MEXICO
GEOGRAPHY
Total area: 1,972,550 km2; land area: 1,923,040 km2
Comparative area: slightly less than three times the size of Texas
Land boundaries: 4,538 km total; Belize 250 km, Guatemala 962 km,
US 3,326 km
Coastline: 9,330 km
Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 24 nm;
Continental shelf: natural prolongation of continental margin or
200 nm;
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: claims Clipperton Island (French possession)
Climate: varies from tropical to desert
Terrain: high, rugged mountains, low coastal plains, high plateaus,
and desert
Natural resources: crude oil, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc,
natural gas, timber
Land use: arable land 12%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures
39%; forest and woodland 24%; other 24%; includes irrigated 3%
Environment: subject to tsunamis along the Pacific coast and
destructive earthquakes in the center and south; natural water resources
scarce and polluted in north, inaccessible and poor quality in center and
extreme southeast; deforestation; erosion widespread; desertification;
serious air pollution in Mexico City and urban centers along US-Mexico
border
Note: strategic location on southern border of US
PEOPLE
Population: 90,007,304 (July 1991), growth rate 2.2% (1991)
Birth rate: 29 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Net migration rate: - 1 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Infant mortality rate: 29 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Life expectancy at birth: 68 years male, 76 years female (1991)
Total fertility rate: 3.4 children born/woman (1991)
Nationality: noun--Mexican(s); adjective--Mexican
Ethnic divisions: mestizo (Indian-Spanish) 60%, Amerindian or
predominantly Amerindian 30%, white or predominantly white 9%, other 1%
Religion: nominally Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant 3%
Language: Spanish
Literacy: 87% (male 90%, female 85%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1985 est.)
Labor force: 26,100,000 (1988); services 31.4%, agriculture,
forestry, hunting, and fishing 26%, commerce 13.9%, manufacturing 12.8%,
construction 9.5%, transportation 4.8%, mining and quarrying 1.3%,
electricity 0.3% (1986)
Organized labor: 35% of labor force
GOVERNMENT
Long-form name: United Mexican States
Type: federal republic operating under a centralized government
Capital: Mexico
Administrative divisions: 31 states (estados, singular--estado) and
1 federal district* (distrito federal); Aguascalientes, Baja California,
Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Colima,
Distrito Federal*, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco,
Mexico, Michoacan, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla,
Queretaro, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco,
Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz, Yucatan, Zacatecas
Independence: 16 September 1810 (from Spain)
Constitution: 5 February 1917
Legal system: mixture of US constitutional theory and civil law
system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction, with reservations
National holiday: Independence Day, 16 September (1810)
Executive branch: president, Cabinet
Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress (Congreso de la
Union) consists of an upper chamber or Senate (Camara de Senadores)
and a lower chamber or Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice (Suprema Corte de
Justicia)
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Carlos SALINAS de
Gortari (since 1 December 1988)
Political parties and leaders: (recognized parties)
Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), Luis Donaldo COLOSIO Murrieta;
National Action Party (PAN), Luis ALVAREZ;
Popular Socialist Party (PPS), Indalecio SAYAGO Herrera;
Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), Cuauhtemoc CARDENAS Solorzano;
Cardenist Front for the National Reconstruction Party (PFCRN), Rafael
AGUILAR Talamantes;
Authentic Party of the Mexican Revolution (PARM), Carlos Enrique CANTU
Rosas
Suffrage: universal and compulsory (but not enforced) at age 18
Elections:
President--last held on 6 July 1988 (next to be held September
1994); results--Carlos SALINAS de Gortari (PRI) 50.74%,
Cuauhtemoc CARDENAS Solorzano (FDN) 31.06%,
Manuel CLOUTHIER (PAN) 16.81%; other 1.39%; note--several of the smaller
parties ran a common candidate under a coalition called the National
Democratic Front (FDN);
Senate--last held on 6 July 1988 (next to be held mid-year
1991); results--PRI 94%, FDN (now PRD) 6%;
seats--(64 total) number of seats by party NA;
Chamber of Deputies--last held on 6 July 1988 (next to be held
mid-year 1991);
results--PRI 53%, PAN 20%, PFCRN 10%, PPS 6%, PARM 7%, PMS (now part of
PRD) 4%;
seats--(500 total) number of seats by party NA
Other political or pressure groups: Roman Catholic Church,
Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM), Confederation of Industrial
Chambers (CONCAMIN), Confederation of National Chambers of Commerce
(CONCANACO), National Peasant Confederation (CNC), UNE (no expansion),
Revolutionary Workers Party (PRT), Mexican Democratic Party (PDM),
Revolutionary Confederation of Workers and Peasants (CROC), Regional
Confederation of Mexican Workers (CROM), Confederation of Employers of
the Mexican Republic (COPARMEX), National Chamber of Transformation
Industries (CANACINTRA), Business Coordination Council (CCE)
Member of: AG (observer), CCC, CDB, CG, EBRD, ECLAC, FAO, G-3, G-6,
G-11, G-19, G-24, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA,
IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO,
ITU, LAES, LAIA, LORCS, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Gustavo PETRICIOLI Iturbide;
Chancery at 1911 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington DC 20006; telephone
(202) 728-1600; there are Mexican Consulates General in Chicago, Dallas,
Denver, El Paso, Houston, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, San
Francisco, San Antonio, San Diego, and Consulates in Albuquerque,
Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Brownsville (Texas), Calexico (California),
Corpus Christi, Del Rio (Texas), Detroit, Douglas (Arizona), Eagle Pass
(Texas), Fresno (California), Kansas City (Missouri), Laredo, McAllen
(Texas), Miami, Nogales (Arizona), Oxnard (California), Philadelphia,
Phoenix, Presidio (Texas), Sacramento, St. Louis, St. Paul (Minneapolis),
Salt Lake City, San Bernardino, San Jose, San Juan (Puerto Rico), and
Seattle;
US--Ambassador John D. NEGROPONTE, Jr.; Embassy at Paseo de la
Reforma 305, 06500 Mexico, D.F. (mailing address is P. O. Box 3087,
Laredo, TX 78044-3087); telephone 52 (5) 211-0042; there are US
Consulates General in Ciudad Juarez, Guadalajara, Monterrey, and Tijuana,
and Consulates in Hermosillo, Matamoros, Mazatlan, Merida, and Nuevo
Laredo
Flag: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and
red; the coat of arms (an eagle perched on a cactus with a snake is its
beak) is centered in the white band
ECONOMY
Overview: Mexico's economy is a mixture of state-owned industrial
plants (notably oil), private manufacturing and services, and both
large-scale and traditional agriculture. In the 1980s Mexico experienced
severe economic difficulties: the nation accumulated large external debts
as world petroleum prices fell; rapid population growth outstripped the
domestic food supply; and inflation, unemployment, and pressures to
emigrate became more acute. Growth in national output, however,
appears to be recovering, rising from 1.4% in 1988 to 3.9% in 1990.
The US is Mexico's major trading partner, accounting for two-thirds of
its exports and imports. After petroleum, border assembly plants and
tourism are the largest earners of foreign exchange. The government, in
consultation with international economic agencies, is implementing
programs to stabilize the economy and foster growth. In 1991 the
government also plans to begin negotiations with the US and Canada on a
free trade agreement.
GDP: $236 billion, per capita $2,680; real growth rate 3.9%
(1990)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 30% (1990)
Unemployment rate: 15-18% (1990 est.)
Budget: revenues $44.3 billion; expenditures $55.2 billion,
including capital expenditures of $7.8 billion (1989)
Exports: $26.8 billion (f.o.b., 1990);
commodities--crude oil, oil products, coffee, shrimp, engines,
cotton;
partners--US 66%, EC 16%, Japan 11%
Imports: $29.8 billion (c.i.f., 1990);
commodities--grain, metal manufactures, agricultural machinery,
electrical equipment;
partners--US 62%, EC 18%, Japan 10%
External debt: $96.0 billion (1990)
Industrial production: growth rate 5.3% (1989); accounts for
27% of GDP
Electricity: 27,600,000 kW capacity; 108,976 million kWh produced,
1,240 kWh per capita (1990)
Industries: food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel,
petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, transportation equipment, tourism
Agriculture: accounts for 9% of GDP and over 25% of work force;
large number of small farms at subsistence level; major food crops--corn,
wheat, rice, beans; cash crops--cotton, coffee, fruit, tomatoes; fish
catch of 1.4 million metric tons among top 20 nations (1987)
Illicit drugs: illicit cultivation of opium poppy and cannabis
continues in spite of government eradication efforts; major link in
chain of countries used to smuggle cocaine from South American
dealers to US markets
Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $3.1
billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-89), $7.1 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $110 million
Currency: Mexican peso (plural--pesos);
1 Mexican peso (Mex$) = 100 centavos
Exchange rates: market rate of Mexican pesos (Mex$) per
US$1--2,940.9 (January 1991), 2,812.6 (1990), 2,461.3 (1989),
2,273.1 (1988), 1,378.2 (1987), 611.8 (1986), 256.9 (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
COMMUNICATIONS
Railroads: 20,680 km total; 19,950 km 1.435-meter standard gauge;
730 km 0.914-meter narrow gauge
Highways: 210,000 km total; 65,000 km paved, 30,000 km semipaved or
cobblestone, 60,000 km rural roads (improved earth) or roads under
construction, 55,000 km unimproved earth roads
Inland waterways: 2,900 km navigable rivers and coastal canals
Pipelines: crude oil, 28,200 km; refined products, 10,150 km;
natural gas, 13,254 km; petrochemical, 1,400 km
Ports: Acapulco, Coatzacoalcos, Ensenada, Guaymas, Manzanillo,
Mazatlan, Progreso, Puerto Vallarta, Salina Cruz, Tampico, Veracruz
Merchant marine: 64 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 999,423
GRT/1,509,939 DWT; includes 4 short-sea passenger, 9 cargo, 2
refrigerated cargo, 2 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 31 petroleum, oils, and
lubricants (POL) tanker, 3 chemical tanker, 7 liquefied gas, 3 bulk, 3
combination bulk
Civil air: 174 major transport aircraft
Airports: 1,815 total, 1,537 usable; 195 with permanent-surface
runways; 2 with runways over 3,659 m; 33 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
276 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: highly developed system with extensive radio
relay links; connection into Central American Microwave System; 6.41
million telephones; stations--679 AM, no FM, 238 TV, 22 shortwave; 120
domestic satellite terminals; earth stations--4 Atlantic Ocean
INTELSAT and 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT
DEFENSE FORCES
Branches: National Defense (includes Army and Air Force), Navy
(includes Marines)
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 22,340,628; 16,360,596 fit for
military service; 1,107,163 reach military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures: $1 billion, 0.6% of GDP (1988)