Source: MAPS IN MINUTES™ © RH Publications (1997)

A country lying partly on the North American continent, bordering on the USA in the north, and partly in Central America, bordering on Guatemala and Belize in the south, with extensive coastlines on the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

Physical

Geographically, Mexico divides into several distinct areas. The Isthmus of Tehuantepec, together with the curving eastern coastal plain and the north-eastward-thrusting Yucatán Peninsula, constitutes the main lowland area. In the far north-west, the splinter-like peninsula of Lower California, with its high sierras, is a southward extension of the Sierra Nevada. So also is the mountainous western Sierra Madre on the mainland, while the eastern Sierra Madre is an extension of the Rocky Mountains. The narrow coastal plain facing the Pacific Ocean in the west is largely covered by forests. Between the mountains lie high plateaux where, in the more temperate climate, cacti grow. There are several large lakes, saline in the north but fresh in the south, from which streams run in torrents through deeply cut canyons.

Economy

Mexico is the tenth-largest world exporter of crude oil, and oil revenues have been used to develop an industrial base. Economic liberalization in the 1990s has also stimulated growth. Principal industries include food and drink, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, crude oil production, and mining; exports include manufactured goods, oil and oil products, and silver. The main food crop is maize, and export crops include fruit, vegetables, and coffee. Mexico concluded the North American Free Trade Agreement with the USA and Canada in 1993, and its economy is closely tied to the USA. Despite Mexico’s progress, poverty is widespread and large numbers of illegal emigrants enter the USA annually across the northern border in search of work.

History

In prehistory Mexico formed the greater part of ancient Mesoamerica, within which arose a succession of related civilizations which shared many cultural traits: socio-political organization based on cities; ceremonial plazas of pyramids, platforms, and temples; similar deities; calendrical systems; long-distance trading; and the ritual ball game. Some of these were the Olmec (Gulf Coast), Maya (Yucatán), Teotihuacán (Central Valley), Zapotec and Mixtec (Oaxaca), Toltec (North Central), western cultures, and Aztecs.

The conquest of the Aztec empire by Cortés was complete by 1521, and New Spain became the first Spanish-American viceroyalty, eventually including all of ancient Mesoamerica, northern Mexico, the Caribbean, and most of the south-western USA. A rigid colonial administration, including repression and exploitation of the native population, lasted for the next 300 years. By the early 17th century, as many as 90% of the indigenous population had died of European-introduced diseases, and thereafter their numbers only slowly increased.

In the early 19th century, inspired by French revolutionary ideas, an independence movement developed, led by two priests, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla and José Maria Morelos y Pavón, both of whom were captured and shot by the Spanish authorities (1810 and 1814). In 1821 Augustín de Iturbide briefly created an independent Mexican empire, which included the captaincy-general of Guatemala. Following his exile (1823), the first Mexican constitution was proclaimed (1824), based on the US constitution. Two parties, the Federalist and the Centralists, quickly appeared, and in 1833 the liberal federalist Antonio López de Santa Anna emerged as President. He was not able to prevent the declaration of independence of Texas (1836) nor the Mexican–American War (1846–48), which resulted in the loss of huge territories, added to by the Gadsden Purchase of Arizona in 1853. A period of reform followed, and a new constitution (1857) was promulgated. But economic difficulties and French imperialist dreams resulted in the imposition by troops of Napoleon III of the Habsburg prince Maximilian as emperor (1864–67). When French troops were withdrawn, Maximilian was defeated, captured, and shot. There followed the long dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz (1876–1910) and then the prolonged Mexican Revolution (1910–40). The Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI; the Institutional Revolutionary Party) monopolized political power from its foundation in 1929 until 2000. Under President Miguel Alemán (1946–52), the process of reconciliation begun by his predecessor, Avilo Camacho, continued. Since then democratic governments have continued to follow moderate policies, while seeking further to modernize the economy, bolstered by oil revenues. During the presidency of Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado (1982–88) Mexico was faced by a fall in oil prices, a massive national debt, and one of the fastest growing birth-rates in the world. The 1988 elections were again won by the PRI with Carlos Salinas de Gortari as President. He continued the austerity programme initiated by his predecessor, but at the same time entered into discussions with Canada and the USA, leading to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which was ratified in 1993. In early 1995 there was an armed uprising in the poverty-stricken state of Chiapas, led by an Indian guerrilla group, the Zapatista National Liberation Army, which demanded social and economic reforms. A peace agreement was reached in 1995 but some unrest continues. The PRI candidate, Ernesto Zedillo, was elected President in August 1994 amid allegations by the opposition of electoral fraud. In 2000 the opposition candidate, Vicente Fox Quesada, was elected President, ending the PRI’s long political dominance. The 2006 elections were marred by fraud allegations, with the conservative Calderón being elected with a 0.5% margin. Enrique Peña Nieto of the PRI won the presidential election in 2012 and has since faced the challenge of reducing the high levels of drug violence (around 10,000 murders a year are linked to the drugs trade) while improving the basic standard of living of Mexicans by stimulating economic growth. He has regularly tried to distance himself from the old corrupt and dictatorial image of the PRI. In the 2015 assembly election, the PRI achieved a narrow majority with the help of two allied parties, despite mounting public anger over violence and corruption. Relations with the USA soured with the 2017 inauguration of President Trump, who vowed to build a border wall between the two countries (that he insisted Mexico would pay for) and to alter the terms of NAFTA in the USA’s favour.