Characteristics of Mexico - Term Paper Example

? Mexico Mexico Mexico, located in the Middle Americas, is the northernmost part of Latin America. The United States lie to the north. The south and the west of the nation-state are flanked by the Pacific Ocean. Gulf of Mexico lies to the east and Belize, Guatemala, and the Caribbean Sea to the south east. HISTORY Colonial Rule. There were sundry civilizations like the Mayas, the Olmecs, and the Toltecs followed by the wealthy Aztecs in the history of Mexico. The Aztec era is a checker point in the history of Mexico because these wealthy ethnic groups of Central Mexico were invaded by Spain in 1521 under Hernan Cortes. Small pox, unknowingly brought in by the Spaniards, ravaged the Aztec Empire killing millions including the ruling Emperor. It confirmed the victory of Cortes and under him the Spanish invaded the territory and ruled it as the Viceroyalty of New Spain. This is what would become Mexico later on. The Spanish rule continued in Mexico for the next 300 years till 1810 when the Mexicans led their first revolution to freedom which they gained in 1821. The colonial Spanish rule witnessed territorial expansion across a huge part of Central America and a lot of it to the south and west of what is now the United States. Trade and commerce swelled and the time saw a flourishing mining, textile, and agrarian economy. There was large scale religious conversion to Roman Catholicism. However, by early nineteenth century resentment simmered among the locals and set the tempo for a revolution. Independence. Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla and Jose Maria Morelos were the main protagonists of the revolution. Both of them led successful run-ins one after the other but were executed: Costilla was executed by the firing squad in 1811 and Morelos was captured and shot in 1815. However, the struggle for independence did not slack momentum and continued under the Creole colonel Agustin de Iturbide. In 1821 the independence of Mexico was officially recognized after Iturbide along with representatives of the Spanish crown signed the Treaty of Cordoba and the Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire. Iturbide declared himself emperor of the First Mexican Empire. He was overthrown in 1823 and the United Mexican States was formed. Forms of Government. The military rule ended thus with the United Mexican States being declared a federal republic and Guadalupe Victoria becoming the first President of the newly formed country in 1824. However, this was not the beginning of an organized era. The country was steeped in turmoil of many a kind. In 1836 General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, a rebel general and dictator, suspended the 1824 Constitution and a civil war ensued. His radical reforms dissolved republicanism and institutionalized the centralized form of government. The landmark event that followed was the Mexican-U.S. war in which Mexico lost Texas, California, and New Mexico to the U. S. Close at heels were Native American revolts and a series of reforms which brought back the federal form of government. In 1861 the Liberals won and the country was led by President Benito Juarez. He is worth a mention because the country underwent drastic democratic and economic reforms and cessation of Church powers. However, chaos set in soon imposed by the monarchy of Austrian Archduke Maximilian who declared himself Emperor in 1864. He was executed by the Liberal forces under Juarez who continued his term of presidency till 1872. Juarez period is also termed Restoration of the Republic. Weak governments followed. The next noteworthy period was the presidency of the authoritarian general Porfirio Diaz who ruled most of the years between 1877 and 1911. The military dictatorship of Porfirio went well with Mexico that saw phenomenal economic reforms and progress in science and art. But his political repression snowballed into yet another revolution in 1910 which continued till 1920. The significant leaders who paced through the turbulence include Francisco Madero, Victoriano Huerta, Pancho Villa, Emiliano Zapata, Venustiano Carranza, Alvaro Obregon, Plutarco Elias Calles. After a coup detat and a civil war Venustiano Carranza formulated the 1917 Constitution by passing a lot of the revolutionary reforms. After Carranza’s assassination and succession of a couple of other leaders Plutarco Elias Calles founded the National Revolutionary Party (PNR) in 1929 which later became the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). PRI controlled Mexico’s national government for the next 71 years under a string of presidents who shaped Mexico’s economy and secured its place in the world chart. The PRI embarked on a series of economic reforms via industrialization including the nationalization of the railways and oil industry (Pemex). The period between 1940 and 1980 is called Mexican Miracle. However, the Mexican scene of politics and economy kept fluctuating. The positive boom was followed by a spiraling inflation invoked by currency devaluation and protectionism. But in 1994 PRI President Carlos Salinas de Gortari implemented neoliberal reforms which helped control inflation and finally enabled the country sign the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The late 1990s also witnessed a trough and a major spike in the economy and GDP. In 2000 PRI lost to opposition National Action Party (PAN) and President Vicente Fox Quesada led the country to be succeeded by President Felipe Calderon in 2006. CURRENT SITUATION Mexico is a federal republic with well-demarcated executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The United Mexican States is a federation of thirty one states and a federal district, the capital city. The President is chosen for a six-year term by adult suffrage and has the power to promulgate and execute laws of the Congress. Economy and Financial Issues. World Bank classifies Mexico as an upper middle class income country. The World Bank slates Mexico with the thirteenth largest nominal gross domestic product (GDP). The economy is expected to triple by 2020. According to the statistics of the Economic Intelligence Unit in 2009 the GDP contracted by 6.9% by way of getting hit by the deepest recession since 1930. In 2010 there was a little recovery to growth of 2.9% and 2.7% in 2011. In 2009 Mexico was the second largest supplier of oil to the U. S. The downslide in the U. S. market demand worked against Mexican economy because the U. S. takes 80% of its manufacturing exports and is a massive revenue generator for Mexico from remittances. The oil revenue dip and the slump in tourism effected by the H1N1 influenza virus scare have hampered the economy. Mexican governments in the early twentieth century had tried to improve the economy by focusing on the macroeconomic fundamentals which kept inflation and public sector deficit under control. With the base level in check Mexico has been able to weather the unprecedented setbacks of 2009, and the 2010 scene shows signs of steady recovery though not leaping. Economic inequality between rural and urban populations and between northern and southern states remains a glaring issue. President Calderon has stated that creating jobs and reducing poverty are his primary concerns. The government has implemented pension reforms and the strongest antipoverty program by the government is Oportunidades or conditional cash transfers where poor families are given regular payments conditionally. Oportunidades today covers 5.8 million families! Environmental Issues. Like any other progressing country Mexico faces environmental hazards caused by industrialization. Air and water pollution have gone up plumping up diseases also caused by the increase in urban population and waste generation aggravated by the lack of proportionate waste disposal facilities. Water is slowly becoming a scarce resource and availability of groundwater has reduced. Soil erosion, depletion of mangroves so dear to marine life, and deforestation are other unfortunate intruders. Organized Crime. The U. S.-Mexico border is a debated strip for being a porous ground for terrorism. There have been reports of Latin American drug kingpins helping jihadists bring terrorists across the Mexican border. This brings us to a major issue that the Mexican government under President Calderon has been trying to tackle: organized crime. It is estimated that over 20,000 people have lost their lives in drug violence since 2006. The country has the President’s promise to fight and win the war on drugs by 2012 as his term ends. In 2009 the Mexican Congress passed a legislation to improve the Federal Police. The President has deployed the military in ten states to step up law enforcement. But there have been public protests against the President’s tactics and its success. There have also been allegations of human rights abuse against the military. In the recent years Mexican Drug Trafficking Organizations (DTOs) have been warring with each other violently to gain strongholds in the business along the route to the U. S. The local police have had a reputation to corruption so much so that it’s difficult to distinguish the good guys from the bad. In 2010 the government withdrew the military in some points and replaced with the local police after cleansing and amplifying it. Major Industries. Automobile, electronics, tourism, and energy sectors are the major sell outs in Mexican economy. The automobile industry standards are internationally recognized because it goes beyond the scope of assembly line manufacturing. Mexico engages in the research and production of technologically complex components and parts. It houses operational plants of automobile giants like GM, Ford, Chrysler, Volkswagen, Nissan, Toyota, Honda, BMW, and Merc! Mexico enjoys a robust electronics industry growing in leaps and bounds. The nation-state ousted South Korea and China in 2007 as the largest television manufacturer and outpaced China, South Korea, and Taiwan in 2008 in the production of smartphones. Lanix, a manufacturer of computers and components, recorded a historic growth from $1.42 billion to $10.97 billion in 2009. A country with a rich heritage of advanced civilizations, Mexico’s cultural tourism parks major revenue. Pemex and Federal Commission of Electricity are responsible for the energy production in Mexico. Though there is a growing concern for the future of Pemex, oil and gas revenues remained the country’s largest foreign currency source till the U. S. demand markets were hit. Other developing industries include aerospace, ports, cement, and alcohol beverages, fruits. FOREIGN RELATIONS WITH THE U. S. The U. S. and Mexico share deep bilateral ties as economic partners under the NAFTA. Throughout 2010 the two countries paid visits to each other pledging better cooperation in healthier immigration reforms, border security, and creating a robust twenty first-century border. Recently immigration (terrorists seeping through the border) and border security have been the concern for both sides. In 2008 the Merida Initiative was launched between the two countries wherein a bill funding an antidrug and anticrime assistance package was provided by the then President Bush to Mexico. As of November 2010 the funding was $1.4 billion. President Obama supports Mexico’s war against the drug lords and deployed 1,200 National Guard troops to the border to support President Calderon’s law enforcement initiatives. Though the 2009 economy recession caused severe dip in trade between the two countries they enjoy a passably healthy relation cooperating with each other: outstanding trade issues only being the access of Mexican trucks and tuna in the U. S. market. The State Department’s International Military and Training Account funds military training programs to Mexico. CONCLUSION Through the course of the paper we witnessed the history and progress of a volatile nation determined to weather the storm and emerge as a country with a respectable position in the world map. There are mixed opinions about the future of Mexico. Some experts say President Calderon is approaching a lame duck status and battling public resentment at his antidrug strategies. Many are concerned about Mexico’s dependence on the U. S. which they foresee as a possible debilitating factor. Some predict an institutional collapse for the country. But the government has managed to cover milestones especially in health care, environment, national security all of which are majorly challenged. Let us hope that as the President closes in on his term next year he will have renewed focus on some outstanding results. Works Cited Ash, Russell. Whitaker’s World of Facts. New Delhi: Penguin Books India, 2007. Print. “History of Mexico.” Mexperience.com. N. p. n.d. Web. 8 Mar. 2011. Seelke, Clare Ribando. “Mexico-U. S. Relations: Issues for the Congress.” Fas.org. Congressional Research Service, 15 Feb. 2011. Web. 9 Mar. 2011. Read More