United Mexican States
Demographics
Mexico is ethnically diverse; with people of several ethnicities being united under a single national identity. The core part of Mexican national identity is formed on the basis of a synthesis of cultures, primarily European culture and indigenous cultures. The total percentage of Mexico's population who is indigenous varies considerably depending on the criteria used by the government on its censuses: it is 5.4% if the ability to speak an indigenous language is used as the criteria to define a person as indigenous, if racial self-identification is used it is 14.9%[259][260] and if people who consider themselves part indigenous are also included it amounts to 21.5%. Nonetheless, all the censuses conclude that the majority of Mexico's indigenous population is concentrated in the southern and south-eastern Mexican states, primarily in rural areas.
States with the greatest proportion of indigenous residents are: Yucatán at 59%, Quintana Roo 39% and Campeche 27%, chiefly Maya; Oaxaca with 48% of the population, the most numerous groups being the Mixtec and Zapotec peoples; Chiapas at 28%, the majority being Tzeltal and Tzotzil Maya; Hidalgo 24%, the majority being Otomi; Puebla 19%, and Guerrero 17%, mostly Nahua peoples and the states of San Luis Potosí and Veracruz are both home to a population that is 15% indigenous, mostly from the Totonac, Nahua and Teenek (Huastec) groups.
Similarly to Indigenous peoples, estimations for the percentage of European-descended Mexicans within the Mexican population vary considerably: their numbers range from around 10%–20% according to the Encyclopædia Britannica to as high as 47%] according to a nationwide survey conducted by Mexico's government.
The national language of Mexico is Spanish. The country has the largest Spanish-speaking population in the world, with almost a third of all Spanish native speakers.[244][290]
Almost all of the Mexican population speaks Spanish, 99.3% according to the latest census; nonetheless, around 5.4% still speak an indigenous language besides Spanish. The indigenous languages with the most speakers are Nahuatl, Yukatek Maya, and the Mixtec and Zapotec languages.
Roman Catholicism is the main religion followed by 83% of the population, while 10% belong to other Christian denominations, including Evangelicals (5% Pentecostals (1.6% other Protestant or Reformed (0.7% Jehovah's Witnesses (1.4% Seventh-day Adventists (0.6% and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (0.3%). Less than 0.2% of the total belonged to other, non-Christian religions; 4.7% declared having no religion; 2.7% were unspecified.
Government
The United Mexican States are a federation whose government is representative, 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. 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 a state Supreme Court of Justice. They also have their own civil and judicial codes.
The federal legislature is the bicameral Congress of the Union, composed of the Senate of the Republic and the Chamber of Deputies. The Congress makes federal law, declares war, imposes taxes, approves the national budget and international treaties, and ratifies diplomatic appointments.
The federal Congress, as well as the state legislatures, are elected by a system of parallel voting that includes proportional representation.
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 power to veto bills.
The highest organ of the judicial branch of government is the Supreme Court of Justice, the national supreme court, which has eleven judges appointed by the President and approved by the Senate. The Supreme Court of Justice interprets laws and judges cases of federal competency. Other institutions of the judiciary are the Federal Electoral Tribunal, collegiate, unitary and district tribunals, and the Council of the Federal Judiciary.
Defences
The Mexican Armed Forces are composed of two independent entities: the Mexican Army and the Mexican Navy. The Mexican Army includes the Mexican Air Force (FAM).
Mexican Army: 354,500 active personnel; 170,500 reserve personnel
Mexican Navy: 100,613 personnel
Mexican Air Force: 55,000 personnel
Industry & Trade
The top exports of Mexico are cars, vehicle parts, delivery trucks, computers, telephones etc.
Its top imports are vehicle parts, integrated circuits, computers, cars etc.
History
The earliest human artefacts in Mexico are chips of stone tools found near campfire remains in the Valley of Mexico and radiocarbon-dated to circa 10,000 years ago. Mexico is the site of the domestication of maize, tomato, and beans, which produced an agricultural surplus. This enabled the transition from paleo-Indian hunter-gatherers to sedentary agricultural villages beginning around 5000 BC. The earliest complex civilization in Mexico was the Olmec culture, which flourished on the Gulf Coast from around 1500 BC. Olmec cultural traits diffused through Mexico into other formative-era cultures in Chiapas, Oaxaca and the Valley of Mexico. The formative period saw the spread of distinct religious and symbolic traditions, as well as artistic and architectural complexes. During the early post-classic, Central Mexico was dominated by the Toltec culture, Oaxaca by the Mixtec, and the lowland Maya area had important centres at Chichén Itzá and Mayapán. Toward the end of the post-Classic period, the Mexica established dominance. The Aztec empire was an informal or hegemonic empire because it did not exert supreme authority over the conquered lands; it was satisfied with the payment of tributes from them. It was a discontinuous empire because not all dominated territories were connected; for example, the southern peripheral zones of Xoconochco were not in direct contact with the centre. The hegemonic nature of the Aztec empire was demonstrated by their restoration of local rulers to their former position after their city-state was conquered. The Aztec did not interfere in local affairs, as long as the tributes were paid.
The Spanish first learned of Mexico during the Juan de Grijalva expedition of 1518. When the Spaniards arrived, the ruler of the Aztec empire was Moctezuma II, who was later killed. His successor and brother Cuitláhuac took control of the Aztec empire but were among the first to fall from the first smallpox epidemic in the area a short time later. Unintentionally introduced by Spanish conquerors, among whom smallpox was endemic, the infectious disease ravaged Mesoamerica in the 1520s. It killed more than 3 million natives as they had no immunity. The capture of Tenochtitlan and refounding of Mexico City in 1521 was the beginning of a 300-year-long colonial era during which Mexico was known as Nueva España.
On September 16, 1810, a "loyalist revolt" against the ruling junta was declared by priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, in the small town of Dolores, Guanajuato. The first insurgent group was formed by Hidalgo, the Spanish viceregal 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 subsequent years, the insurgency was near collapse, but in 1820 Viceroy Juan Ruiz de Apodaca sent an army under the criollo general Agustín de Iturbide against the troops of Vicente Guerrero. Instead, Iturbide approached Guerrero to join forces, and on August 24, 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".
Agustín de Iturbide became constitutional emperor of the First Mexican Empire in 1822. A revolt against him in 1823 established the United Mexican States. In 1824, a Republican Constitution was drafted and Guadalupe Victoria became the first president of the newly born country. Central America, including Chiapas, left the union. In 1829 president Guerrero abolished legalized slavery. Wanting to stabilize and develop the frontier, Mexico encouraged immigration into present-day Texas, as they were unable to persuade people from central Mexico to move into those areas. They allowed for religious freedom for the new settlers, who were primarily Protestant English speakers from the United States. Within several years, the Anglos far outnumbered the Tejano in the area. Itinerant traders travelled through the area, working by free-market principles.
The 1846 United States annexation of the Republic of Texas and subsequent American military incursion into territory that was part of Coahuila. The Caste War of Yucatán, the Maya uprising that began in 1847, was one of the most successful modern Native American revolts. Porfirio Díaz, a republican general during the French intervention, was elected the 29th president in 1876. The 1880 election was won by Manuel González Flores. Díaz was reelected in 1884 and ruled until 1911. The period, known as the Porfiriato, was characterized by economic stability and growth, significant foreign investment and influence, investments in the arts and sciences and an expansion of the railroad network and telecommunications.
President Díaz announced in 1908 that he would retire in 1911, resulting in the development of new coalitions. But then he ran for reelection anyway and in a show of U.S. support, Díaz and William Howard Taft planned a summit in El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, for October 16, 1909, an historic first meeting between a Mexican and a U.S. president and also the first time an American president would cross the border into Mexico. In 2000, after 71 years, the PRI lost a presidential election to Vicente Fox of the opposition National Action Party (PAN). In the 2006 presidential election, Felipe Calderón from the PAN was declared the winner, with a very narrow 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".
In the subsequent years, Mexican relations with the United States improved till the election of Donald Trump. Post-election, Donald Trump talked about a "wall" to prevent illegal immigration and disrespected Mexico. In 2032, Mexico began the process of improved relations with Canada. It adopted an Anti-US policy amidst mass protests following the visit of U.S. President Jonathan Clinton in the year 2041. Mexico started building military infrastructure. The Mexican government strongly supported the Catholic Alliance. In 2057, Mexico launched its ill fated alternative oil project under the name "Mexican Non-Dependency". However, the project was unable to see success before the devastation of the Energy Crisis of 2065. As a result, Mexico became inherently dependent on Canada for technological and energy-based infrastructural support. Mexico has weathered two invasions by the United States of America, with support from Canada and the Catholic Alliance.
In recent years, following CalExit, the Unied Mexican States have been involved in a trade war with Canada, its closest ally. The result may be equally devastating for both nations as their economies are inherently dependent on each other in the long term. Mexico is also rumoured to be pursuing closer ties with the newly independent California, providing military support in exchange for a sustainable energy infrastructure. Mexican capability to enforce Catholic Alliance doctrines also seems to be suffering, threatening the alliance.
Geography
Mexico is located between latitudes 14° and 33°N, and longitudes 86° and 119°W in the southern portion of North America. Almost all of Mexico lies in the North 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. 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 sq km, which includes about 6,000 sq km of islands in the Pacific Ocean (including the remote Guadalupe Island and the Revillagigedo Islands), Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, and the Gulf of California. From its farthest land points, Mexico is a little over 3,219 km in length.
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 24th parallel with elevations up to 1,000 m (the southern parts of both coastal plains as well as the Yucatán Peninsula) have a yearly median temperature between 24 to 28 °C. Temperatures here remain high throughout the year, with only a 5 °C 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 24th parallel are hot and humid during the summer, they generally have lower yearly temperature averages 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. This gives them a year-round temperate climate with yearly temperature averages 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 of annual precipitation. For example, many cities in the north like Monterrey, Hermosillo, and Mexicali experience temperatures of 40 °C or more in summer. In the Sonoran Desert temperatures reach 50 °C or more.
Natural Resources
Mexico's natural resources include silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, timber etc.
Type
National Territory
Population
149,805,633
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