Mexico at its Best
Mexico at its Best
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 2000B.C. With the Mayan Empire being constructed in about the 12th 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...