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Mexican history boasts of long and advanced civilizations that make most European civilizations seem primitive. The first inhabitants were said to have arrived at about 2000 B. C. With the Mayan Empire being constructed in about the 12 th century. However within the last two centuries Mexico has had relatively little success, consistent victims of imperialist powers the culture has suffered a great deal. The largest blow occurring when America annexed California by force.
This last act of aggression would affect the Mexican economy and social structure for years, if not forever. The population of Mexico has been increasing at a rate of 1. 5 % to 101, 879, 171 as of July 2001. Of this number 33 % are between the ages of 0 - 14, 62 % are between 15 - 64, and the rest are over 65. The average life expectancy is 71 years.
The current birth rate is 22. 7 births per 1000 people, while the death rate is 5 deaths per 1000 people. The infant mortality rate is 25. 36 deaths per 1000 births. Most women have 2. 5 kids during their life. The Mexican population is for the most part homogenous with 60 % being Meztizo, 30 % Indian, 9 % white, and 1 percent other. This lack of diversity and multiculturalism makes political socialization easier because there are not many factions to rebel against the majority.
In addition to the homogenous ethnic make up, there are also not a myriad of religions with 89 % of the country adhering to Catholicism. Mexico has a free market economy with a mixture of modern and outmoded industry and agriculture, increasingly dominated by the private sector. The number of state-owned enterprises in Mexico has fallen from more than 1, 000 in 1982 to fewer than 200 in 2000. This happened during the Zedillo administration when they privatized and expanded competition in seaports, railroads, telecommunications, electricity, natural gas distribution, and airports.
A strong export sector helped to cushion the economy's decline in 1995 and led the recovery in 1996 - 2000. Private consumption became the leading driver of growth in 2000, accompanied by increased employment and higher wages. Mexico still needs to overcome many structural problems as it strives to modernize its economy and raise living standards. Income distribution is very unequal, with the top 20 % of income earners accounting for 55 % of income. Trade with the US and Canada has tripled since NAFTA was implemented in 1994. NAFTA takes advantage of the 39. 8 million Mexican workers by lowering work and wage standards to monstrously inferior rates.
Mexico also completed free trade agreements with the EU, Israel, El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala in 2000, and is pursuing additional trade agreements with countries in Latin America and Asia to lessen its dependence on the US. In 2001 27 % of the population was below the poverty line. This, coupled with the stereo typical immigrant view of the American dream may be the reason why on average 2 per 1000 Mexicans come to the USA each day. The roots of the Mexican republic can be traced to two documents drafted during the early independence struggle against Spain: Los sentiments de la nation (1813), by Jos Mara Morelos y Page, and the Constitution of Apatzingn (1814). These tracts introduced the ideal of a republic based on liberal political institutions and respect for individual rights.
Mexico's independence was attained, however, by an alliance of liberal and ultraconservative forces under the leadership of August de Iturbide. Mexico's first republican constitution was the Acta Constitution de la Federation Mexicana (Constituent Act of the Mexican Federation), which was promulgated in 1824, following the forced resignation of Iturbide and the breakup of the short-lived Mexican Empire. A liberal document modeled largely on the United States constitution, the constitution of 1824, established a federal republic with a divided central government. To avoid the abuses of executive authority experienced under Iturbide, the constitution required the president to share power and responsibility with a bicameral congress and the federal judiciary.
Breaking with the Spanish colonial legacy of centralism, the constitution instituted a strong federal system, wherein presidents were to be indirectly elected every four years by a simple majority vote of the republic's nineteen state legislatures. A document of dubious relevance, the constitution of 1824 was never fully observed by the military leadership of the early Mexican republic. Many provisions of the constitution of 1824 and subsequent nineteenth-century constitutions were simply ignored by the combative regional caudillo's (strongmen) who dominated national politics. The most commonly breached constitutional principle was that of an orderly, electoral process of presidential succession. The violent overthrow of governments and the perpetuation in office of powerful presidents were problems that would plague Mexico throughout the rest of the nineteenth century and into the revolutionary period. Today, things have settled down and the democratic process is respected and the power of authority is legitimized through peaceful elections for office.
The only constituent to participate in the voting process is to be 18 years of age or older. Mexico's federal republic of 31 states operates under a centralized government. It appears to be democratic but in all actuality a minority controls the majority of wealth and policies the country produces. Mexico's government is divided into three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. The executive office is headed by the chief of state who is elected to a six-year term. The president has the power to appoint a cabinet including an attorney general who must be approved by the senate.
The president controls things like education, national security, and national industries. The bicameral National Congress or Congreso de la Union consists of the Senate or Camara de Senadores. The senate is made up of 128 seats, of which 96 are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms, and 32 are allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote. The other section of the legislative branch is the Federal Chamber of Deputies or Camara Federal de Diputados that is composed of 500 seats.
Three hundred members are directly elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms and the remaining 200 members are chosen on the basis of each party's popular vote, for three-year terms as well. The judicial branch consists of the Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia. The judges are appointed by the president with consent of the Senate. Mexico has a federally funded education system headed by the Secretary of Public Education. He has overall responsibility for all levels of schooling. Education is free and mandatory to all under the age of 17.
The literacy rate of our south of the border neighbor is 89 %. We can infer from this statistic that our burrito-eating friends are socialized in school to keep informed of the news and actively participate in their government. Mexico is home to an abundance of political parties which includes but is not limited to the following: the Social Democratic party, the Zapatista party, the National Action Party, the Alianza Social Party, the Party of the Democratic revolution, the Party of the Institutional revolution, and The Workers party. Because of the many factions within the political arena it is imperative for a citizen to be aware of the different viewpoints and platforms in order to be a well-informed voter. Political parties are influenced by groups such as the following: Confederation of Employers of the Mexican Republic or COPARMEX, Confederation of Industrial Chambers or CONCAMIN, Confederation of Mexican Workers or CTM, Confederation of National Chambers of Commerce or CONCANACO, Coordinator for Foreign Trade Business Organizations or COECE, and the Federation of Unions Providing Goods and Services or FESEBES.
These groups work to improve living and working standards by adhering to the public opinion. Another influence on Mexico government is the Roman Catholic Church, which holds sway over the publics opinion on issues such as abortion and the death penalty. In recent history, the most important issues the government has had to deal with is drug trafficking, immigration, and their lagging economy. Drug trafficking is a pressing issue for both Mexico and the United States. Mexico is the producer and point of entry of the drug trade from South America into the United States drug market, while the United States is a major consumer.
Mexico insists that the trafficking of drugs would not exist without the growing market in the United States, thus placing responsibility on its northern neighbor. However it is hard to ignore the corruption and crime provoked by the growing drug business in Mexico and so the Mexican government has taken anti-drug measures. Trade between Mexico and the Untied states remains an important issue. A trade agreement signed in late 1989 paved the way trade and investment with the United States.
In 1990 Mexico began negotiations over NAFTA with the United States and Canada. The main objective of NAFTA was to remove all trade barriers and investment obstacles among the three countries over a fifteen-year period. Negotiations concluded in 1992, and NAFTA was approved in 1993. On January 1, 1994, NAFTA was finally approved creating the world's largest trading partnership, which helped strengthen Mexico's economy.
A third issue between the two countries continues to be illegal immigration of Mexicans into the United States. By the mid- 1990 s, this issue occupied center stage in United States-Mexican relations. Since the 1960 s, the number of Mexican illegal immigrants into the United States has soared to an average of 300, 000 to 500, 000 per year, as evidenced by the fact that Hispanics (mainly Mexicans) are now the biggest minority group in the United States. In February 2001, bush initiated talks with Mexico's president Vincente Fox to make it easier for illegal Mexicans to obtain green cards. However, these talks have been postponed since the tragedy of Sept 11. Although today Mexico is a third world country, it is steadily becoming more industrialized and participating more in global trade.
Some argue that the only way that Mexico will ever reach its full potential would be for the United states to back off and allow them to develop on its own. On the other hand, with out the United States influence, Mexico might not of ever had a working constitution or other fundamentals of government. In any case, Mexico has always had soccer to rely on, except for this year when they lost their seat in the world cup to Brazil.
Free research essays on topics related to: popular vote, nineteenth century, political parties, trade agreements, drug trafficking
Research essay sample on Nineteenth Century Drug Trafficking
