"text":"<p>Mexico was the site of several advanced Amerindian civilizations -- including the Olmec, Toltec, Teotihuacan, Zapotec, Maya, and Aztec -- until Spain conquered and colonized the area in the early 16th century. Administered as the Viceroyalty of New Spain for three centuries, it achieved independence early in the 19th century. Elections held in 2000 marked the first time since Mexican Revolution in 1910 that an opposition candidate -- Vicente FOX of the National Action Party (PAN) -- defeated the party in government, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). He was succeeded in 2006 by another PAN candidate Felipe CALDERON, but Enrique PEÑA NIETO regained the presidency for the PRI in 2012. Left-leaning anti-establishment politician and former mayor of Mexico City (2000-05) Andrés Manuel LÓPEZ OBRADOR, from the National Regeneration Movement (MORENA), became president in 2018.</p> <p>The US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA, or T-MEC by its Spanish acronym) entered into force in 2020 and replaced its predecessor, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Mexico amended its constitution in 2019 to facilitate the implementation of the labor components of USMCA.</p> <p>Mexico is currently the US's second-largest goods trading partner, after Canada. Ongoing economic and social concerns include low real wages, high underemployment, inequitable income distribution, and few advancement opportunities, particularly for the largely indigenous population in the impoverished southern states. Since 2007, Mexico's powerful transnational criminal organizations have engaged in a struggle to control criminal markets, resulting in tens of thousands of drug-related homicides and forced disappearances.</p>"
"text":"North America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of America, between Belize and the United States and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and the United States"
"text":"Rio Grande river mouth (shared with US [s]) - 3,057 km; Colorado river mouth (shared with US [s]) - 2,333 km<br><strong>note</strong> – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth"
"text":"most of the population is found in the middle of the country between the states of Jalisco and Veracruz; approximately a quarter of the population lives in and around Mexico City"
"text":"<p>tsunamis along the Pacific coast, volcanoes and destructive earthquakes in the center and south, and hurricanes on the Pacific, Gulf of America, and Caribbean coasts</p> <p><strong>volcanism:</strong> volcanic activity in the central-southern part of the country; the volcanoes in Baja California are mostly dormant; Colima (3,850 m), which erupted in 2010, is Mexico's most active volcano and is responsible for causing periodic evacuations of nearby villagers; it has been deemed a Decade Volcano by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, worthy of study due to its explosive history and close proximity to human populations; Popocatepetl (5,426 m) poses a threat to Mexico City; other historically active volcanoes include Barcena, Ceboruco, El Chichon, Michoacan-Guanajuato, Pico de Orizaba, San Martin, Socorro, and Tacana; see note 2 under \"Geography - note\"</p>"
"text":"<p><strong>note 1:</strong> strategic location on southern border of the US; Mexico is one of the countries along the Ring of Fire, a belt of active volcanoes and earthquake epicenters bordering the Pacific Ocean; up to 90% of the world's earthquakes and some 75% of the world's volcanoes occur within the Ring of Fire</p> <p><strong>note 2:</strong> some of the world's most important food crops were first domesticated in Mexico; the \"Three Sisters\" companion plants -- winter squash, maize (corn), and climbing beans -- served as the main agricultural crops for various North American Indian groups; all three apparently originated in Mexico but then were widely disseminated through much of North America; avocado, amaranth, and chili peppers also emanate from Mexico, as does vanilla, the world's most popular aroma and flavor spice; although cherry tomatoes originated in Ecuador, their domestication in Mexico transformed them into the larger modern tomato<br><br><strong>note 3:</strong>the Sac Actun cave system at 348 km (216 mi) is the longest underwater cave in the world and the second longest cave worldwide, after Mammoth Cave in the United States (see \"Geography - note\" under United States)<br><br><strong>note 4:</strong> the prominent Yucatán Peninsula that divides the Gulf of America from the Caribbean Sea is shared by Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize; just on the northern coast of Yucatan, near the town of Chicxulub (pronounce cheek-sha-loob), lie the remnants of a massive crater (some 150 km in diameter and extending well out into the Gulf of America); formed by an asteroid or comet when it struck the earth 66 million years ago, the impact is now widely accepted as initiating a worldwide climate disruption that caused a mass extinction of 75% of all the earth's plant and animal species -- including the non-avian dinosaurs</p>"
"text":"Spanish only 93.8%, Spanish and indigenous languages (including Mayan, Nahuatl, and others) 5.4%, indigenous only 0.6%, unspecified 0.2% (2020 est.)"
"text":"<br>La Libreta Informativa del Mundo, la fuente indispensable de información básica. (Spanish)<br><br>The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information."
"text":"most of the population is found in the middle of the country between the states of Jalisco and Veracruz; approximately a quarter of the population lives in and around Mexico City"
"text":"22.281 million MEXICO CITY (capital), 5.420 million Guadalajara, 5.117 million Monterrey, 3.345 million Puebla, 2.626 million Toluca de Lerdo, 2.260 million Tijuana (2023)"
"text":"scarcity of hazardous waste disposal facilities; rural to urban migration; natural freshwater resources scarce and polluted in north, inaccessible and poor quality in center and extreme southeast; raw sewage and industrial effluents polluting rivers in urban areas; deforestation; widespread erosion; desertification; deteriorating agricultural lands; serious air and water pollution in the national capital and urban centers along US-Mexico border; land subsidence in Valley of Mexico caused by groundwater depletion",
"text":"Rio Grande river mouth (shared with US [s]) - 3,057 km; Colorado river mouth (shared with US [s]) - 2,333 km<br><strong>note</strong> – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth"
"text":"named after the capital city, whose name stems from the Mexica, the largest and most powerful branch of the Aztecs; the meaning of the name is uncertain"
}
},
"Government type":{
"text":"federal presidential republic"
},
"Capital":{
"name":{
"text":"Mexico City (Ciudad de Mexico)"
},
"geographic coordinates":{
"text":"19 26 N, 99 08 W"
},
"time difference":{
"text":"UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC, during Standard Time)"
"text":"proposed by the Congress of the Union; passage requires approval by at least two thirds of the members present and approval by a majority of the state legislatures; amended many times, last in 2024"
"text":"president directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a single 6-year term; election last held on 2 June 2024 (next to be held in 2030)"
"text":"Chamber of Deputies (Cámara de Diputados)"
},
"number of seats":{
"text":"500 (all directly elected)"
},
"electoral system":{
"text":"mixed system"
},
"scope of elections":{
"text":"full renewal"
},
"term in office":{
"text":"3 years"
},
"most recent election date":{
"text":"6/2/2024"
},
"parties elected and seats per party":{
"text":"National Regeneration Movement (MORENA) (236); Ecologist Green Party of Mexico (PVEM) (77); National Action Party (PAN) (72); Labour Party (PT) (51); Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) (35); Citizens' Movement (MC) (27); Other (2)"
},
"percentage of women in chamber":{
"text":"50.2%"
},
"expected date of next election":{
"text":"June 2027"
}
},
"Legislative branch - upper chamber":{
"chamber name":{
"text":"Senate (Cámara de Senadores)"
},
"number of seats":{
"text":"128 (all directly elected)"
},
"electoral system":{
"text":"mixed system"
},
"scope of elections":{
"text":"full renewal"
},
"term in office":{
"text":"6 years"
},
"most recent election date":{
"text":"6/2/2024"
},
"parties elected and seats per party":{
"text":"National Regeneration Movement (MORENA) (60); National Action Party (PAN) (22); Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) (16); Ecologist Green Party of Mexico (PVEM) (14); Labour Party (PT) (9); Other (7)"
"text":"Supreme Court of Justice or Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación (consists of the chief justice and 11 justices and organized into civil, criminal, administrative, and labor panels) and the Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary (organized into the superior court, with 7 judges including the court president, and 5 regional courts, each with 3 judges)"
"text":"Supreme Court justices nominated by the president of the republic and approved by two-thirds vote of the members present in the Senate; justices serve 15-year terms; Electoral Tribunal superior and regional court judges nominated by the Supreme Court and elected by two-thirds vote of members present in the Senate; superior court president elected from among its members to hold office for a 4-year term; other judges of the superior and regional courts serve staggered, 9-year terms"
},
"subordinate courts":{
"text":"federal level includes circuit, collegiate, and unitary courts; state and district level courts"
"note":"<strong>note</strong>: in April 2021, the Mexican congress passed a judicial reform which changed 7 articles of the constitution and preceded a new Organic Law on the Judicial Branch of the Federation"
"text":"<p>Citizen's Movement (Movimiento Ciudadano) or MC<br>Institutional Revolutionary Party (Partido Revolucionario Institucional) or PRI<br>Labor Party (Partido del Trabajo) or PT<br>Mexican Green Ecological Party (Partido Verde Ecologista de México) or PVEM<br>Movement for National Regeneration (Movimiento Regeneración Nacional) or MORENA<br>National Action Party (Partido Acción Nacional) or PAN<br>Party of the Democratic Revolution (Partido de la Revolución Democrática) or PRD<br>This Is For Mexico (Va Por México) (alliance that includes PAN, PRI, and PRD)<br>Together We Make History (Juntos Hacemos Historia) (alliance that included MORENA, PT, PVEM) (dissolved 23 December 2020)<br><br></p>"
"text":"Atlanta (GA), Austin (TX), Boston (MA), Chicago (IL), Dallas (TX), Denver (GA), El Paso (TX), Houston (TX), Laredo (TX), Miami (FL), New York (NY), Nogales (AZ), Phoenix (AZ), Raleigh (NC), Sacramento (CA), San Antonio (TX), San Diego (CA), San Francisco (CA), San Jose (CA), San Juan (Puerto Rico)"
"text":"Albuquerque (NM), Boise (ID), Brownsville (TX), Calexico (CA), Del Rio (TX), Detroit (MI), Douglas (AZ), Eagle Pass (TX), Fresno (CA), Indianapolis (IN), Kansas City (MO), Las Vegas (NV), Little Rock (AR), Los Angeles (CA), McAllen (TX), Milwaukee (WI), New Orleans (LA), Oklahoma City (OK), Omaha (NE), Orlando (FL), Oxnard (CA), Philadelphia (PA), Portland (OR), Presidio (TX), Salt Lake City (UT), San Bernardino (CA), Santa Ana (CA), Seattle (WA), St. Paul (MN), Tucson (AZ), Yuma (AZ)"
"text":"three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and red; Mexico's coat of arms (an eagle with a snake in its beak perched on a cactus) is centered in the white band; green signifies hope, joy, and love; white represents peace and honesty; red stands for hardiness, bravery, strength, and valor; the coat of arms is derived from a legend that the wandering Aztec people were to settle at a location where they would see an eagle on a cactus eating a snake; the city they founded, Tenochtitlan, is now Mexico City",
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> similar to the flag of Italy, which is shorter, uses lighter shades of green and red, and does not display anything in its white band"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> adopted 1943, in use since 1854; also known as \"Mexicanos, al grito de Guerra\" (Mexicans, to the War Cry); according to tradition, Francisco Gonzalez BOCANEGRA, an accomplished poet, was uninterested in submitting lyrics to a national anthem contest; his fiancee locked him in a room and refused to release him until the lyrics were completed"
"text":"Historic Mexico City (c); Earliest 16th-Century Monasteries on the Slopes of Popocatepetl (c); Teotihuacan (c); Whale Sanctuary of El Vizcaino (n); Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve (n); Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Valley (m); Historic Puebla (c); El Tajin (c); Historic Tlacotalpan (c); Historic Oaxaca and Monte Albán (c); Palenque (c); Chichen-Itza (c); Uxmal (c)"
"text":"<p>upper-middle income economy; highly integrated with US via trade and nearshore manufacturing; low unemployment; inflation gradually decreasing amid tight monetary policy; state intervention in energy sector and public infrastructure projects; challenges from income inequality, corruption, and cartel-based violence</p>"
"note":"<b>note:</b> central government revenues (excluding grants) and expenses converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated"
"text":"with a large population and relatively low broadband and mobile penetration, (86 lines for mobile broadband for every 100 habitants in June 2021) Mexico’s telecom sector has potential for growth; adequate telephone service for business and government; improving quality and increasing mobile cellular availability, with mobile subscribers far outnumbering fixed-line subscribers (24.6 million fixed line subscribers and 125 million mobile line subscribers in June 2021); relatively low broadband and mobile penetration, potential for growth and international investment; extensive microwave radio relay network; considerable use of fiber-optic cable and coaxial cable; 5G development slow in part due to high costs (2021)"
"text":"country code - 52; Columbus-2 fiber-optic submarine cable with access to the US, Virgin Islands, Canary Islands, Spain, and Italy; the ARCOS-1 and the MAYA-1 submarine cable system together provide access to Central America, parts of South America and the Caribbean, and the U.S.; Pan-American Crossing (PAC) submarine cable system provides access to Panama, California, U.S., and Costa Rica; Lazaro Cardenas-Manzanillo Santiago submarines cable system (LCMSSCS) provides access to Michoacan, Guerrero, and Colima, Mexico; AMX-1 submarine cable system with access to Colombia, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Gulf of California Cable submarine cable systems that connects La Paz, Baja California Sur and Topolobambo, Sinaloa; and Aurora submarine cable system provides access to Guatemala, Panama, Ecuador, Colombia, Mexico, and the U.S. satellite earth stations - 124 (36 Intelsat, 1 Solidaridad (giving Mexico improved access to South America, Central America, and much of the US as well as enhancing domestic communications), 9 Panamsat, numerous Inmarsat mobile earth stations); linked to Central American Microwave System of trunk connections (2022)"
"text":"telecom reform in 2013 enabled the creation of new broadcast television channels after decades of a quasi-monopoly; Mexico has 885 TV stations and 1,841 radio stations and most are privately owned; the Televisa group once had a virtual monopoly in TV broadcasting, but new broadcasting groups and foreign satellite and cable operators are now available; in 2016, Mexico became the first country in Latin America to complete the transition from analog to digital transmissions, allowing for better image and audio quality and a wider selection of programming from networks (2022)"
"text":"the Mexican Armed Forces (Fuerzas Armadas de México)are divided between the Secretariat of National Defense and the Secretariat of the Navy:<br><br>Secretariat of National Defense (Secretaria de Defensa Nacional, SEDENA): Army (Ejercito), Mexican Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Mexicana, FAM); Secretariat of the Navy (Secretaria de Marina, SEMAR): Mexican Navy (Armada de Mexico (ARM), includes Naval Air Force (FAN), Mexican Naval Infantry Corps (Cuerpo de Infanteria de Marina, Mexmar or CIM))<br><br>Secretariat of Security and Civilian Protection/SEDENA: National Guard (2024)",
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> the National Guard was formed in 2019 of personnel from the former Federal Police (disbanded in December 2019) and military police units of the Army and Navy; the Guard was placed under the civilian-led Secretariat of Security and Civilian Protection, while the SEDENA had day-to-day operational control and provided the commanders and the training; in September 2022, Mexico’s Congress passed legislation shifting complete control of the National Guard to the military; however, in 2023 the move was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court; the Guard, along with state and municipal police, is responsible for enforcing the law and maintaining order; the regular military also actively supports police operations"
"text":"information varies; approximately 220,000 armed forces personnel (160,000 Army; 10,000 Air Force; 50,000 Navy, including about 20,000 marines); approximately 110,000 National Guard personnel (2024)"
"text":"the Mexican military inventory includes a mix of domestically produced and imported weapons and equipment from a variety of mostly Western suppliers, particularly the US; a considerable portion of its inventory, such as ships and fighter aircraft, are older, secondhand items from the US; over the past decade, the Mexican military has made efforts to acquire more modern equipment; Mexico's defense industry produces some naval vessels and light armored vehicles, as well as small arms and other miscellaneous equipment (2023)"
"text":"18 years of age (16 with parental consent) for voluntary enlistment for men and women; 18 years of age for compulsory military service for men (selection for service determined by lottery); conscript service obligation is 12 months; those selected serve on Saturdays in a Batallón del Servicio Militar Nacional (National Military Service Battalion) composed entirely of 12-month Servicio Militar Nacional (SMN) conscripts; conscripts remain in reserve status until the age of 40; cadets enrolled in military schools from the age of 15 are considered members of the armed forces; National Guard: single men and women 18-30 years of age may volunteer (2023)",
"note":"<strong>note: </strong>as of 2023, women comprised about 10% of the active-duty Army, Air Force, and Navy, and about 14% of the National Guard"
"text":"the Mexican military is responsible for defending the independence, integrity, and sovereignty of Mexico, as well as providing for internal security, disaster response, humanitarian assistance, and socio-economic development; in recent years, internal security duties have been a key focus, particularly in countering narcotics trafficking and organized crime groups, as well as border control and immigration enforcement; the constitution was amended in 2019 to grant the president the authority to use the armed forces to protect internal and national security, and courts have upheld the legality of the armed forces’ role in law enforcement activities in support of civilian authorities through 2028; the military also provides security for strategic facilities, such as oil production infrastructure, and administers most of the country's land and sea ports and customs services, plus a state-owned development bank; in addition, President LÓPEZ OBRADOR placed the military in charge of a growing number of infrastructure projects, such as building and operating a new airport for Mexico City and sections of a train line in the country’s southeast (2024)"
"text":"the AEM’s focus is on coordinating Mexico’s space policy and the country’s commercial space sector, including developing specialists, technologies, and infrastructure, and acquiring satellites; manufactures and operates communications and scientific satellites; conducts research in a range of space-related capabilities and technologies, including satellites and satellite payloads, telecommunications, remote sensing, robotics, Earth and weather sciences, astronomy, and astrophysics; has relations with a variety of foreign space agencies and commercial space industries, including those of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, the European Space Agency (ESA) and its member states (particularly France, Germany, and the UK), India, Peru, Russia, Ukraine, and the US; leading member of the Latin American and Caribbean Space Agency (ALCE) (2024)",
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> further details about the key activities, programs, and milestones of the country’s space program, as well as government spending estimates on the space sector, appear in the Space Programs reference guide"
"text":"35,755 (Honduras), 13,531 (El Salvador) (mid-year 2022); 113,108 (Venezuela) (economic and political crisis; includes Venezuelans who have claimed asylum, are recognized as refugees, or have received alternative legal stay) (2023)"
"text":"386,000 (government's quashing of Zapatista uprising in 1994 in eastern Chiapas Region; drug cartel violence and government's military response since 2007; violence between and within indigenous groups) (2022)"
"text":"<p>significant source and transit country for fentanyl, fentanyl-laced counterfeit pills, other synthetic opioids, cocaine from South America, heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine destined for the United States; a destination for synthetic drug precursor chemicals from China, India, and other countries</p>"
