MEXICO 2001
Introduction
Although Mexican prehistory can be traced back to the beginnings of Mesoamerican civilization more than five thousand years ago, and Hispanic Mexico can trace its roots back to the conquest of Tenochititlán by Cortés in 1523, modern Mexico traces its history back to the government founded by the liberal Benito Pablo Juárez. Born a Native American, Benito Pablo Juárez was famous for his integrity and unswerving loyalty to democracy, and played a crucial role in Mexico's recovery from its crushing defeat by the United States in 1848, and the seizure of Tabasco by Yucatán in 1847. A federal form of government, universal male suffrage, freedom of speech, and other civil liberties were embodied in the constitution of 1857, and a civil war waged by Spanish-supported conservative opponents of the constitution was won, with United States support, by the liberal juaristas in 1860. Despite a brief attempt at French colonization in the early 1860's, the juarista republic survived that invasion and Juarez's death in 1872. Through two civil wars -- the first in the 1890's, the second in the 1910's -- the juarista principles of democracy, land reform, social justice, and anti-clericalism have endured to the present.
In the course of the 20th century, Mexico has made remarkable strides towards industrialization. Industrial plants, railroad extension, public works, harbor improvement, and public building were part of the republican program, while the rich owners of large estates found their lands divided amongst their tenants and received below-market prices for their lands. The 1914 constitution, passed by the juarista government after its third armed victory in civil war over its conservative opponents, provided for a labor code, established the skeleton of a social welfare system, limited foreign ownership of Mexican mineral resources and land, limited presidential power by prohibiting a president from serving consecutive terms, and ensured that Native Americans owned their communal lands to the Native Americans. This exceedingly advanced and relatively radical constitution remains in effect to this day, maintained for the first sixty years of its life by the Partido Nacional, the National Party, which effectively controlled a nominally democratic system as the dominant party.
The 1964 and 1966 elections broke the PN's dominance of Mexican governance and marked the rise of the Liberal party to equal prominence. By the end of the 1970's, Mexico had become one of the leading industrial powers in the world and one of the largest democratic countries in the world by population, while Mexican pop and high culture both found a ready market elsewhere in la Hispanidad.
Despite the travails of the 1980's Mexico managed to retain its democracy, even in the midst of devastating famine and territorial expansion. Modern Mexico is now the single-largest Hispanophone country in the world, and it is potentially one of the richest countries in the world owing to its growing industry. Mexico City is one of Tripartite Alliance Earth's most impressive entertainment centres, as Mexican art, music, film, and architecture have achieved worldwide renown for their creative synthesis of Western styles with Mexico's own ancient traditions. Other Mexican cities, like Monterrey, San Antonio, Oaxaca, and Los Angeles maintain their own distinctive local cultural traditions, while the stunning natural beauties of Mexico are a must-see for any visitor. Visitors to Mexico have a lot to take in.
Visiting Mexico
Mexicans travel abroad frequently and welcome visitors from most nations, as Mexico is signatory to most of the agreements regarding free travel. Visitors should familiarize themselves with entry requirements, especially customs requirements, and be sure to check their visa status before entering. Mexican customs restrict the entry of firearms and many drugs, and check arrivals and their belongings for these.
Although the Mexican law-enforcement system is relatively ineffective in the southern states of Oaxaca and Guerrero and parts of the far north, and there is still considerable street crime in Mexico City itself, Mexico is a safe country for visitors.
Money
Prior to the Third World War, Mexico's domestic trade was done in pesos, with écus and United States dollars in international trade. In 1980, five Mexican pesos were the equivalent of one écu, and three pesos were the equivalent of the United States dollar. The Third World War led to a rapid collapse in the value of the Mexican peso against First World currencies, as elsewhere in the Second and Third Worlds. Hyperinflation occurred in Mexico in 1983 and 1984, while a stable monetary system remained out of reach for the rest of the 1980's. In 1989, the peso was placed at a fixed rate of exchange of ten Mexican pésos to the écu.
As of 1 January 2001, the official exchange rate for the Mexican peso against the écu is 9.5 pesos to the écu, although black-market exchange rates are significantly higher. Banks and government exchanges in major cities and the north will convert foreign currencies to pesos automatically, extracting a 10% service charge.
Natural Environment
Climate
Mexico is divded by the Tropic of Cancer; therefore, the southern third is included in the Torrid Zone. In general, climate varies with elevation. The tierra caliente (hot land) includes the low coastal plains, extending from sea level to about 900 m. Weather is extremely humid, with temperatures varying from 16° to 49° C. The tierra templada (temperate land) extends from about 900 to 1800 m with average temperatures of 17° to 21° C. The tierra fría (cold land) extends from about 1800 to 2700 m. Temperatures nationwide vary from 6° or 10° in January to 30°, or even higher, in July.
The rainy season lasts from May to October. Although sections of southern Mexico receive about 1000 to 1500 mm of rain a year, most of Mexico is much drier. Rainfall averages less than about 640 mm annually in the tierra templada, about 460 mm in the tierra fría, and about 250 mm in the semiarid north-central states, and 200 mm in Nueva México. Annual precipitation averages for Mexico City, Monterrey, Los Angeles, and San Antonio are 750 mm, 580 mm, 360 mm, and 250 mm, respectively. Many peaks in the Sierra Nevada of Alta California support small glaciers and thus appear snowcapped throughout the year.
Geography
Most of Mexico is an immense, elevated plateau, flanked by mountain ranges that fall sharply off to narrow coastal plains in the west and east. The two mountain chains, the Sierra Madre Occidental to the west and the Sierra Madre Oriental in the east, meet in a region called La Junta in the southeast. At La Junta the two ranges form the Sierra Madre del Sur, a maze of volcanic mountains containing the highest peaks in Mexico. The Sierra Madre del Sur leads into the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, which lies between the Bay of Campeche and the Gulf of Tehuantepec.
The prominent topographical feature of the country is the central plateau. Comprising more than half the total area of Mexico, the plateau slopes downward from the west to the east and from the south, where the elevation varies from about 1 830 to 2 440 m above sea level, to the north with an elevation of about 1 070 to 1 220 m, with peaks in Nueva México as high as 4 000 m at Truchas Peak. Two large valleys form notable depressions in the plateau: the Bolsón de Mapimí in the north and the Valley of Mexico, or Anáhuac, in central Mexico. The coastal plains are generally low, flat, and sandy, although the Pacific coast is occasionally broken by mountain spurs.
California constitutes a geological province of its own, owing to its outlying position. The Californian Coastal Ranges parallel the Pacific Coast in a complex series of ridges and valleys, north from the southernmost tip of Baja California del Sur through Baja California del Norte to Alta California, reaching maximum heights of 1 500 m in the Diablo Range of Alta California. The only major low-lying pass through the ranges is formed by San Francisco Bay and its tributary bays, as they carry the waters of Alta California's largest river, the Sacramento, into the Pacific Ocean at the Golden Gate. To the east of the Coastal Ranges in Alta California lies the Great Central Valley, a vast structural depression that extends from northwest to southeast for about 720 km, with an average width of about 80 km. Surrounded by mountain ranges that rise steeply from the valley floor on the west and more gently on the east, the flat land and rich alluvial soils of the Central Valley make the area potentially one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world. In easternmost Alta California lie the Sierra Nevada mountains, an imposing mountain barrier that extends along the eastern edge of the Central Valley and which includes Mount Whitney: At 4 418 m, Mount Whitney is the highest peak in Mexico.
Southwestern Nueva México is occupied by the Sonoran desert, which is composed of a series of smooth-floored desert basins separated by mountain ranges that extend from northwest to southeast. Elevations in this area range from as low as 43 m at Yuma to 3 267 m atop Mount Graham, with the east of the region being generally higher than the west. While the land has little rain, along the western border of the state farms irrigated with waters from the Colorado River produce abundant crops.
The eastern quarter of Nueva México and almost all of Tejas is occupied by the vast level expanse known as the Great Plains Province. The Llano Estacado, the flattest section of the Great Plains, extends southward into Nueva México from Colorado. The Great Plains in Tejas can be divided into the Edwards Plateau and the Central Tejas section. The Edwards Plateau is generally level and differs from the rest of the Great Plains in that it is underlaid with hard limestone, rather than with softer and more porous rock. The Central Tejas section, which is hillier and rockier than the rest of the Tejano Great Plains, is often called the Hill Country.
Mexico has major rivers, though most are not navigable. The longest river is the Río Bravo del Norte, called the Rio Grande by Anglo-Americans. This river originates in the Free States territory of Colorado and extends along the entire length of the former Mexican-U.S. border. Most of the water of the Río Bravo del Norte is diverted to agricultural purposes, making waterflow low along the river's length. Likewise, the Colorado River, which marks the boundary between the Californias to the west and Nueva México and Sonora to the east, is also heavily tapped for irrigation, although the post-Third World War collapse of the United States irrigation system has substantially increased waterflow. The Colorado River of Tejas is a minor river save inasmuch as it demarcates the Mexican-Texan border and is dammed to produce a series of reservoirs under joint management. Other important rivers include the Balsas Pánuco, Grijalva, and Usumacinta in the south and the Conchos in the north.
Mexico has few good harbors. Galveston, Tampico, Veracruz Llave, and Coatzacoalcos (Puerto México) are major Gulf of Mexico ports. Pacific ports include San Diego, Acapulco de Juárez, Manzanillo, Mazatlán, Salina Cruz, and potentially, San Francisco. Lake Chapala, in the west, is the largest inland body of water. The Valley of Mexico contains several shallow lakes.
The People
Demography
The population of Mexico peaked at 59 million in 1981. Had pre-war patterns of growth continued, there would now be almost 75 million Mexicans. Subsequently, famine decimated the Mexican population, stabilizing with the arrival of League food aid at 48.5 million in 1984. After that, though, the recovery of the Mexican economy and the occupation of the potentially productive lands to its north led to renewed population growth, both natural increase and through immigration. Annual growth rates were 2% in the second half of the 1980's and in the first half of the 1990's, and 1.5% thereafter. The Mexican population has rebounded to an estimated 63.7 million in 2000. Prior to the Third World War, the Mexican birth rate had been slowly declining, but natural increase has since stabilized at 1%, and continues to be reinforced by immigration. League projections suggest that the Mexican population will eventually stabilize by 2050 at between 100 and 110 million.
Mexico is a country that has mostly avoided ethnic rivalry or persecution, although Native Americans have traditionally been discriminated against. Mexico's population is overwhelmingly composed of mestizos, of people of mixed European and Native American blood; as such, race has traditionally not been a cause of social stratification, although it is still reflected in class. Prior to the Third World War, just over 90% of the Mexican population spoke Spanish as their mother tongue or their main language, while the remainder spoke various Native American languages, including Nahua -- language of the Aztecs -- and Otomí in central Mexico, and Mixtec and Zapotec in the southern state of Oaxaca. As elsewhere in the world, the chaos of the post-Third World War environment encouraged a considerable degree of ethnic intermixture, with large ethnic groups gaining relatively more members while smaller ethnic groups diminished, or even disappeared. The 1995 Mexican census suggested that most of the Native American minorities in the old Mexican states are on the verge of assimilation, as Mexico continues its urbanization and internal redistribution of population.
Mexico has acquired new ethnic minorities via its territorial expansion and immigration. In the states of Alta California, New Mexico, and Tejas, out of a total population of eight million three million are ethnic Americans. These Anglophone Protestants constitute Mexico's largest ethnic minority, and have so far resisted assimilation thanks to their vibrant community life. In addition to this, four million immigrants have entered Mexico since the Third World War. Of these, the largest groups are Koreans, Filipinos, and Central Americans, all people attracted to the new commercial opportunities opening up in Mexico and seeking to benefit from the relatively stable and tolerant Mexican political environment, although up to a half-million Americans emigrated to Mexico prior to the Third World War, fleeing the Changist terror. There are also sprinklings of smaller groups numbering in all about two hundred thousand people, ranging from Louisianais expatriates to Venezuelan refinery technicians to Cuban émigrés to Levantine merchants and to small minorities of Chinese and Japanese.
The population of the Southwestern Confederation -- dispersed in discontinuous enclaves throughout Nueva México -- amounted, in 1998, to a total of 241 thousand, of which roughly six-tenths were Navajo, another one-third were Puebloans, and the remainder were either Mexicans or Anglo-Americans. Navajo and Puebloan languages continue to predominate inside the Southwestern Confederation, though Spanish and English are commonly spoken auxiliary languages. Mexico's unique relationship with the Southwestern Confederation ensures a steady flow of immigrants from the young confederation to the cities of Nueva México and the Californias.
Culture
The roots of Mexican culture are ancient, but modern Mexican culture is a product of the conquest of Mexico by Spain. For instance, writing in Spanish dates from the 16th century, but many works make use of themes from the oral traditions of Mexico's indigenous peoples. The nature of Mexican literature reflects the hybridity of Mexican culture and its dual European and Mesoamerican roots. Some noted Mexican writers of the 20th century include the novelists Juanita Barroso and Carlos Fuentes, and the poet Octavio Paz.
Likewise, Mexican music reflects the fusion of European and Mesoamerican traditions, though the influence from French nouveau chanson, Brazillian pop music, and New African rhythm and blues cannot be discounted, particularly among the younger generation of Mexican musicians. Though there are numerous pop groups imitating European or Brazillian musical stylings, Mexican popular music is marked by the presence of guitar-based ensembles. The mariachi, or popular strolling bands, consist of a standard group of instruments: two violins, two five-string guitars, and a guittarón, or large bass guitar, and usually a pair of trumpets. The corrido, a narrative folk ballad in rhymed quatrains derived from the Spanish romanza, is probably Mexico's most outstanding contribution to American folk music, as well as folk poetry.
The Mexican visual arts are also highly sophisticated, although they came to term only with the arrival of stability in the 20th century. One of Mexico's most significant artists is José Guadalupe Posada, who produced violent, powerful posters, lithographs, and woodcuts of contemporary scenes. Posada's followers -- Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and José Clemente Orozco -- were the leaders of a remarkable group of distinctly Mexican artists who revived the art of fresco painting in what is known as the Muralist movement. and produced important easel painting as well. Frida Kahlo used motifs from Mexican popular art in her paintings, which mix fantasy with autobiography and self portraiture. As weavers, potters, and silversmiths, Mexican artisans produce a variety of beautiful and distinctive products, which attract connoisseurs throughout the world.
Mexican architectures are quite unique. In the former United States territories, architecture was and remains in the Anglo-American mold. In old Mexico, though, some of the more notable styles include colonial-era Gothic, plateresque, classic, and baroque styles sometimes decorated with Native American motifs. Under the early juarista republic, the French splendors of the Second Empire style were introduced into the capital. In the first quarter of the 20th century, many Mexican architects began to follow the works of the International architects. Since the end of the Second World War, Mexico has benefitted from an extraordinary architectural renaissance that has attracted worldwide attention. The best example of this are the buildings on the campus of National Autonomous University of Mexico. These were designed by a group of artists and architects under the direction of Carlos Lazo, and feature outstanding murals in fresco and mosaic including works by the architect and painter Juan O'Gorman.
The Mexican film industry is one of the largest in the Second World, producing more than 30 films each year despite stiff competition from the French and Argentine industries. Mexican film actors, including Cantinflas, Pedro Armendariz, and Dolores Del Rio, have achieved worldwide fame, as has the director Emilio Fernández and the cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa. Theatrical and musical performances -- especially opera -- are popular in Mexican cities.
Religion
According to the 1995 census, Roman Catholicism is the nominal faith of 80% of the Mexican population, although it has frequently been combined in rural areas and by Native Americans with pre-Hispanic religious rites. Since 1857, Mexico has adopted anticlerical policies of varying strengths, with schools being secularized in 1878, religious institutions being stripped of legal status in the following decade, and parochial schools forbidden. The culmination of Mexican anticlericalism came in 1898, when Mexico officially broke diplomatic relations with the Vatican City. These have not been restored to the present day.
In 1987, the Mexican federal government enacted constitutional changes that granted legal status to religious institutions and allowing parochial private schools. Still, there remain substantial tensions between liberal Mexicans and the Mexican government and the Catholic Church. Unlike in South America and Europe, the growth of liberation theology has been resisted by the Mexican Catholic Church, thus ensuring a steady drift by the Mexican population away from the Catholic Church. Although almost all Mexicans recognize the importance of Catholicism to the Mexican national identity, most support the government's refusal to grant Catholicism official status.
Protestants represent a small but growing minority of 12% of the Mexican population. More than half of the Protestants living in Mexico are ethnic Americans, whether residents in the new northern tier of Mexico states or migrants into old Mexico, but many Native Americans in Oaxaca state have converted to Evangelical Protestant sects.
Of the remaining 8% of the Mexican population, 7% profess themselves to be non-religious. The remaining 1%, or 0.6 million people, are mostly either Korean and other Asian Buddhists or Levantine Muslims.
Cities
The 1995 census suggested that 69% of the Mexican population lived in urban areas. This figures has been estimated by the League Statistical Bureau to have risen to 73% in 2000. Although the spirit of Mexico may be rural, the current predominance of cities reflects an urban tradition two millennia old, stretching back to the city of Teotihuacán founded in the Valley of México. Mexico cannot be understood as anything other than a fundamentally urban nation.
Mexico City is the cosmopolitan heart of the Mexican nation. The Federal District has the single largest population of any Mexican state with 10 million inhabitants, with another five million living in adjoining. This makes Mexico City the third-largest city in the world by population after Tokyo and Bombay. It is one of the most modern of Mexico's cities and has one of the highest standards of living of any Mexican city. Life in the urban core of Mexico City is much like that in another other borderline First/Second World country, with a thriving nightlife and cultural life coexisting alongside highly visible poverty. Mexico City is also noted for its high level of air pollution; long-term visitors are recommended to wear masks.
Guadalajara is the second-largest city of Mexico, and is at the heart of one of the most industrialized regions of Mexico, but in many respects it is but a satellite city of Mexico City. Guadalajara itself is a non-descript city of some two million people, with sprawling urban slums and industrial parks that surrounded the old city containing another two million people. The rapid growth of Monterrey and Los Angeles has crippled Guadalajara's industrial sector, and the city has above-average levels of unemployment and poverty.
Monterrey is the third-largest city of Mexico by population, and much the most industrialized. Prior to the Third World War, Monterrey and much of the rest of northeastern Mexico benefitted greatly from its proximity to the United States border; in the late 1970's, northeastern Mexico was one of the major destinations of United States business fleeing the violent instability of their homeland, and Monterrey naturally served as the hub of the new expatriate-owned industries. Although the United States is no longer a source of capital or technology, Monterrey continues to make progress as one of the most advanced industrial centres in North America. Monterrey is a relatively conservative city, and pro-Catholic political factions are strong among denizens of the working-class barrios of Monterrey.
Los Angeles is the largest Mexican city located on what was formerly United States soil. More than any other major Mexican city, Los Angeles is pluriethnic -- of its metropolitan population of two million, only one million are ethnic Mexicans, the remainder being native Anglo-Americans or Filipino and Korean immigrants. Prior to the Third World War, Los Angeles was a major centre of United States manufacturing and cultural industries. Under Mexico, it is fast reclaiming its leading role in these industries, and in the process is becoming one of the most energetic and diverse environments to be found anywhere in Mexico.
Veracruz is the largest port city in all of Mexico, with a metropolitan population of some two million people. As the main Mexican port on the Gulf of Mexico, Veracruz has been assured of long-term prosperity, while neighbouring oil wells have ensured that Veracruz's population is one of the most heterogenous anywhere in Mexico. The city is a stronghold of political Catholicism, and has traditionally returned representatives opposing the parties in power.
The Mexican Government
Despite numerous differences in practice, the Mexican government is a federal republic of a type not unfamiliar in South America, with a democratic party system, a constitutionally-mandated division of powers between state and national governments, and universal adult suffrage. The differences between Mexican and South American forms of government can be traced to their differing histories.
Structure
Mexico is a federal republic, currently governed under a constitution promulgated in 1917. The chief executive of each state is a governor, popularly elected to a four-year term, while the governor of the Federal District is proposed by the president of Mexico and then submitted to a referendum for final approval. Legislative power in the states is vested in chambers of deputies, whose members are elected to three-year terms.
The Partido Nacional (PN) and the Partido Federale (PF) are the two most important political parties in Mexico. The PN traces its ancestry directly to Juarez's liberal political movement of the 1850's; by First World standards, the PN is a left-centre party known for its social reformism and its anti-clericalism. The PF was formed in 1928 as a more conservative splinter group of the PN and since the 1960's it has regularly formed the government, alternating with the PN. Other opposition parties exist, chief among them being the the conservative middle-class pro-clerical Partido de Acción Nacional (PAN) and the radical left-wing Partido de la Revolución Democrática (PRD).
State Governments
Mexico is divided into 28 estados (singular estado), or states. The states of Mexico possess some of the autonomy afforded to their German and Brazilian counterparts, although economic, political, and social influence still emanates outward from the capital to the states. Broadly speaking, due to their greater wealth and political sophistication the states of the north -- particularly Tejas, the Californias, Sonora, Chihuahua, and Nueva León -- are better able to resist the powers of the central government and Mexico City than the poorer states of the south. These states are:
The Mexican Military
Military service in Mexico is voluntary. In the early 1990s the country maintained an army of 130 000 members, a navy of 37 000 members, and an air force of 8000.
The armed forces of Mexico are oriented towards the defense of Mexico's national territory. Mexican national military doctrine has called for the creation of a small but highly trained and well-armed professional force, capable of supplementing defeating comparably-sized professional armed forces elsewhere in North America with League tactical support.
The Mexican armed forces were last used in May of 2000, in the invasion of Honduras and El Salvador conducted jointly with Yucatán. Aside from sporadic anti-partisan campaigns in the former Mexican territory of Pacifica, the most substantial military effort of the Mexican armed forces was in Operacíon Norte in 1984 and 1985, when they overwhelmed the shattered American Presidentialist forces the occupying the former American states of California, New Mexico, Texas, and Oregon. This victory, however, was more a product of the decimation of the Presidentialist military than of Mexican superiority.
Mexican military doctrine is changing rapidly. Most advocates of change have urged Mexico to establish itself as the dominant military power in the Confederation of North America, in keeping with its demographic and economic dominance of this confederation, and to this end that it develop rapid-reaction land and air forces capable of waging war elsewhere in North America. The Mexican navy and its supporters, though, have urged Mexico to develop a blue-water navy, with the aim of projecting power throughout the Caribbean -- where Mexico has a mostly-friendly competition with the Cuba-led Caribbean League -- and the Pacific. Insofar as it is possible, the Mexican General Staff and Defense Ministry intends to adopt both policies.
Mexican Foreign Relations
Mexico's status as the most powerful state in North America and the only North American permanent member of the League Supreme Council has ensured that most of the countries and federations of the world -- and all of the major powers -- have embassies in Mexico City, while some have consulates in other major Mexican cities.
Regional
American Successor States: Resentment at the United States' role in initiating the post-War famine that cost so many Mexicans their lives still runs high in Mexico; until recently, relations were chilly at best. As the American situation has stabilized, though, and the American successor states have shown themselves to be reliable and trustworthy partners of Mexico inside the Confederation, Mexican relations with the Free States Alliance, Appalachia, Pennsylvania, Texas, and New Africa have warmed considerably. The United States Congress' revocation of the hated Treaty of Guadelupe Hidalgo in February of 2000 has also gone a long way towards lessening Mexican anti-Americanism. Occasional tensions aside, relations between Mexico and the American successor states are quickly becoming friendly.
Canada: The Canadian state is the only possible rival to Mexico for leadership of the Confederation of North America, and is a major competitor with Mexican manufactured exports. Despite this, relations between Mexico City and Ottawa have been relatively warm over the past two decades, owing to their common Latin (Spanish and French) heritages and the shared menace from the former Presidentialist regime. A trading relationship has begun to form between the two countries, with Mexico exchanging manufactured goods for Canadian lumber and foodstuffs.
Caribbean League: Prior to the Third World War, Mexico's relations with the component states and territories of the Caribbean League were marked by condescension, owing to their relative poverty and their domination by the United States. Following the transformation of the Caribbean League into a federal entity under Cuban leadership in 1985-6, the Caribbean emerged overnight as a substantial power, with a navy that far outclassed the Mexican. Relations between Mexico and the Caribbean League have been reasonably friendly, but is still some degree of competition between the two societies for influence in North America and the Caribbean basin.
Central American mandates: Prior to their destruction in 2000, the Central American republics posed Mexico's greatest foreign policy problem. The poverty of these backward republics provided a constant stream of illegal immigrants into Mexico, while their regressive military internal policies created substantial concern among Mexican liberals. The recent Central American conflict outraged Mexican public opinion, and the joint Mexican-Yucatecan invasion was enormously popular. The Mexican government hopes to make the shattered region a liberal and demilitarized zone that will no longer threaten Mexican security, but finds itself stymied by the collapse of the Central American infrastructure and by Central American resentment of Mexico's intervention.
Costa Rica: Demilitarized, prosperous, and firmly social-democratic, Costa Rica is respected by Mexicans as a functioning Hispanic society and as one of Mexico's closest partners inside the South American Community. By their presence, the quarter-million Mexican immigrants in Costa Rica and the hundred thousand Costa Rican émigrés in Mexico reinforce an intimate relationship of extensive trade, migration, and exchanges of technology and aid that is likely to continue into the future without impediments.
Louisiana: Even when Louisiana was part of the United States, Mexico and Louisiana shared a friendly relationship based on their common Latin Catholic heritages. When Louisiana gained independence, Mexico was the first state to recognize the independent Louisianais state. Since then, Mexico has found itself something of a patron to Louisiana, providing the country with extensive military aid throughout the 1980's and establishing an intimate political relationship. Today, Louisiana is one of the largest foreign investors in northeastern Mexico, while many Mexicans take advantage of Louisianais banks as tax shelters and still others have immigrated permanently. Mexico's relationship with Louisiana is one of the warmest and most intimate relationships with any foreign country.
New Fujian: Mexico has only recently developed a relationship with the Chinese enclave taking up most of what was once Washington State. Only since the late 1990's has Mexico begun to take an interest in the liberal Communist state, oddly out of place in the North American context. Concerns over New Fujian's human rights policies have been met by the country's recent liberalization, and Mexico has supported New Fujian's (successful) application for membership in the Confederation of North America. In the future, the growth of Mexican-New Fujianese trade and the latter country's location on the route to the Victoria Gridney may create a closer relationship.
Pacifica: It has almost been a year since Pacifica -- prior to the Third World War, western Oregon and northern California -- gained independence from Mexico. Since then, Mexican-Pacifican relations have followed the usual course of colonized nations with their former colonizers, complete with mutual recriminations, disputes over Mexican government property in Pacifica, and the disruption of established trade and communications links. An improvement in Mexican-Pacifican relations is inevitable, inasmuch as Mexican rule in the area wasn't marked by atrocities and the two states depend upon one another, but the improvement will take time.
Southwestern Confederation: Mexico has a decidedly odd relationship with the quarter-million Puebloan and Navajo residents of this confederation. On the one hand, the Mexican government represents the Confederation in all foreign relations save with the League of Nations and the Confederation of North America, and the Confederation's territory is dispersed throughout the state of New Mexico. On the other hand, the Southwestern Confederation jealously guards its sovereignty over the domestic affairs of its component nations, and Confederation citizens distinguish themselves from the mestizos surrounding them on all sides. Despite the occasional strain, though, this unusual diplomatic relationship has lasted without strains over the past decade.
Venezuela: In the past quarter-century, Mexico and Venezuela have been the two largest exporters of oil and natural gas in the Americas, and they have also been the two largest Hispanophone countries with the bulk of their coastline facing the Caribbean. Given these similarities, the friendly rivalry of the two countries is inevitable. Despite this, the two countries have managed to maintained a close professional working relationship since the late 1960's, and trade extensively.
Yucatán: Until a half-century ago, Mexican-Yucatecan relations remained marked by the French presence in Yucatán and by Mexican resentment at the Yucatecan annexation of the Tabasco and Chiapas districts. However, Mexican-Yucatecan relations have improved markedly since Yucatán gained its full independence in 1964. As both nations are of Native American heritage, possessing Second World economies and stable democratic régimes, the two nation-states cooperative extensively. Despite Mexican concern over the partial militarization of Yucatecan society, relations between Mexico City and Mérida are intimate.
Non-Regional
Argentina: Argentina is one of Mexico's rivals to the leadership of la hispanidad. The two countries have good relations, with some occasional disputes over inexpensive Mexican exports of consumer goods into the Argentine domestic market. Both countries are major trade partners: Mexico is a major customer of Argentine military supplies, while Argentina is the third-largest Mexican export market. In addition to its Mexico City embassy, Argentina maintains consulates in Guadalajara, Monterrey, and Los Angeles.
Australia: The Commonwealth of Australia is respected as a prosperous and stable country, although Australia and Mexico have relatively few direct relations. Those relations that the two countries do maintain, though, are friendly.
Brazil: Brazil is admired by many Mexicans as a fellow Latin country that has achieved a position of wealth and power. Many Mexicans hope that their country will follow Brazil's path to greatness. Despite this, there are numerous petty trade disputes between Mexico and Brazil. The relative strength of Brazilian religion is often an object of concern to Mexican liberals, who find it difficult to understand how a country can be both progressively liberal and religious. Brazil maintains, in addition to its Mexico City embassy, a consulate in Los Angeles.
Chile: As a prosperous and pluralistic social democracy known for its principled stand on human rights, the Republic of Chile is viewed by Mexican liberals and by the Mexican government as a useful ideological ally and an important trading partner. Throughout the 1990's, Chile and Mexico have engaged in joint naval exercises off of the Pacific coast of South America, jointly with Chile's South American Community partners or bilaterally. The two countries maintain relatively close diplomatic relations, with Chile maintaining an embassy in Mexico City and consulates in Guadalajara and Los Angeles.
European Confederation: The European Confederation is the single largest export market for Mexico, and is the single largest foreign investor in Mexico, while the Spanish language of Mexico is also the language of influential Spain. Not surprisingly, relations between Mexico and the European Commonwealth are close, even if Mexico does resent the Commonwealth's domination of world affairs and of the machineries of the League. The Confederation maintains, in addition to its Mexico City embassy, consulates in Guadalajara, Monterrey, Los Angeles, and San Antonio, and aid offices in the states of New Mexico, Alta California, and Oaxaca.
Japan: Mexican relations with Japan over the past half-century have been polite, although Mexican memories of the Pacific War and the anti-Japanese Korean and Filipino immigrant communities have made this relationship strained on the Mexican side. Too, Japan's overwhelming power in the Pacific basin has occasionally awakened fears in politically-active Mexicans that Japan may take the place of the United States as an oppressive hegemon. Still, Japanese investment in Alta California has been crucial to that territory's development as one of the most prosperous Mexican states, while the goodwill visit of the Japanese Imperial Navy to the port of Los Angeles in 1997 signalled the close Japanese-Mexican cooperation in Pacific matters. In addition to the Japanese embassy in Mexico City, the Japanese government maintains consulates in San Diego and Los Angeles, and trade offices in Monterrey and Guadalajara.
Korea: Korea is uniformly respected by Mexicans as a once-colonized state that has overcome its colonial legacy of backwardness to become one of the more important countries in the world. The large number of Korean immigrants in Mexico has further brought Korea to Mexican public attention, while Korean manufacturing plants in the Californias and Sonora are proving major sources of advanced technology. The Mexican and Korean governments have often acted jointly in foreign policy initiatives, and their combined pressure was crucial in ensuring the acceptance of the Trade and Migration Pacts of 1985.
League of Nations: Mexico's accession to permanent membership of the Supreme Council is the culmination of Mexico's membership as a founder in the League of Nations. Before the Third World War, Mexico looked to the League of Nations as a counterbalance to the overwhelming strength of the United States. After the Third World War, Mexico and the League cooperated extensively with one another out of necessity, Mexico seeing in the League a source of foreign aid and investment, and the League seeing in Mexico a useful proxy for action in the North American continent. The League of Nations is respected by Mexicans, and maintains an extensive presence throughout Mexico via its various secretariats and agencies.
South Africa: Although the two countries established a diplomatic relationship in 1933, Mexican-South African relations did not take off until the 1970's, when the two countries found themselves in agreement about many of the details regarding reformist social-democratic economic development in the Second and Third Worlds. In the post-War environment, Mexican enlistment of South African support contributed to the eventual passage of the Trade and Migration Pacts, while in the 1990's the two countries have engaged in numerous joint commercial, cultural, and educational ventures. Relations between Mexico City and Gauteng are quite good.
Economy
Mexico is a relatively prosperous Second World nation-state on the verge of achieving First World status. At the beginning of the 20th century, Mexico possessed a primary-production economy based on mining and agriculture. Since then, however, consistent government policies of maximizing economic growth and meeting the basic health and educational needs of the Mexican populations and of a vigorous private enterprise sector -- funded partly by foreign investment -- have made Mexico a semi-industrialized nation. Traditionally, the government emphasized Mexicanization of industry, and local control of companies engaged in mining, fishing, transportation, and exploitation of forests was required by law. However, beginning in the 1970's foreign investment in new enterprises has been actively encouraged, and the public sector of the Mexican economy has been privatized.
Mexico took full part in the quarante glorieuses, and throughout the worldwide economic boom the Mexican economy sustained an average growth rate of 7% per annum (1950-1980). Had this growth continued to the present, by now Mexico would be a First World country. The economic shock of the Third World War devastated Mexico's economy, though, and not until 1996 did Mexico regain its pre-War economic output. Today, Mexico faces problems of foreign and domestic debt and relatively low productivity per worker. Despite this, the advantageous exchange rate of the Mexico peso and the high education levels of the Mexican population, along with Mexico's full participation in the Trade Pact of 1985 and in interworld trade, bodes well for Mexico's continued modernization.
Agriculture
15% of the Mexican population is engaged in agriculture, and Mexico is agriculturally self-supporting. A substantial number of agricultural workers in Mexico are employed on ejidos, or communal farms. The government introduced land reform in 1867, and by the 1950's most of the land occupied by peasants had been redistributed to the ejidos. A constitutional amendment in 1971 permitted the transfer of ownership of communal land to the farmers who cultivate it. The change was expected to increase capital expenditure in agriculture, which had been restricted because many farmers could not use their land as collateral for loans. Agricultural production has often been impeded by lack of rainfall. Irrigation projects, however, have increased land under cultivation, and soil conservation has increased yields. Mexico not only supplies most of its basic needs but also exports produce. In the late 1990's Mexico's chief agricultural crops were maize, sugarcane, sorghum, wheat, oranges, coffee, tomatoes, bananas, and potatoes. Mexico exports high-value food items, such as fruit, vegetables, olive oil, and certain alcoholic beverages.
27 percent of Mexico is forested. Because of the earlier abuse of timber stands, all timber cutting is strictly regulated by the Ministry of the Environment. Roundwood production in 2000 totaled about 19 million cubic metres. Mexico manufactures considerable amounts of forestry products, including lumber, chicle, pitch, resins, and turpentine.
The most important fisheries are found off the coast of the Californias. The fishing industry is primarily controlled by cooperative societies that are granted monopolies of certain species. The principal species caught are sardines, tuna, cichlids, shrimp and prawns, and oysters. The annual catch in the early 1990s was approximately 6 million metric tons.
Manufacturing and Services
Some 29% of Mexico's workers are directly engaged in manufacturing (including the construction industry), while another 43% are engaged in the service sector of the Mexican economy, including retail, transportation, and various careers directly supporting manufacturing.
Mexican industry is the most developed in North America, based as much on the pre-war industrial developments of old Mexico as upon the remaining industrial assets in Mexican-annexed United States territories. Prior to the Third World War, United States, South American, and European firms invested heavily in well-equipped modern facilities producing motor vehicles and other consumer items for North American markets; after the Third World War, Mexico tried to maintain these facilities, and to erect new ones using Mexican capital resources. Major industrial plants in Mexico also factories turning out machinery and electronic equipment; petroleum refineries; foundries; meat-packing plants; paper mills; cotton mills; tobacco-processing plants; and sugar refineries. Other industrial products include clothing, iron and steel, chemicals, beverages, fertilizer, chemicals, cement, glass, pottery, and leather goods. As of 2000, yearly Mexican industry produces a half-million passenger cars, almost six million metric tons of crude steel, two million metric tons of wheat flour, and a million televisions.
Mining and Petrochemicals
Formerly, almost all mining companies in Mexico were foreign-held. Most, however, cooperated with government efforts in the 1930's to Mexicanize the industry, and majority control of each company is now held by Mexicans. The most valuable mineral resource is petroleum, produced chiefly in Veracruz state; production is controlled by Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), a government agency. Also important is silver, which is found in every state. Rich gold fields are located on the Pacific slopes of the Sierra Madre Occidental; copper ore is mined near Guanajuato; iron ore is found in Coahuila and in Durango. Silver, copper, celestite, and fluorite are also major mineral exports. In the late 1990's production included iron ore, sulfur, zinc, fluorite, copper, and lead. Precious metals included silver, of which Mexico is the world's leading producer, and gold. Quantities of antimony, barites, graphite, manganese, and tungsten also were recovered, and significant reserves of uranium have been located.
The Third World War brought about a sharp decline in global oil consumption, as the vast consuming populations in North America and Asia had been incinerated, and the global economic depression limited consumption even in economies untouched by the direct effects of the war. Still, crude petroleum and petroleum products accounted for 21 percent of export earnings in the late 1990's. Extraction of crude petroleum was 800 million barrels, making Mexico the world's fifth largest producer. Natural gas production was 19.7 billion cu m, and coal was 4.7 million metric tons.
Transportation
The Mexican railway system includes about 31 500 km of mainline railroad track. The highway system includes about 368 000 km of roads, of which some 45 percent are paved. Several highways traverse the country, including four main routes between the northern frontier of Mexico and Mexico City, which form part of the Pan-American Highway system. Many of these roads have been improved with help from foreign investors and League financial aid. Air services have been intensively developed, and the country now has nearly 2100 airports and landing fields. Mexico's chief airlines are Aeroméxico and Compañía Mexicana de Aviación. Circa 1998, the country's merchant fleet included 907 vessels with a total gross registered tonnage of 1.3 million.
Problems
Despite Mexico's relative success, the country still faces many problems. Three in particular -- Mexican social divisions, Mexican poverty, and Mexican relations with North America -- promise to be paerrticularly important in the immediate future.
Remarkably, the class and religious divisions that marked Mexican society prior to the juarista republic have survived to the present day. Income disparities remain a major problem in Mexican society despite land reform and industrialization. The top quarter of Mexican society has a per capita annual income a ten times greater than the bottom quarter, with one-quarter living in First World conditions, one-half living on incomes at typically Second World levels, and the bottom quarter living in the desperate conditions of the Third World. Such a disparity of wealth has created substantial resentment among the disenfranchised, and has inspired unrest in urban slums and rural villages.
Too, despite its historical progress, Mexico relatively backward: Compared to inhabitants of the leading countries of the Southern Hemisphere, the average Mexican is only a third as rich on a per capita basis, and lives in a country with a less sophisticated infrastructure and relatively low living standards. Even though the trend throughout the 20th century has been for gradual convergence between Mexican and First World standards, many Mexicans complain that conditions inside Mexico have improved far too slowly owing to mistaken government policies. The debate over proper public policies has been a fierce one.
Finally, Mexico is still an uncertain member of the young Confederation of North America. Many Mexicans -- and the Mexican government -- view the Confederation as a means of expanding Mexico's influence across the North American continent, in keeping with its new status as a Great Power. Indeed, Mexico's relative wealth and military sophistication ensures that it will be an indispensable player in the North American customs union and mutual-defense pact. Few Mexicans are certain as to how their country should act outside of these basic goals. Should the Confederation expand to include new members? Should the Confederation include some kind of political union on the South American model? Should the Confederation become a state in itself, like the European Confederation and the Caribbean League? So far, none of these topics have been extensively debated. When they are debated, the national dialogue will be long and heated.