federation whose government isrepresentative, democratic and republican based on a presidential system according to the 1917 Constitution. The constitution establishes three levels of government: the federal Union, the state governments and the municipal governments. All officials at the three levels are elected by voters through first-past-the-postplurality, proportional representation or are appointed by other elected officials.
Branches of the State
The federal government is constituted by the Powers of the Union, the three separate branches of government:
- The Legislative. A bicameral Congress of the Union, composed of a Senate and a Chamber of Deputies, which makes federal law, declares war, imposes taxes, approves the national budget and international treaties, and ratifies diplomatic appointments.[80]
- The Executive, is the President of the United Mexican States, who is the head of state and government, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Mexican military forces. The President also appoints the Cabinet and other officers. The President is responsible for executing and enforcing the law, and has the authority of vetoing bills.[81]
- The Judiciary branch of government is the Supreme Court of Justice, comprised by eleven judges appointed by the President with Senate approval, who interpret laws and judge cases of federal competency. Other institutions of the judiciary are the Electoral Tribunal, collegiate, unitary and district tribunals, and the Council of the Federal Judiciary.[82]
All elected executive officials are elected by plurality (first-past-the-post). Seats to federal and state legislatures are elected by a system of parallel voting that includes plurality and proportional representation.[83] The Chamber of Deputies of the Congress of the Union is conformed by 300 deputies elected by plurality and 200 deputies by proportional representation with closed party lists[84] for which the country is divided into 5 electoral constituencies or circumscriptions.[85]
The Senate is conformed by a total of 128 senators: 64 senators, two for each state and two for the Federal District, elected by plurality in pairs; 32 senators assigned to the first minority or first-runner up (one for each state and one for the Federal District), and 32 are assigned by proportional representation with closed party lists for which the country conforms a single electoral constituency.[84]
According to the constitution, all constituent states of the federation must have a republican form of government composed of three branches: the executive, represented by a governor and an appointed cabinet, the legislative branch constituted by a unicameral congress and the judiciary, which will include called state Supreme Court of Justice. They also have their own civil and judicial codes.
In the 2009–2012 Congress of the Union, seven parties are therein represented; four of them, however, have not received neither in this nor in previous congresses more than 4% of the national votes.[86] The other three parties have historically been the dominant parties in Mexican politics:
National Action Party (Partido Acción Nacional, PAN): a right-wing conservative party founded in 1939. PAN has gained plurality, but not absolute majority in several parliamentary elections. In 2000, it gained the presidency for the first time. It belongs to the Christian Democrat Organization of America.[87]
Institutional Revolutionary Party (Partido Revolucionario Institucional, PRI): a center-left party that ascribes to social democracy—it is a member of Socialist International—[88] founded in 1929 to unite all the factions of the Mexican Revolution. Prominent left-wing Mexican politicians have been members of the party. Having dominated Mexican politics since the Revolution, PRI includes diverse factions including some center-right members.
Party of the Democratic Revolution (Partido de la Revolución Democrática, PRD): a left-wing party,[89] founded in 1989 as the successor of the coalition of socialists and liberal parties, the National Democratic Front that had presented the candidacy of Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas in the controversial 1988 elections.
The PRI held an almost hegemonic power in Mexican politics since 1929. Since 1977 consecutive electoral reforms allowed opposition parties to win more posts at the local and federal level. This process culminated in the 2000 presidential elections in which Vicente Fox, candidate of the PAN, became the first non-PRI president to be elected in 71 years.
Foreign relations
The foreign relations of Mexico are directed by the President of Mexico[90] and managed through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[91] The principles of the foreign policy are constitutionally recognized in the Article 89, Section 10, which include: respect for international law and legal equality of states, their sovereignty and independence, non-intervention in the domestic affairs of other countries, peaceful resolution of conflicts, and promotion of collective security through active participation in international organizations.[90] Since the 1930s, the Estrada Doctrine has served as a crucial complement to these principles.[92]
After the War of Independence, the relations of Mexico were focused primarily on the United States, its northern neighbor, largest trading partner,[93] and the most powerful actor in hemispheric and world affairs,[94] as well as on its historically tied neighbors in Latin America and the Caribbean. Due to domestic issues in the early 20th century, Mexico was kept isolated frominternational affairs. Once the order was reestablished, its foreign policy was built underhemispheric prestige in subsequent decades.
Demonstrating independence from the U.S., Mexico supported the Cuban government since its establishment in the early 1960s,[95] the Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua during the late 1970s,[96] and leftist revolutionary groups in El Salvador during the 1980s.[97] In the 2000s, former President Vicente Fox adopted a new foreign policy that calls for an openness and an acceptance of criticism from the international community and the increase of Mexican involvement in foreign affairs, as well as a further integration towards its northern neighbors.[98] A greater priority to Latin America and the Caribbean has been given in the administration of President Felipe Calderón.[99]
Mexico is one of the founding members of several international organizations, most notably theUnited Nations,[100] the Organization of American States, the Organization of Ibero-American States, the OPANAL and the Rio Group. For a long time, Mexico has been one of the largest contributors to the United Nations regular budget, in 2008 over 40 million dollars were given to the organization. In addition, it has been the only Latin American member of theOrganisation for Economic Co-operation and Development since it joined in 1994 though Chile is in the process of gaining full membership. Mexico is considered as a newly industrialized country, a regional power and an emerging market, hence its presence in major economic groups such as the G8+5 and the G-20. In addition, since the 1990s Mexico has sought a reform of the United Nations Security Council and its working methods with the support of Canada, Italy, Pakistan and other nine countries, which form a group informally called the Coffee Club.
Military
The Mexican Armed Forces (Fuerzas Armadas de Mexico) are composed of the Mexican Army which includes the Mexican Air Force (FAM) as a subordinate entity and the Mexican Navy which also includes the Mexican Naval Infantry and Naval Aviation (FAN). Its three objectives are the repulsion of external aggressions, protection of internal security, and to aid the civilian population in case of natural disaster. All active combatant units are made up entirely of career soldiers, and although National Military Service does exist conscripts are only integrated into reserve units. Mexico's active combat troops add up to 396,000 not including non-combatant military personnel (mechanics, engineers, medics etc.). The total number of military personnel with full training when counting reserve forces and national guard units is 5.3 million total, although Mexico's available manpower potential in all out war is estimated at over 73 million by the CIA.
Mexico is one of the few countries with the capabilities to manufacture nuclear weapons but Mexico has renounced nuclear weapons with the Treaty of Tlatelolco in 1968 and pledged to only use its nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.[113] In 1970 Mexico's national institute for nuclear research successfully refined weapons grade uranium [114] which is used in the manufacture of nuclear weapons but in April 2010, Mexico agreed to turn over its weapons grade uranium to the United States.,[115][116] however this action was not yet approved by the Mexican congress and the uranium remains in Mexico. It is not known if Mexico has the capabilities to deliver nuclear weapons over long ranges but Mexico does possess the necessary equipment to launch nuclear weapons at the intermediate range either with its Sa'ar 4.5 class naval vessels or via aerial launched systems from multiple aircraft types in service with the Mexican Air Force, although in 2005 the Mexican Navy revealed that it was designing a new long range missile[117] which theoretically would have the capability to deliver a warhead beyond the intermediate range.
Mexico has the third-largest defense budget in Latin America, with reported annual military expenditures as of 2009 of US $24.944 billion or about 1.6% of GDP, although the CIA believes[citation needed] that Mexico does not report its full military budget and that Mexico's true annual military budget could be significantly higher, similar to the United States' black budget. Using this factor, the CIA believes that Mexico's true budget could be anywhere between 50% and 300% larger than what the Mexican government officially reports, however the most commonly agreed upon estimate is between 35 and 45 billion US dollars per year. Since the 1990s, when the military escalated its role in the war on drugs, increasing importance has been placed on acquiring airborne surveillance platforms, aircraft, helicopters, digital war-fighting technologies,[118] urban warfare equipment and rapid troop transport.[119]
The Mexican Military has two branches: the Mexican Army (which includes the Mexican Air Force), and the Mexican Navy. The Mexican armed forces maintain significant infrastructure, including facilities for design, research, and testing of weapons, vehicles, aircraft, naval vessels, defense systems and electronics;[118][120] military industry manufacturing centers for building such systems, and advanced naval dockyards that build heavy military vessels and advanced missile technologies.[121] These facilities have a significant employment and economic impact. In recent years, Mexico has improved its training techniques, military command and information structures and has taken steps to becoming more self-reliant in supplying its military by designing as well as manufacturing its own arms,[122] missiles,[120] aircraft,[123] vehicles, heavy weaponry, electronics,[118] defense systems,[118] armor, heavy military industrial equipment and heavy naval vessels.[124]
Historically, Mexico has remained neutral in international conflicts[125] with the exception of World War II. However, in recent years some political parties have proposed an amendment of the Constitution in order to allow the Mexican army, air force or navy to collaborate with theUnited Nations in peacekeeping missions, or to provide military help to countries that officially ask for it.[126]
Law enforcement
Public security is enacted at the three levels of government, each of which has different prerogatives and responsibilities. Local and state police department are primarily in charge of law enforcement, whereas theMexican Federal Police is in charge of specialized duties. All levels report to the Secretaría de Seguridad Pública (Secretary of Public Security). The General Attorney's Office (Procuraduría General de la República, PGR) is the executive power's agency in charge of investigating and prosecuting crimes at the federal level, mainly those related to drug and arms trafficking,[127] espionage, and bank robberies.[128] The PGR operates the Federal Investigations Agency (Agencia Federal de Investigación, AFI) an investigative and preventive agency.[129]
While the government respects the human rights of most citizens,[130] serious abuses of power have been reported in security operations in indigenous communities and poor urban neighborhoods.[130] The National Human Rights Commission has had little impact in reversing this trend, engaging mostly in documentation but failing to use its powers to issue public condemnations to the officials who ignore its recommendations.[131] By law, all defendants have the rights that assure them fair trials and human treatment; however, the system is overburdened and overwhelmed with several problems.[132]
Despite the efforts of the authorities to fight crime and fraud, few Mexicans have strong confidence in the police or the judicial system, and therefore, few crimes are actually reported by the citizens.[132] In 2008, president Calderón proposed a major reform of the judicial system, which was approved by the Congress of the Union, which included oral trials, the presumption of innocence for defendants, the authority of local police to investigate crime—until then a prerogative of special police units—and several other changes intended to speed up trials.[133]
Crime
Total crimes per capita average 12 per 1,000 people in Mexico, ranking 39 in a survey of 60 countries.[134] As of 2009 Mexico's homicide rate varies from 10~14 per 100,000 inhabitants; the world average is 10.9 per 100,000 inhabitants.[135] Drug-traffic and narco-related activities are a major concern in Mexico.[136]
Current president Felipe Calderón made abating drug-trafficking one of the top priorities of his administration. In a very controversial move, Calderón deployed military personnel to cities where drug cartels operate. While this move has been criticized by the opposition parties and the National Human Rights Commission, its effects have been praised by the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairsas having obtained "unprecedented results..." with "many important successes".[137] Since President Felipe Calderón launched a crackdown against cartels in 2006 more than 28,000 alleged criminals have been killed.[138][139] Of the total drug-related violence only 4% are innocent people,[140] mostly by-passers and people trapped in between shootings; 90% accounts for criminals and 6% for military personnel and police officers.[140] In October 2007, the president Calderón and US president George W. Bush announced the Mérida Initiative a historic plan of law enforcement cooperation between the two countries.[141]
Economy
| Economy of Mexico | |
|---|---|
 Aspects of Mexican economy | |
| Rank | 11th |
| Currency | Mexican peso (MXN, $) |
| Fiscal year | calendar |
| Trade organisations | APEC, CARICOM, NAFTA, OECD andWTO |
| Statistics | |
| GDP | $1.56 trillion[142] (2010 est.) |
| GDP growth | 7.6%.[14][15] (2010) |
| GDP per capita | $14,932 (2009 est.)[143] |
| GDP by sector | agriculture: 4%, industry: 26.6%,services: 69.5% (2007 est.) |
| Inflation (CPI) | 2.88% (Central bank report for February 2009) |
| Population below poverty line | 4.8% using international UN-based definition of poverty; asset based poverty amounted at approximately 15% (December 2008) |
| Gini index | 48.2 (2008) |
| Labour force | 46.2 million (2009 est.) |
| Labour force by occupation | agriculture: 13%, industry: 29%, services: 58% (2003) |
| Unemployment | 5.6% plus considerableunderemployment(21%) (2010 est.) |
| Main industries | Food and Beverages, Aerospace,Electronics, Tobacco, chemicals, Ironand Steel, Petroleum, Biotechnology,Mining, Shipbuilding, Electricity,Defense Products, Textiles, Clothing,Motor vehicles, Computers, consumer durables, Information Technologies,Tourism and Ecotourism |
| External | |
| Exports | $303 billion f.o.b. (2010 est.) |
| Export goods | Manufactured goods, electronics, automobiles, oil and oil products, aircraft, silver, computers and servers, fruits, meats, consumer electronics, processed foods, vegetables, ships, coffee, LCD screens, electricity, biotechnology, cotton, rolling stock, automotive and aircraft enigines, cellular phones, metals, industrial equipment, granite and marble, lithium, batteries, firearms, aluminium, information technologies, foodstuffs, silicone, medical technology, gold, plastics, microproccesors, |
| Main export partners | United States 49.2%, Germany 15%, South Korea 12.5% China 10.3% Chile 8.4% (2008) |
| Imports | $306 billion f.o.b. (2010 est.) |
| Main import partners | United States 56.7%, China 9.35%, South Korea 5.21%, Japan 4.1% (2009) |
| Public finances | |
| Public debt | 41.5% of GDP (2010 est.) |
| Revenues | $237 billion (2009) |
| Expenses | $267 billion (2009 est.) |
| Economic aid | $189.4 million (2008) |
| Foreign reserves | $116.4 billion (31 December 2010 est.) |
| Main data source: CIA World Fact Book All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars | |
The economy of Mexico is the 11th largest in the world. After rapid economic, social and technological growth beginning in the 1990s, Mexico is now both one of the world's largest economies and one of the fastest growing economies in the world. With a stable growth rate of 7.6%.,[14][15] the Mexican economy is expected to nearly triple by 2020.[144] Since the 1994 crisis, administrations have improved the country's macroeconomic fundamentals. Mexico was not significantly influenced by the recent 2002 South American crisis, and has maintained positive rates of growth after a brief period of stagnation in 2001. Moody's (in March 2000) and Fitch IBCA (in January 2002) issued investment-grade ratings for Mexico's sovereign debt. In spite of its unprecedented macroeconomic stability, which has reduced inflation and interest rates to record lows and has increased per capita income, enormous gaps remain between the urban and the rural population, central and peripheral states, and the rich and the poor, however the majority of the population has been part of the growing middle class since the late 1990s.[145] Some of the government's challenges include the upgrade of infrastructure, the modernization of the tax system and labor laws, and the reduction of income inequality.
The economy contains rapidly developing modern industrial and service sectors, with increasing private ownership. Recent administrations have expanded competition in ports, railroads, telecommunications, electricity generation, natural gas distribution and airports, with the aim of upgrading infrastructure. As an export-oriented economy, more than 90% of Mexican trade is under free trade agreements (FTAs) with more than 40 countries, including the European Union, Japan, Israel, and much of Central and South America.
The most influential FTA is the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which came into effect in 1994, and was signed in 1992 by the governments of the United States, Canada and Mexico. In 2006, trade with Mexico's two northern partners accounted for almost 50% of its exports and 45% of its imports.[146] Recently, theCongress of the Union approved important tax, pension and judicial reforms, and reform to the oil industry is currently being debated. According to the Forbes Global 2000 list of the world's largest companies in 2008, Mexico had 16 companies in the list.[147] In terms of US-Mexico trade, in 2009 Mexico had a positive trade surplus of $55 billion dollars against a negative deficit of $55 billion for the United States, showing that the NAFTA agreement has now began to work more for Mexico than the United States.[148] In August 2010 Mexico surpassed France to became the 9th largest holder of US debt,[149]which some economists have predicted may give Mexico a position of economic leverage against the United States in international trade, especially when combined with Mexico's now large trade surplus against the United States.
Mexico has a free market mixed economy, and had been established as an upper middle-income country since the mid-1980s but in 2009 Mexico surpassed the world bank's high income economic threshold to become a high income country and is one of the five high-income countries of Latin America the others being Chile, Argentina,Uruguay and Panama.[18][19] It is the 11th largest economy in the world as measured ingross domestic product in purchasing power parity.[150] According to the latest information available from the International Monetary Fund, Mexico had the second-highest average income per capita in Latin America at $15,323 in January 2010.[150]
According to the World Bank, Mexico has made "an impressive recovery" after the 1994 economic crisis, building a modern and diversified economy.[18] Oil is Mexico's largest source of foreign income.[151]According to Goldman Sachs, BRIMC review of emerging economies, by 2050 the largest economies in the world will be as follows:China, India, United States, Brazil and Mexico.[152] Mexico is the largest North American auto-producing nation, recently surpassing Canada and U.S.[153]
Mexico is the first and only Latin American country to be included in the World Government Bond Index or WGBI, which list the most important global economies that circulate government debt bonds.[154]
According to the director for Mexico at the World Bank, the population in poverty has decreased from 24.2% to 17.6% in the general population and from 42% to 27.9% in rural areas from 2000 to 2004.[155] As of January 2009 4.6% of the population is impoverished if measured by using the United Nations set international poverty rate and 14.4% of the population is considered to be impoverished by asset based measurements. Asset based poverty is defined by Mexico's central bank as living on 50% or less of Mexico's $15,000 average income which means less than $7,500 per year.
Nonetheless, income inequality remains a problem, and huge gaps remain not only between rich and poor but also between the north and the south, and between urban and rural areas. Sharp contrasts in income and Human Development are also a grave problem in Mexico. The 2004 United Nations Human Development Index report for Mexico states that Benito Juárez, a district of Mexico City, and San Pedro Garza García, in the State of Nuevo León, would have a similar level of economic, educational and life expectancy development to Germany or New Zealand. In contrast, Metlatonoc, in the state of Guerrero, would have an HDI similar to that of Syria.[156] According to a 2008 UN report the average income in a typical urbanized area of Mexico was $26,654 a rate higher than advanced nations like South Korea or Taiwan while the average income in rural areas (sometimes just miles away) was only $8,403, rate comparable to developing countries such as Russia or Turkey.[157]
GDP annual average growth for the period of 1995–2002 was 5.1%.[62] The international economic downturn also caused a similar pattern in Mexico, from which it recovered to grow 4.1% in 2005. The global economic recession that began in late 2008 had a noticeable effect in the country: in 2007 the economy grew by 7.1%, only to contract by 6.9% in 2008. However, in 2009 Mexico began to recover maintaining a 7.6% growth rate from 2009-2010[14][15] making Mexico's economy one of the fastest expanding in the world with rate comparable to China, Brazil and India. Inflation has reached a record low of 3.3% in 2005, and interest rates are low, which have spurred credit-consumption in the middle class. Mexico has experienced in the last decade monetary stability: the budget deficit was further reduced and foreign debt was decreased to less than 20% of GDP.[62] Along with Chile, Mexico has the highest rating of long-term sovereign credit in Latin America.
The remittances from Mexican citizens working in the United States account for 0.2% of Mexico's GDP[159] which was equal to US$20 billion dollars per year in 2004 and is the tenth largest source of foreign income after oil, industrial exports, manufactured goods, electronics, heavy industry, automobiles, construction, food, banking and financial services.[160] According to Mexico's central bank, remittances in 2008 amounted to $25bn.[161]
Ongoing economic concerns include the commercial and financial dependence on the US,[162] low real wages, underemployment for a large segment of the population, inequitable income distribution (the top 32% of income earners account for 55% of income), and few advancement opportunities for the largely Mayan population in the southern states.
Daily minimum wages are set annually by law and determined by zone; $57.46 Mexican pesos ($4.52 USD) in Zona A (Baja California,Federal District, State of Mexico, and large cities), $55.84 Mexican pesos ($4.39USD) in Zone B (Sonora, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas,Veracruz, and Jalisco), and $54.47 Mexican pesos ($4.29 USD)in Zone C (all other states)[163]
Industry
Among the most important industrial manufacturers in Mexico is the automotive industry, whose standards of quality are internationally recognized. The automobile sector in Mexico differs from that in other Latin American countries and developing nations in that it does not function as a mere assembly manufacturer. The industry produces technologically complex components and engages in some research and development activities.[164] The "Big Three" (General Motors, Ford andChrysler) have been operating in Mexico since the 1930s, while Volkswagen and Nissan built their plants in the 1960s.[165] In 2007 one out every seven cars sold was made in Mexico.
Later, Toyota, Honda, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz established a presence. Given the high requirements of North American components in the industry, many European and Asian parts suppliers have also moved to Mexico: in Puebla alone, 70 industrial part-makers cluster around Volkswagen.[164] The relatively small domestic car industry is represented by DINA Camiones S.A. de C.V., which has built buses and trucks for almost half a century,[166] and the newMastretta company that builds the high performance Mastretta MXT sports car.[167]
The electronics industry of Mexico has grown enormously within the last decade. By 2007 Mexico surpassed South Korea and China as the largest manufacturer of televisions, and in 2008 Mexico surpassed China, South Korea and Taiwan to become the largest producer of smartphones in the world. Mexico has been a major producer of electronics since the 1980s but most electronics were manufactured by foreign corporations. Since the late 1990s Mexico's electonics industry has began shifting away from producing foreign designs to focus on engineering, and developing development indigenous technologies. Several Mexican electronics companies such as Zonda Telecom and Mabe have expanded into foreign markets and Lanix, Mexico's largest electronics company has seen great success in designing high technology products with high end companies such as Foxconn, Samsung, and Sony[168] purchasing Lanix components and contracting them with manufacturing and designing sensitive systems. and There are almost half a million (451,000) students graduating with electronics engineering degrees annually[169] with an additional 90,000 students graduating from electronics technical programs each year and Mexico had over half a million (580,000) certified IT professionals employed in 2007. In 2005, according to the World Bank, high-tech industrial production represented 19.6% of Mexico's economy.[170]
Some large industries of Mexico include Cemex, the largest cement and constructionconglomerate in the world;[158] the alcohol beverage industries, including world-renowned players like Grupo Modelo; conglomerates like FEMSA, which apart from owning breweries and the OXXOconvenience store chain, is also the second-largest Coca-Cola bottler in the world; Gruma, the largest producer of corn flour and tortillas in the world; and Grupo Bimbo, Telmex, Televisa, among many others. Mexico is the second largest producer or silver and precious metals.
Maquiladoras (Mexican factories which take in imported raw materials and produce goods for export) have become the landmark of trade in Mexico. This sector has benefited from NAFTA, in that real income in the maquiladora sector has increased 15.5% since 1994, though from the non-maquiladora sector has grown much faster.[165] Contrary to popular belief, this should be no surprise since maquiladora's products could enter the US duty free since the 1960s industry agreement. Other sectors now benefit from the free trade agreement, and the share of exports from non-border states has increased in the last 5 years while the share of exports from maquiladora-border states has decreased. As a result of this process Mexico is the worlds third largest maker of refrigerators and white goods, after China and Brazil.
Currently Mexico is focusing in developing an aerospace industry and the manufacture and design of helicopter and commercial jet aircraft is taking place.[171] Foreign firms such as MD Helicopters and Bombardier build helicopters and commercial jets respectively in Mexico.[172][173] Although the Mexican aircraft industry is mostly foreign, as is its car industry, Mexican firms have been founded such as Aeromarmi, which builds light propeller airplanes, and Hydra Technologies, which builds Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. More aircraft companies have operations in Mexico than any other country with a record breaking 214 full process aircraft corporations established in Mexico and Since 1990 Mexico has been the largest destination for foreign companies to design, manufacture, and service aircraft.
As compared with the United States or countries in Western Europe, a larger sector of Mexico's industrial economy is food manufacturing, which includes several world class companies; but the regional industry is undeveloped. There are national brands that have become international, and local Mom and Pop producers, but little manufacturing in between.
Tourism
According to the World Tourism Organization, Mexico has one of the largest tourism industries in the world. In 2005 it was the seventh most popular. Mexico is the twenty-third highest tourism spender in the world, and the highest in Latin America.[174] The most visited attractions are theMeso-American ruins, colonial cities, and especially the beach resorts.[175] The nation's temperate climate and unique culture – a fusion of the European (particularly Spanish) and the Meso-American – also make Mexico an attractive destination. The peak tourism seasons in the country are during December and the mid-Summer, with brief surges during the week before Easter and the Spring break, when many of the beach resort sites become popular destinations for college students from the United States. The vast majority of tourists come to Mexico from the United States and Canada. Many other visitors come from Europe and Asia. A small number of tourists also come from other Latin American countries.[176]
There is also a burgeoning domestic tourism trade as a growing affluent middle class begins to vacation within their own country. While Mexico's middle/lower class usually promotes national tourism, the middle/higher class usually prefers to travel overseas.
In terms of the 2008 Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI), which is a measurement of the factors that make it attractive to developing business in the travel and tourism industry of individual countries, Mexico reached the 57th place in the world's ranking, the fifth among Latin American countries, and the ninth in the Americas.[177] In considering simply the subindex measuring human, cultural, and natural resources, Mexico ranks in the 19th place on a worldwide level, and 25th for both the natural resources criteria and the cultural criteria.
The capital of Mexico, Mexico City is the most popular with tourists as an ancient Meso-American city and the site of many popular tourist attractions such as the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon. Other human-made tourist zones, such as the La Zona Rosa or Shopping District, El Palenqueand El Zócalo (one of the largest public plazas in the world) are here. The city is also home to the Plaza de toros México – the world's largest bullring – and to the Mexican National Palace, built on the site of Montezuma's palace, and the huge Metropolitan Cathedral, the largest in the Western Hemisphere, built over the even greater Temple of Teocalli. Mexico City features also one of the highest esteemed museums in the world: the National Museum of Anthropology and History.
Guadalajara, Jalisco, the second-largest city by population in the Republic, is home of some of Mexico's best known traditions, such as tequila, mariachi music and charros, or Mexican cowboys. Its similitude with western European countries mixed with modern architecture and infrastructure makes Guadalajara very attractive to tourists. Along with Mexico City and beach destinations (Cancun, Acapulco, etc.), Guadalajara is one of the most visited cities in Mexico. Cultural tourism is the main attraction, the city being home to a large number of museums, art galleries and theatres.
The city is also the host of several internationally renowned events, such as the Guadalajara International Book Fair which is the most important exposition of its kind in the Spanish-speaking world, and the second largest book fair in the world.[178] The city is known as a pioneer in the underground arts scene as well as in the electronic music world, another main touristic attraction. Its diversity of European architectural styles is a focus of attraction for tourists, in particular theMetropolitan Cathedral, the Degollado Theatre and the Hospicio Cabañas which is a World Heritage Site and one of the oldest hospital complexes in Spanish America. Other tourism activities include shopping at its world class shopping malls, or plazas, taking a tour to the surrounding areas such as the Huentitan Canyon, Tonalá, Tlaquepaque, Chapala or visiting nearby towns, which are well-connected by modern highways, such as Tequila (the home of the heavenly liquid), Puerto Vallarta or Mazamitla, depending upon whether the visitor wishes to visit a colored bohemian and cultural town, a world-destination beach or stay in a cabin in the middle of the forest.
Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, was founded in the late 16th century. The downtown district is the oldest section in the city, surrounded by newer neighbourhoods. The Museo de Historia Mexicana (Museum of Mexican History), MARCO (Monterrey Museum of Contemporary Art), Metropolitan Museum of Monterrey and the Museum of the Palacio de Gobierno, or State House, are some of the better known museums in the city, as well as nationally. The Santa Lucia Riverwalk is a popular tourist site, connecting the Fundidora Park with the Macroplaza, one of the largest plazas in the world.
Energy
Energy production in Mexico is managed by state-owned companies: the Federal Commission of Electricity (Comisión Federal de Electricidad, CFE) and Pemex (Petróleos Mexicanos). The CFE is in charge of the operation of electricity-generating plants and its distribution all across the territory. Most of the electricity is generated in thermoelectrical plants, even though CFE operates several hydroelectric plants, as well as wind power, geothermal and nuclear generators.[179]
Natural resources are the "nation's property" (i.e. public property) by constitution. As such, the oil sector is administered by the government with varying degrees of private investment. Mexico is the sixth-largest oil producer in the world, with 3.7 million barrels per day.[180]
Pemex, the public company in charge of exploration, extraction, transportation and marketing of crude oil and natural gas, as well as the refining and distribution of petroleum products and petrochemicals, has a total asset worth of $415.75 billion it is the second largest company in the world by market value as estimated by the Financial Times in 2006 although the majority of its shares are non-publicly listed and under control of the Mexican government. It's publicly listed shares totaled $102 billion in 2010, representing approximately one quarter of the companies total worth, and[181][182] it is one of the largest companies in the world by revenue, making US $86 billion in sales a year,[183] a sum larger than the GDP of some countries. Nonetheless, the company is heavily taxed, a significant source of revenue for the government, of almost 62 per cent of the company's sales. In 1980 oil exports accounted for 61.6% of total exports; by 2000 it was only 7.3%.[164]
The two main government agencies in charge of developing renewable energy resources are SEMARNAT and SENER. The Environment and Natural Resources Secretary (SEMARNAT) is responsible for environmental policy and the preservation of renewable and non-renewable resources, while SENER defines the national energy policy. CONAE, the National Commission for Energy Savings, is responsible for promoting energy savings and energy efficiency.
Finally, SEDESOL, the National Secretary for Social Development, includes the promotion and use of renewable energy in some of their projects.[184] The Renewable Energy Development and Financing for Energy Transition Law (LAERFTE), which entered into force on November 28, 2008 mandated SENER to produce a [National Strategy for Energy Transition and Sustainable Energy Use and a Special Program for Renewable Energy. The Special Program contains tentative targets for renewable generation for different technologies. Those targets will be revised as SENER and CRE advance in the completion of the activities included in the law.About 19% of the electricity produced in Mexico comes from hydroelectric resources. The largest hydro plant in Mexico is the 2,400 MW Manuel Moreno Torres Dam in Chicoasén, Chiapas, in the Grijalva river. This is the world's fourth most productive hydroelectric plant.[185] The 750 MW El Cajon hydroelectric plant in Nayarit, which started operations in November 2006, is the latest completed large project.[186] Mexico is the country with the world's third largest solar potential.[184] The country's gross solar potential is estimated at 5kWh/m2 daily, which corresponds to 50 times national electricity generation.[187] Currently, there is over 1 million square meters of solar thermal panels[188] installed in Mexico, while in 2005, there were 115,000 square meters of solar PV (photo-voltaic). It is expected that in 2012 there will be 1,8 million square meters of installed solar thermal panels.[188] Total Wind power production in Mexico, is estimated to be very high. Three main areas for wind generation have been identified: the Isthmus of Tehuantepec,in the state of Oaxaca; La Rumorosa, in the state of Baja California; The area of the Gulf of California, which includes Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora and Sinaloa,[189] the Yucatán Peninsula.[188] and the states ofZacatecas, Hidalgo, Veracruz.
Transportation
The paved-roadway network in Mexico is the most extensive in Latin America at 116,802 km (72,577 mi) in 2005; 10,474 km (6,508 mi) were multi-lane freeways or expressways,[190] most of which were tollways. Nonetheless, Mexico's diverse orography—most of the territory is crossed by high-altitude ranges of mountains—as well as economic challenges have led to difficulties in creating an integrated transportation network and even though the network has improved, it still cannot meet national needs adequately.[191]
Being one of the first Latin American countries to promote railway development,[191] the network, though extensive at 30,952 km (19,233 mi),[192] is still inefficient to meet the economic demands of transportation.[citation needed]
The Secretary of Communications and Transport of Mexico is currently building a high-speed rail link[193][194] that will transport its passengers from Mexico City to Guadalajara, Jalisco, with stops in the cities of Querétaro, Guanajuato, Leon and Irapuato and an separately operated but interconnected line running from the port city of Manzanillo to Aguascalientes. The high speed train system will be the fastest high speed rail line in North America and the first outside of East Asia or Europe. The train which travels at 300 kilometers per hour[195] allows passengers to travel from Mexico City to Guadalajara in just 2 hours[195] at an affordable price (the same trip by road would last 7 hours). The network will also connect the network to Monterrey, Chilpancingo, Cuernavaca, Toluca, Puebla, Tijuana, Hermosillo, Cordoba, Veracruz, Oaxaca, Colima,Zacatecas, Torreon, Chihuahua, Puebla, San Luis Potosi, Mexicali Saltillo and Acapulco by 2015.[193] The whole project was projected to cost 240 billion pesos, or about 25 billion dollars[193] and is being paid for jointly by the Mexican government and the local private sector including the wealthiest man in the world, Mexico's billionaire business tycoon Carlos Helú[196] The government of the state of Yucatan is also funding the construction of a high speed line connecting the cities of Cozumel to Merida and Chichen Itza and Cancun.[197] This line would travel at a lower speed of 200 kilometers per hour and the cost of this separate line was reported at $8.5 billion USD in 2008.
In 1999, Mexico had 1,806 airports, of which 233 had paved runways; of these, 35 carry 97% of the passenger traffic.[192] The Mexico City International Airport remains the largest in Latin America and the 44th largest in the world[198] transporting 21 million passengers a year.[199]There are more than 30 domestic airline companies of which only two are known internationally: Aeroméxico and Mexicana.
Most of the domestic passenger transport needs are served by an extensive bus network[192] with several dozen companies operating by regions. Train passenger transportation between cities is limited. Inner-city rail mass transit is available at Mexico City—with the operation of the metro, elevated and ground train, as well as a Suburban Train connecting the adjacent municipalities of Greater Mexico City—as well as at Guadalajara and Monterrey, the first served by a commuter rail and the second by an underground and elevated metro.
Communications
The telecommunications industry is mostly dominated by Telmex (Teléfonos de México), privatized in 1990. As of 2006, Telmex had expanded its operations to Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay and the United States. Other players in the domestic industry are Axtel and Maxcom. Due to Mexicanorography, providing landline telephone service at remote mountainous areas is expensive, and the penetration of line-phones per capita is low compared to other Latin American countries, at forty-percent, however 82% of Mexicans over the age of 14 own a mobile phone. Mobile telephony has the advantage of reaching all areas at a lower cost, and the total number of mobile lines is almost two times that of landlines, with an estimation of 63 million lines.[200] The telecommunication industry is regulated by the government through Cofetel (Comisión Federal de Telecomunicaciones).
The Mexican satellite system is domestic and operates 120 earth stations. There is also extensive microwave radio relay network and considerable use of fiber-optic and coaxial cable.[200] Mexican satellites are operated by Satélites Mexicanos (Satmex), a private company, leader in Latin America and servicing both North and South America.[201] It offers broadcast, telephone and telecommunication services to 37 countries in the Americas, from Canada to Argentina. Through business partnerships Satmex provides high-speed connectivity to ISPs and Digital Broadcast Services.[202] Satmex maintains its own satellite fleet with most of the fleet being Mexican designed and built.
Mexico has recently emerged as a major producer of communications technology. In 2008 Mexico manufactured over 130 million mobile phones making it the third largest producer of mobile phones and in 2008 Mexico surpassed China, South Korea and Taiwan to become the largest producer of smartphones in the world.
Usage of radio, television, and Internet in Mexico is prevalent.[192] There are approximately 1,410 radio broadcast stations and 236 television stations (excluding repeaters).[200] Major players in the broadcasting industry are Televisa—the largest Spanish media company in the Spanish-speaking world[203]—and TV Azteca.
Demographics
The recently-conducted 2010 Census [204] showed a population of 112,322,757, making it the most populous Spanish-speaking country in the world.[205] Mexican annual population growth has drastically decreased from a peak of 3.5% in 1965 to 0.99% in 2005. Life expectancy in 2006 was estimated to be at 75.4 years (72.6 male and 78.3 female). The states with the highest life expectancy are Baja California (75.9 years) and Nuevo León (75.6 years). The Federal District has a life expectancy of the same level as Baja California.
The lowest levels are found in Chiapas (72.9), Oaxaca (73.2) and Guerrero (73.2 years). The mortality rate in 1970 was 9.7 per 1000 people; by 2001, the rate had dropped to 4.9 men per 1000 men and 3.8 women per 1000 women. The most common reasons for death in 2001 were heart problems (14.6% for men 17.6% for women) and cancer (11% for men and 15.8% for women).
The Mexican population is increasingly urban, with close to 75% living in cities. The five largest urban areas in Mexico (Greater Mexico City,Greater Guadalajara, Greater Monterrey, Greater Puebla and Greater Toluca) are home to 30% of the country's population. Migration patterns within the country show positive migration to north-western and south-eastern states, and a negative rate of migration for the Federal District. While the annual population growth is still positive, the national net migration rate is negative (−4.7/1000), attributable to the emigration phenomenon of people from rural communities to the United States.
Metropolitan areas
Main article: Metropolitan areas of Mexico
Metropolitan areas in Mexico have been traditionally defined as the group of municipalities that heavily interact with each other, usually around a core city.[206] In 2004, a joint effort between CONAPO, INEGI and the Ministry of Social Development (SEDESOL) agreed to define metropolitan areas as either:[206]
- the group of two or more municipalities in which a city with a population of at least 50,000 is located whose urban area extends over the limit of the municipality that originally contained the core city incorporating either physically or under its area of direct influence other adjacent predominantly urban municipalities all of which have a high degree of social and economic integration or are relevant for urban politics and administration; or
- a single municipality in which a city of a population of at least one million is located and fully contained, (that is, it does not transcend the limits of a single municipality); or
- a city with a population of at least 250,000 which forms a conurbation with other cities in the United States.
It should be noted, however, that northwestern and southeastern states are divided into a small number of large municipalities whereas central states are divided into a large number of smaller municipalities. As such, metropolitan areas in the northwest usually do not extend over more than one municipality (and figures usually report population for the entire municipality) whereas metropolitan areas in the center extend over many municipalities.
Few metropolitan areas extend beyond the limits of one state, namely: Greater Mexico City (Federal District, Mexico State and Hidalgo),Puebla-Tlaxcala (Puebla and Tlaxcala, but excludes the city of Tlaxcala), Comarca Lagunera (Coahuila and Durango), and Tampico (Tamaulipas and Veracruz).
Immigration
Mexico is home to the largest number of U.S. citizens abroad (estimated at one million as of 1999),[209] which represents 1% of the Mexican population and 25% of all U.S. citizens abroad. Other significant communities of foreigners are those of Central and South America, most notably from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Cuba, Venezuela, Guatemala, and Belize. Though estimations vary, the Argentine community is considered to be the second largest foreign community in the country (estimated somewhere between 30,000 and 150,000).[210][211] Mexico also received a large number of Lebanese. The Mexican-Lebanese community now numbers around 400,000.[212]
Throughout the 20th century, Mexico followed a policy of granting asylum to fellow Latin Americans and Europeans (mostly Spaniards in the 1940s) fleeing political persecution in their home countries. In October 2008, Mexico tightened its immigration rules and agreed to deportCubans using the country as an entry point to the US.[213] Because Mexico is much richer than the countries to its immediate southeast, it has a chronic problem with illegal immigration from those countries, especially Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. Large numbers of Central American migrants who have crossed Guatemala's western border into Mexico are deported every year.[214]
Discrepancies between the figures for official legal aliens and those of all foreign-born residents regardless of their immigration status are quite large. The official figure for foreign-born legal residents in Mexico is 493,000 (since 2004), with a majority (86.9%) of these born in the United States (except Chiapas, where the majority of immigrants are from Central America). The five states with the most immigrants are Baja California (12.1% of total immigrants), Mexico City (the Federal District; 11.4%), Jalisco (9.9%), Chihuahua (9%) and Tamaulipas (7.3%). More than 54.6% of the immigrant population are fifteen years old or younger, while 9% are fifty or older.
Illegal immigration has been a problem for Mexico, especially since the 1970s. In 2006 Mexico detained more than 182,000 people who entered the country illegally, mainly from nearby Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, all being Central-American countries neighboring Mexico to the south. Smaller numbers of illegal immigrants come from Ecuador, Cuba, China, South Africa, and Pakistan. .[215]
Mexico represents the largest source of immigration to the United States. About 9% of the population born in Mexico is now living in the United States.[216] 28.3 million Americans listed their ancestry as Mexican as of 2006.[217] Per the 2000 U.S. Census, a plurality of 47.3% ofMexican Americans self identify as White, closely followed by Mexican Americans who self identify as "Some other race", usually Mestizo (European/Indian) with 45.5%.[218]
Ethnic groups
Mexico is ethnically diverse, and the constitution defines the country to be a multicultural nation. Mexican nationality is relatively young, stemming back only to 1821 when Mexico achieved independence from the Spanish empire, and it consists of many, separate regional and ethnic groups such as the various indigenous peoples and European immigrants united under a single national identity.[219] The core part of Mexican national identity is formed on the basis of a synthesis of European culture with Indigenous cultures in a process known asmestizaje, alluding to the mixed biological origins of the majority of Mexicans. The term mestizo often used in literature about Mexican social identities carries a variety of meanings containing both socio-cultural, economic, racial and biological components and for this reason it has been deemed to imprecise to be used for ethnic classification, for which reason it has been abandoned in Mexican censuses.[220][221]
The large majority of Mexicans can be classified as "Mestizos", meaning that they neither identify fully with any indigenous culture or with a particular non-Mexican heritage, but rather identify as having cultural traits and heritage that is mixed by elements from indigenous and European traditions. By the deliberate efforts of post-revolutionary governments the "Mestizo identity" was constructed as the base of the modern Mexican national identity, through a process of cultural synthesis referred to as mestizaje. Mexican politicians and reformers such asJose Vasconcelos and Manuel Gamio were instrumental in building a Mexican national identity on the concept of mestizaje.[222][223]
The category of "indígena" (indigenous) can be defined narrowly according to linguistic criteria including only persons that speak one ofMexicos 62 indigenous languages, or persons who self-identify as having an indigenous cultural background, whether or not they speak the language of the indigenous group they identify with. According with the National Commission for the Development of Indigenous Peoples as of 2005, there are 10.1 millions indigenous, representing 9.8% of the total population.[224]
Sometimes, particularly outside of Mexico, the word "mestizo" is used with the meaning of a person with mixed Indigenous and European blood. This usage does not conform to the Mexican social reality where a person of pure indigenous genetic heritage would be considered Mestizo either by rejecting his indigenous culture or by not speaking an indigenous language,[225] and a person with a very low percentage of indigenous genetic heritage would be considered fully indigenous either by speaking an indigenous language or by identifying with a particular indigenous cultural heritage.
Language
There is no de jure constitutional official language at the federal level in Mexico.[227] Spanish, spoken by 97% of the population, is considered a national language by The General Law of Linguistic Rights of the Indigenous Peoples, which also grants all indigenous minority languages spoken in Mexico, regardless of the number of speakers, the same validity as Spanish in all territories in which they are spoken, and indigenous peoples are entitled to receive public services and documents in their native languages.[228]
Mexican law has granted these indigenous minority languages the status of "national languages", along with Spanish. The law includes all Amerindian languages regardless of origin; that is, it includes the Amerindian languages of ethnic groups non-native to the territory. As such theNational Commission for the Development of Indigenous Peoples recognizes the language of theKickapoo, which immigrated from the United States,[229] and recognizes the languages of theGuatemalan Amerindian refugees.[230] The Mexican government has promoted and establishedintercultural bilingual primary and secondary education in some indigenous rural communities. Approximately 5.4% of the population speaks an indigenous language and 1.2% do not speak Spanish.[231] The indigenous language groups with the most speakers are Nahuatl languages,Yukatek Maya, Mixtecan languages, Zapotec languages, Tzeltal, and Otomi.[232]
Mexico has the largest Spanish-speaking population in the world with more than twice as many as the second largest Spanish-speaking country. (Spain, Argentina, and Colombia all have about 40 million speakers each.) Almost a third of all Spanish native speakers in the world live in Mexico.[205] Nahuatl is spoken by 1.5 million people and Yucatec Maya by 800,000. Some of the national languages are in danger of extinction; Lacandon is spoken by fewer than one hundred people.
English is widely used in business at the border cities, as well as by the one million U.S. citizens that live in Mexico, mostly retirees in small towns in Baja California, Guanajuato and Chiapas.[209] There are some 80,000 German-speaking Mennonites in Mexico.
Religion
Mexico has no official religion, and the government does not provide any financial contributions to the church, and the church does not participate in public education.
The last census reported, by self-ascription, that at least 82.8% of the population isChristian. Roman Catholics are 76.5%[234] of the total population, 47% percent of whom attend church services weekly.[235] In absolute terms, Mexico has the world's second largest number of Catholics after Brazil.
About 6.3% of the population is Protestant, of whom Pentecostals (1.4%) are the largest group. There are also a sizeable number of Seventh-day Adventists (0.6 million people).[237] The Jehovah's Witnesses are 1.1% of the country's population.[234] The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints claims over one million registered members as of 2009.[238] About 25% of registered members attend a weekly sacrament service although this can fluctuate up and down.[239] There are eleven Temples of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Mexico.
The presence of Jews in Mexico dates back to 1521, when Hernán Cortés conquered the Aztecs, accompanied by several Conversos. There are now more than 45,000 Mexican Jews. 3.1% of the population reported having no religion.[234] Islam in Mexico is practiced by a small population in the city of Torreón, Coahuila, and there are an estimated 300 Muslims in the San Cristóbal de las Casas area in Chiapas.[240][241] Mexico's Buddhist population currently makes up a tiny minority, some 108,000 according to latest accounts. Most of its members are of Asian descent, while people of various other walks of life have turned toward Buddhism in the recent past.
According to the 2000 Census, 3.1% of the population manifested having no religion, this number is expected to be significantly higher in the 2010 Census.
In 1992, Mexico lifted almost all restrictions on the Catholic Church and other religions, including granting all religious groups legal status, conceding them limited property rights, and lifting restrictions on the number of priests in the country.[242] Until then, priests did not have the right to vote. Currently they cannot be elected to public office.
Culture
Mexican culture reflects the complexity of the country's history through the blending of pre-Hispanic civilizations and the culture of Spain, imparted during Spain's 300-year colonization of Mexico. Exogenous cultural elements mainly from the United States have been incorporated into Mexican culture.
The Porfirian era (el Porfiriato), in the last quarter of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century, was marked by economic progress and peace. After four decades of civil unrest and war, Mexico saw the development of philosophy and the arts, promoted by President Díaz himself. Since that time, as accentuated during the Mexican Revolution, cultural identity has had its foundation in the mestizaje, of which the indigenous (i.e. Amerindian) element is the core. In light of the various ethnicities that formed the Mexican people, José Vasconcelos in his publication La Raza Cósmica (The Cosmic Race) (1925) defined Mexico to be the melting pot of all races (thus extending the definition of the mestizo) not only biologically but culturally as well.[243] This exalting of mestizaje was a revolutionary idea that sharply contrasted with the idea of a superior pure race prevalent in Europe at the time.
Architecture
In a broad sense, Mexican architecture comprises works of architecture created in Mexico, as well as architecture of pre-Hispanic and colonial times that have become part of Mexico's architectural heritage. Moreover, architectural styles of the independent nation have a strong influence from those previous epochs; therefore it is necessary to include them as part of this heritage. Mesoamerican architecture is the set of architectural traditions produced by pre-Columbian cultures and civilizations of Mesoamerica, traditions which are best known in the form of public, ceremonial and urban monumental buildings and structures. The distinctive features of Mesoamerican architecture encompass a number of different regional and historical styles, which however are significantly interrelated. These styles developed throughout the different phases of Mesoamerican history as a result of the intensive cultural exchange between the different cultures of the Mesoamerican culture area through thousands of years. Mesoamerican architecture is mostly noted for its pyramids which are the largest such structures outside of Ancient Egypt.
Spanish Colonial architecture, which dominated in the early Spanish colonies, is marked by the contrast between the simple, solid construction demanded by the new environment and the Baroque ornamentation exported from Spain. Mexico, as the center of New Spain has some of the most renowned buildings built in this style. With twenty-nine sites, Mexico has more sites on the UNESCO World Heritage list than any other country in the Americas, many of them boasting some of the richest Spanish Colonial architecture. Some of the most famous cities in Mexico built in the Colonial style are Puebla, Zacatecas, Querétaro, Guanajuato, and Morelia.
During President Porfirio Diaz's reign (1876–1880, 1884–1911), patrons and practitioners of architecture manifested two impulses: to create an architecture that would indicate Mexico's participation in modernity and the emphasize Mexico's difference from other countries through the incorporation of local characteristics into the architecture. The first goal took precedence over the second during most of the 19th century. A modern, sophisticated Mexico was the goal of President Diaz. Cast iron, marble, granite, bronzes and stained glass became mainstays of this period. Diaz was determined to transform the landscape of the nation's capital into one reminiscent of Paris or London. It is not surprising that the most important architectural commissions of the Porfiriato were built in these styles.
Examples include the Postal Palace, the National Theatre of Mexico (1904), the Legislative Palace (1903), the Secretary of Communications and Public Works (1902–11). Neo-Gothic designs were also incorporated into the monumental public buildings of the early 20th century. The two best examples were the Central post office and the Palacio de Bellas Artes.
After the Mexican Revolution in 1917, idealization of the indigenous and the traditional symbolized attempts to reach into the past and retrieve what had been lost in the race toward modernization. The School of Theatre (1994), by TEN Arquitectos, and the School of Dance (1994), by Luis Vicente Flores, express a modernity that reinforces the government's desire to present a new image of Mexico as an industrialized country with a global presence. Enrique Norten, the founder of TEN Arquitectors, was presented with the "Legacy Award" by the Smithsonian Institution for his contributions to the US arts and culture through his work. In 2005 he received the "Leonardo da Vinci" World Award of Arts by the World Cultural Council and was the first Mies van der Rohe Award recipient for Latin American Architecture.
The José Vasconcelos Library, designed by Alberto Kalach, in Mexico City The refined work of Alberto Kalach and Daniel Alvarez stands out both in their numerous residences as well as in the San Juan de Letrán Station (1994) in Mexico City. The residential work of José Antonio Aldrete-Haas in Mexico City shows both the influence of the attenuated Modernism of the great Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza and a continuity with the lessons of Barragán. Other notable and emerging contemporary architects include Mario Schjetnan, Michel Rojkind, Tatiana Bilbao, Isaac Broid and Bernardo Gómez-Pimienta, Juan C. Ordaz Coppel and Jacinto Avalos from Avalos Arquitectos y Asociados with award winning works in Mexico, USA and Europe. Modern buildings (especially skyscrapers) in Mexico share many design parallels with modern urban Japanese, Chinese and German architecture however modern Mexican architecture usually integrates elements of both Hispanic and amerindian architectural styles.
Cinema
Mexican films from the Golden Age in the 1940s and 1950s are the greatest examples of Latin American cinema, with a huge industry comparable to the Hollywood of those years. Mexican films were exported and exhibited in all of Latin America and Europe. Maria Candelaria (1944) byEmilio Fernández, was one of the first films awarded a Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1946, the first time the event was held after World War II. The famous Spanish-born director Luis Buñuel realized in Mexico, between 1947 to 1965 some of him master pieces like Los olvidados(1949), Viridiana (1961) and El angel exterminador (1963). Famous actors and actresses from this period include María Félix, Pedro Infante, Dolores del Río, Jorge Negrete and the comedianCantinflas.
More recently, films such as Como agua para chocolate (1992), Cronos (1993), Amores perros(2000), Y tu mamá también (2001), El Crimen del Padre Amaro (2002), Pan's Labyrinth (2006) andBabel (2006) have been successful in creating universal stories about contemporary subjects, and were internationally recognised, as in the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. Mexican directors Alejandro González Iñárritu (Amores perros,Babel), Alfonso Cuarón (Children of Men, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban), Guillermo del Toro, Carlos Carrera (The Crime of Father Amaro), and screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga are some of the most known present-day film makers.
Music
Mexican society enjoys a vast array of music genres, showing the diversity of Mexican culture. Traditional music includes Mariachi, Banda, Norteño, Ranchera and Corridos; on an every-day basis most Mexicans listen to contemporary music such as pop, rock, etc. in both English and Spanish. Mexico has the largest media industry in Latin America, producing Mexican artists who are famous in Central and South America and parts of Europe, especially Spain. Some well-known Mexican singers are Thalía, Luis Miguel, Alejandro Fernández, Julieta Venegas and Paulina Rubio. Mexican singers of traditional music are: Lila Downs, Susana Harp, Jaramar, GEO Meneses andAlejandra Robles. Popular groups are Café Tacuba, Molotov and Maná, among others. Since the early 2000s Mexican rock has seen widespread growth both domesticly and internationally.
According to the Sistema Nacional de Fomento Musical, there are between 120 and 140 youth orchestras affiliated to this federal agency from all federal states. Some states, through their state agencies in charge of culture and the arts—Ministry or Secretary or Institute or Council of Culture, in some cases Secretary of Education or the State University—sponsor the activities of a professional Symphony Orchestra or Philharmonic Orchestra so all citizens can have access to this artistic expression from the field of classical music. There is no public information about the exact number of professional orchestras in the country (probably 40 ensembles of very diverse caliber). Mexico City is the most intense hub of this activity hosting 12 professional orchestras sponsored by different agencies such as the National Intitute of Fine Arts, the Secretary of Culture of the Federal District, The National University, the National Polytechnic Institute, a Delegación Política (Coyoacán) and very few are a kind of private ventures.
Orquestas in Mexico are mainly subsidized by a governmental body or agency, unlike their American counterparts, therefore, these organizations do not have departments such as marketing or development. States such as Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Colima, Morelos, Nayarit, Quintana Roo, Sonora, Tabasco, and Tlaxcala do not have a professional Symphony orchestra. The only permanent opera company belongs to the National Institute of Fine Arts, offering six productions yearly, however, some cities such as Guadalajara, Monterrey or Morelia make important efforts to present this kind of expression to local audiences.
National holidays
Mexicans celebrate their independence from Spain on September 16, and other holidays with colorful festivals known as "Fiestas". Every Mexican city, town and village holds a yearly festival to commemorate their local patron saints. During these festivities, the people pray and burn candles to honor their saints in churches decorated with flowers and colorful utensils. They also hold large parades, fireworks, dance competitions, beauty pageant contest, party and buy refreshments in the market places and public squares. In the smaller towns and villages, soccer, boxing, cockfighting and amateur bullfighting are also celebrated during the festivities.
Other festivities include Día de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe ("Guadalupe Day"), Las Posadas ("The Shelters", celebrated on December 16 to December 24), Noche Buena ("Holy Night", celebrated on December 24), Navidad("Christmas", celebrated on December 25) and Año Nuevo ("New Years Day", celebrated on December 31 to January 1). "Guadalupe Day" is regarded by many Mexicans as the most important religious holiday of their country. It honours the Virgin of Guadalupe, the patron saint of Mexico, which is celebrated on December 12. In the last decade, all the celebrations happening from mid December to the beginning of January have been linked together in what has been called the Guadalupe-Reyes Marathon.
Piñatas are unique to Mexican celebrations. A pinata is made from papier-mache. It is created to look like popular people, animals, or fictional characters. Once made it is painted with bright colors and filled with candy or small toys. It is then hung from the ceiling. The children are blind folded and take turns hitting the piñata until it breaks open and the candy and small toys fall out. The children then gather the candy and small toys.
Fine arts
.jpg)
Post-revolutionary art in Mexico had its expression in the works of renowned artists such as Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, Rufino Tamayo, Federico Cantú Garza, David Alfaro Siqueiros and Juan O'Gorman. Diego Rivera, the most well-known figure of Mexican Muralism, painted the Man at the Crossroads at the Rockefeller Center in New York City, a huge mural that was destroyed the next year due to the inclusion of a portrait of Russian communist leaderLenin.[244] Some of Rivera's murals are displayed at the Mexican National Palace and the Palace of Fine Arts.
Academic music composers of Mexico include Manuel María Ponce, José Pablo Moncayo, Julián Carrillo, Mario Lavista, Carlos Chávez, Silvestre Revueltas, Arturo Márquez, and Juventino Rosas, many of whom incorporated traditional elements into their music. Nobel Prize winner Octavio Paz,Carlos Fuentes, Juan Rulfo, Elena Poniatowska, and José Emilio Pacheco, are some of the most recognized Mexican authors.
Posted in: country wikipedia
0 comments:
Post a Comment