Mexico

COUNTRY INFORMATION
Mexico borders the USA to the north and Central America to the southwest. It is the most populated Spanish speaking country in the world. It runs for 3,000km from northwest to southeast. The centre of Mexico is made up of a high plateau, open to the north with mountain chains in the east and west and
ocean-front lowlands lying outside of them.

The terrain and climate varies greatly, from rocky deserts in the north to tropical rain forest in the South. The tropic of Cancer effectively divides the country into temperate and tropical zones making Mexico a interesting and diverse country to visit.

Mexico has a very old and complicated history, which can be traced back to prehistoric times, with some fragments of evidence suggesting human habitation in the region more than 20,000 years ago. A number of small cultures formed at this time, most notably the Aztecs, evidence of which still exists today. These ancient civilisations flourished for nearly 4,000 years before the first contact with Europeans.

In 1519 the native civilisations were invaded by the Spanish, who conquered the Aztec capital, now known as Mexico City. However, the complete conquest of Mexico as it was then, would take another two centuries.

The defeat of these civilizations marked the beginning of a 300 year-long colonial period of Mexico as New Spain, which as well as including the territory now known as Mexico, included the Spanish Caribbean Islands, and Central America, as far as Costa Rica. Spain’s power and influence in Mexico became weak in the nineteenth century, as Spain, handicapped by the occupation of Napoleon’s army, was unable to defend its territory in Mexico. A long war ensued from 1810 to 1821 before the official recognition of independence from Spain.

Despite this newly declared independence, Mexico entered a period of instability that lasted most of the nineteenth century, as presidents and dictators came and went. A large area of land was lost in the north to the United States, which led to a war over the area now known as Texas. The war over the Northern territories had wider consequences for Mexico, as the country lost not only Texas, but also the land that now makes up Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada and Utah, in fact over half of Mexico’s original territory.

During the 1900s, a period of relative peace and prosperity followed, and as the century came to a close, Mexico developed closer political and prosperous economic links with America.

According to the World Bank, Mexico ranks 12th in the world in regard to GDP and has the highest per capita income in the region. With its free market economy, the country has made an impressive recovery since the economic crisis of 1994-95.

In terms of the population, the 106.5 million inhabitants are ethnically diverse. Approximately 60 per cent are Mestizo (mixed Spanish and Amerindian), another 30 per cent are Amerindian and approximately nine per cent European. Mexico is also home to the largest number of Latin American emigrants, including Argentines, Cubans, Brazilians and Nicaraguans. Mexico also contains the highest number of US citizens that live outside the United States.

LOCAL INFORMATION
Time zone: GMT – 6 hrs
Airport:
Currency: Peso
Average March temperature: 68 °F
Average March rainfall: 0.6 inches