Mexico – education
Education in Mexico was in the 1990’s free and compulsory for 6-14-year-olds and includes in addition to a one-year preschool, which is applied for by approximately 72% (1993), a six-year primary school followed by two three-year levels, subject to a passing entrance exam. The latter is divided into a general study preparation and a technical-vocational line. Da kun approximately 10% of the students participate in the technical-vocational line, it is aimed at more young people completing a vocational education.
Higher education of four to seven years duration takes place at the country’s many technical colleges and universities, the largest of which is the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM, which has approximately 270,000 students in Mexico City (1995).
Illiteracy is sought to be combated through adult education programs aimed at adults who have not completed primary school. It is now officially stated at approximately 9% of the population, of which most are women (2004).
OFFICIAL NAME: Mexican United States
CAPITAL CITY: Mexico City
POPULATION: 114,975,000 (Source: COUNTRYaah)
AREA: 1,970,000 km²
OFFICIAL LANGUAGE (S): Spanish, Nahuatl, Mayan language and approximately 100 other Native American languages
RELIGION: Catholics 90%, Protestants 5%, others 5%
COIN: peso
CURRENCY CODE: MXN
ENGLISH NAME: Mexico
INDEPENDENCE: 1821
POPULATION COMPOSITION: mestizer 60%, Indians (including Aztecs, Mixtecs, Zapotecs and Mayans) 30%, whites (especially of Spanish origin) 9%, others 1%
GDP PER residents: $ 6172 (2007)
LIFE EXPECTANCY: men 73 years, women 78 years (2005)
INDEX OF LIVING CONDITIONS, HDI: 0.821
INDEX OF LIVING CONDITIONS, POSITION: 53
INTERNET DOMAIN NAME: .mx
Mexico is a Federal Republic of North America. Mexico forms the northern part of the Central American isthmus and is traversed from north to south by several mountain ranges.
- AbbreviationFinder.org: Find two-letter abbreviation for each independent country and territory, such as MX which stands for Mexico.
Mexico was home to Native American high cultures, was strongly influenced by a long Spanish colonial era, and since independence in 1821 has been marked by a difficult development process with major internal contradictions and a strong dependency on its great neighbor, the United States.
Mexico has 4.7% of the world’s oil reserves, and the economy is strongly affected by world oil prices. Against the background of large borrowing in times of crisis, the country’s foreign debt is among the largest in the world.
Mexico – Constitution
The United States of Mexico is a federal state whose constitution of 1917, with subsequent amendments, calls for a complete separation between the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary.
The legislation lies with a bicameral parliament. The Chamber of Deputies’ 500 members are elected for three years by general election, 300 are elected in single-member constituencies, and 200 are elected according to the proportionality method to ensure a fair representation of minority parties. The Senate has 128 members, namely four from each of the 31 states and four from the federal district of Mexico City.
The President has the executive power and is elected for a term of six years by direct election; he appoints and leads the government whose members he can replace on an ongoing basis.
The states, which have independent taxation rights, have their own constitutions and directly elected governors and chambers of deputies; however, the governor of the federal district is appointed by the president.
Mexico – economy
Mexico’s economy is Latin America’s largest and has a structure similar to that of rich countries, with only 4% of GDP generated by agriculture but 70% by the service sector (2005). However, the country’s unequal development is illustrated by the fact that agriculture employs 18% of the economically active. The 1970’s were marked by strong economic growth, which followed in the wake of the discovery of the Chiapas oil fields and massive borrowing abroad. However, international interest rate rises and the skyrocketing dollar in the early 1980’s meant that Mexico, like much of the other Latin American countries, experienced a severe debt crisis and in 1982 had to request the International Monetary Fund., The IMF, and its creditors on financial support. The economic downturn lasted until the late 1980’s, and Mexico in those years frequently had to renegotiate the terms of its debt.
The state had traditionally played a major role in the economy, but in 1988 a radical shift in economic policy occurred when Carlos Salinas took over the presidency. The Salinas government emphasized modernizing the economy and allowing it to operate on market economy terms to a far greater extent than before. At the same time, the government sought with great success to reduce inflation and the budget deficit. The liberalization of the economy, which also included the former totally government-controlled financial sector, has, among other things, resulted in a significant drop in the number of state-owned enterprises, a far greater commitment to infrastructure development and, above all, to Mexico’s participation in the North American Free Trade Agreement, NAFTA, together with the United States and Canada from 1994. The reform policy also paved the way for Mexico to be admitted to the OECD in 1995 as the first Latin American country.
The United States is by far the largest trading partner, which is why exchange rate policy has historically been aimed at pegging the peso more or less firmly to the dollar. After the last restrictions on the free movement of capital were abolished in 1991, the government pegged the peso to the dollar at the rate of 3.1 pesos per pound. dollars, although inflation in Mexico was significantly higher than in the United States. The subsequent deterioration in competitiveness, combined with high economic growth and easier access to foreign goods following trade liberalization, meant that Mexico’s external deficit grew dramatically. The deficit was increasingly financed through short-term and speculative capital, and by the end of 1994, Mexico was once again in a deep crisis as the credibility of the fixed exchange rate policy collapsed. Investors fled the country, and the peso had to be devalued by almost 50% against the dollar. The debt situation became unmanageable again, and the government again had to turn to the IMF for financial support. Together with the United States, whose economic interests in Mexico had increased after the formation of NAFTA, the fund then launched the largest financial rescue operation in history to date, worth more than DKK 30 billion. dollars. The counterclaim was a tight economic recovery policy, which resulted in a sharp fall in GDP of just over 6% in 1995, when inflation rose dramatically to 38% from 8.5% the year before. However, the devaluation led to strong export growth, and as early as 1996, the Mexican economy was once again growing strongly. which resulted in a sharp fall in GDP of just over 6% in 1995, when inflation rose dramatically to 38% from 8.5% the year before. However, the devaluation led to strong export growth, and as early as 1996, the Mexican economy was once again growing strongly. which resulted in a sharp fall in GDP of just over 6% in 1995, when inflation rose dramatically to 38% from 8.5% the year before. However, the devaluation led to strong export growth, and as early as 1996, the Mexican economy was once again growing strongly.
The country was hit by the recession in 2001, but had decent growth rates in 2004 and 2005 (4% and 3%). Unemployment in 2005 was officially as low as approximately 3%, but there is partly large underemployment and partly a widespread black economy. Corruption and other crime, including in the field of drugs (90% of US cocaine imports are believed to come from Mexico), continue to be major societal problems along with a, even by Latin American conditions, severe income inequality. Economic growth is regionally unequally distributed, which means that the illegal emigration of labor to the United States continues and that there is increasing political unrest in the poorer regions of the country.
Mexico’s foreign trade is quite dominated by the United States, which in recent years has declined by approximately 80% of exports, making the Mexican economy sensitive to economic fluctuations in the United States. On the other hand, it is more robust in relation to the price of oil, which now only amounts to approximately 8% of exports compared to 80% in 1982. 90% of this now consists of finished goods, largely produced by foreign – owned industry (maquiladora), which exploits low wages and lax environmental legislation. The trade deficit is offset by a large tourism sector and by transfers from Mexicans working in the United States.
In 2005, Denmark’s exports to Mexico amounted to DKK 1,053 million. DKK, and imports from there of 456 mill. kr.
Mexico – social conditions
Mexico is culturally and ethnically a strongly mixed society. 90% of Indians belong to the half of the population living below the poverty line; poverty is particularly concentrated in the southern part of the country and in rural areas in general.
Since 1982, real income for over 70% of the population has more than halved, and the income distribution has become even more skewed. In 1990, the poorest 20% had just over 4% of income, while the richest 20% accounted for approximately 55%. After the turn of the millennium, the poorest 20% had 3% of their income, while the richest 20% had 59% of their income. An expression of this development is that Latin America’s richest man, Carlos Slim Helú, is Mexican.
After the revolution of 1910-19, a social security system was developed, Seguro Social, which, however, only covered employees of large and medium-sized companies as well as public employees. The system includes medical care, hospital, medicine supplements and convalescence. Until 1993, it also included individual pension options, which were then replaced by a new, private pension system.
Housing conditions are generally poor. 66% of the population live in overcrowded and deficient housing, approximately 20% of all households do not have clean running water, and in rural areas more than half of the population does not have access to clean water.
Inequalities and poverty are exacerbated by corruption. Even leading politicians and parts of the top of the army have been exposed as highly corrupt and with close links to the powerful Mexican drug cartels. Under Conservative President Vicente Fox (2000-06), the government has effectively lost control of cities and territories where drug cartels rule. The rise in drug crime is contributing to the fact that crime in general has not only grown but also become more violent.
Every year, more than 500,000 Mexicans – from poor farmers to well-educated academics – emigrate legally and illegally to the United States, where up to 8-10 million people live. illegal mexican immigrants. Check youremailverifier for Mexico social condition facts.
Mexico – health conditions
Life expectancy in 2009 was 79 years for women and 73 years for men, which represents a significant increase from, respectively. 64 and 60 years in 1970. The mortality rate in the first year of life was 18 per. 1000 live births in 2009 against 72 in 1970. In 2009, fertility was estimated at 2.3 children per. woman.
The most common causes of death are cardiovascular disease, homicide and accidents as well as cancer. Malaria is widespread in parts of the country. approximately 20,000 new cases of tuberculosis per year. In 2007, approximately 200,000 cases of AIDS with 11,000 deaths. In rural areas, gastrointestinal infections pose a significant problem. Many of these are waterborne, although approximately 80% of the country’s homes have running water, and 67% have sewage drainage (1994). Air pollution in Mexico City poses a significant health problem.
The health service is best developed in urban areas. Pr. 1000 residents had landed in 1991 0.54 doctors, 0.8 nurses and 1.3 hospital beds. It is stated that approximately 55% of the population in 1991 was covered by a social security system. In 1995, Mexico spent 3.2% of GDP on health care; approximately 50% came from public sources.
Mexico – military
The armed forces are (2006) at 192,770, of which approximately 60,000 are conscripts with 12 months of service. The Army (Ejército Mexicano) is 144,000, including all conscripts, the Navy (Armada de México) 37,000 and the Air Force (Fuerza Aérea Mexicana) 11,770. The reserve is 300,000. The army is spread over 44 garrisons in the country’s 12 military regions. The central strength includes four mixed brigades and an airborne battalion. The army is lightly equipped, with its primary tasks being to support the country’s internal security. The fleet has 11 larger and 109 light combat units, 3 landing craft and a navyof 8700 men. The Air Force has 107 light fighter jets and has 18 air bases in 4 air military regions. The security forces include 11,000 in the federal police.
The main opponents of the armed forces are various internal groupings. In 1994, the Zapatista Liberation Army, EZLN (Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional), revolted in the province of Chiapas. On a daily basis, the army is deployed against the lucrative transit of cocaine from Colombia to the United States.
Mexico – mass media
The first printing press in Mexico was established in 1536, and in 1539 the first newsletter was published. The first monthly newspaper was published in 1722. After a few short-lived attempts, the Gaceta de México was published 1784-1823; it became a government body in 1810. The first daily newspaper became grdl. in 1805, and the following year the first magazine was published outside the capital. During the independence struggle, the parties realized the importance of the press, and the first opposition newspaper was published in 1810. During and after the revolution of 1910-19, several of the country’s most important dailies became grdl. After World War II, radio and especially television were the dominant news and entertainment media.
The press was – apart from an interlude in 1812 – subject to censorship, which was first repealed by the Constitution of 1917, but governments have also since exercised close control over the media, especially through the issuance of broadcasting licenses for radio and television and something close to a monopoly on newsprint. Since the 1970’s, an independent and critical press has emerged, but Mexico is at the same time a dangerous country to work in as a journalist; in 1997, for example, four were murdered.
The government runs the largest news agency, Notimex. Private media ownership is concentrated in quite a few large companies. The media giant Televista is the largest in the Spanish-speaking world, but is returning to Mexico due to competition from TV Azteca, which since 1992 has been built on the privatized state television, Imevisión.
Among other things. Due to the country’s size and its relatively strong economy, Mexico’s mass media has Latin America’s largest exports of especially television programs and specialty and weekly magazines. Mexico is also one of the world’s largest producers of comics. Newspapers, on the other hand, are published in small editions, the largest in perhaps 300,000-400,000 copies.
Mexico – architecture
From 250 BC up to 900-t. dominated the Mayan culture, the last pre-Columbian culture in Mexico, in Chiapas, Campeche and on the Yucatán peninsula. The ruins of Palenque, Piedras Negras, Uxmal, Chichén Itzá, Tulum and Bonampak show the characteristics of Mayan architecture: terrace-built pyramids, use of the false arch, characters on carved facades and colorful frescoes. The later Aztec Empire (1400’s and 1500’s) can be seen in the excavations of the Templo Mayor in the center of Mexico City.
Colonial architecture was characterized by cathedrals, churches, and monasteries of the Catholic Church; the country’s oldest churches are San Francisco (1525) and the abbey church of San Juan Bautista (1538). Among the profane buildings can be highlighted the Palacio Nacional (started 1523) in Mexico City with mural by Diego Rivera (done 1930-35). In the 1500’s. the cathedrals of Mexico City and Puebla were dominated by the strict Spanish Renaissance initiated by Juan de Herrera, but through the 1700’s. Baroque gained a foothold, a style that became widespread in Mexico, not least the Late Baroque in the form of the ornamental Churriguere style (after José Benito Churriguera); a masterpiece is the Altar de los Reyes in the Cathedral of Mexico City. The style is characterized by richly carved volcanic stone facades, eg on the church of El Sagrario Metropolitano, built in 1749 by Lorenzo Rodríguez (1704-74).
The Cathedral of Mexico City, Latin America’s largest church building, was begun in 1525, but not until the 1800’s. it got its current classicist design. Manuel Tolsá (1757-1816) designed the dome of the cathedral, and together with Francisco Tresguerras (1745-1833) he introduced French neoclassicism in the time around independence. In 1977, a newer pilgrimage church was inaugurated, where the image of the saint La Morena is located.
Among the modern Mexican buildings, the University City (UNAM) should be mentioned, built 1949-53, by Mario Pani (1911-93) and Enrique Moral, and the Olympic Stadium, expanded by the Spanish-born Felix Candela 1966-68 with a copper roof supported by a steel structure with a dome height of 43 m.
Mexico – visual art
The oldest important finds from the pictorial art of the early Native American peoples are giant stone heads in Veracruz and Tabasco, carved by the Olmecs (from the la Venta culture) around 800 BC.
Religious frescoes by the first Spanish painter of colonial times, Rodrigo Cifuentes (1493-1560), decorated churches and monasteries. During the Baroque period, the painting was in intimate harmony with the decorative interiors.
With the founding of Latin America’s first Academy of Arts in 1785, the San Carlos Academy in Mexico City, the influences of European art and architecture became all the more apparent despite the country’s independence in the early 1800’s; neoclassicism was represented by Manuel Tolsá (1757-1816) with the country’s first equestrian statue (by Carlos IV, 1803), while José Maria Velasco became a pioneer in Mexican landscape painting.
The symbolist artist Julio Ruelas (1870-1907), the graphic artist José Guadalupe Posada and especially the impressionist Gerardo Murillo (Dr. Alt, 1875-1964) gained great importance for the breakthrough of modern Mexican visual art. The period after the Mexican Revolution in 1910-19 was marked by el muralismo, the political commitment of the muralists, their expressive style with features taken from the Native American and popular culture. Most prominent were Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco and David Alforo Siqueiros. Rivera performed one of the most important murals, based on the history of Mexico (1930-35, Palacio Nacional).
Mexican modernism has a prominent place on the continent; Rufino Tamayo represents a Cubist style, Frida Kahlo, Agustín Lazo (1896-1971) and Antonio Ruiz (1865-1964) profile Mexican surrealism. José Luis Cuevas’ (b. 1934) expressionism and Carlos Mérida’s constructive abstract style are just examples of the scope of Mexican art.
The German-born sculptor Mathias Goeritz, whose collaboration with the architect Luis Barragán (1902-88) has been of great importance for the integration of architecture and visual art, executed in 1979 the sculpture park in the project Espácio Escultórico in the University City of Mexico City.
Today’s many acclaimed visual artists include Alberto Castro Leñero (b. 1951), German Venegas (b. 1959) and Javier Marín (b. 1962).
Mexico – literature
In colonial times, Mexican literature produced largely anemic imitations of Spanish models. A notable exception is the female lyricist and playwright Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (1651? -95), who attracted contemporary attention with her acumen and refined metaphor and still stands as one of the finest in Spanish-language baroque poetry.
The independence of Spain in 1821 did not immediately lead to favorable conditions for the growth of a national literature of importance in the subsequent chaotic decades in which the country experienced war against the United States, the French Empire and dictatorship. It was the 1910-19 revolution with its political and intellectual ideals that became the starting point for the subsequent prolific development that characterizes 1900’s Mexican literature. Furthermore, the revolution became a recurring theme, especially in novel, short story and drama.
Mariano Azuelas Los de abajo (1915, Them From Below), one of the first in the chain of so-called revolutionary novels, is a documentary depiction based on the author’s experiences during the revolution. Several later writers reflect the disappointed expectations of posterity under the PRI, the Institutional Revolutionary Party, which in the late 1900’s. is still in power. Juan Rulfo’s laconic realism in the short story collection El llano en llamas (1953, da. Sletten brænder, 1988), Carlos Fuentes ‘ existentialist problematizing novel La muerte de Artemio Cruz (1962, da. Artemio Cruz’ death, 1966) and Juan José Arreola’s absurdist tales inConfabulario from 1952 are examples of the insistent circle of revolution as a project and failure in vastly different aesthetic terms.
A theme that occupies a large number of authors, and which is also often addressed in connection with the theme of revolution, is contradictions and coexistence, socially and culturally, in racially mixed Mexico. Thus, in his novel Balún Canán (1957, Da. The Nine Guardians, 1990), Rosario Castellanos depicts a child’s schism between the parents’ European-oriented and nanny’s Native American culture, while Nobel laureate Octavio Paz critically reflects on Mexican identity and cultural self-understanding. essay collection El laberinto de la soledad (1950, da. Ensomhedens labyrint, 1986).
Ever since the formation of the avant-garde-oriented Contemporáneos group in the 1920’s, poetry has been predominantly characterized by metaphysical and metal-literary issues, such as seen at Paz. But other trends also apply, as in today’s central poet José Emilio Pacheco, where a sharp-sighted, illusion-free commitment to the outside world takes on surprisingly lyrical expressions.
The drama of the 1900’s. and the beginning of 2000-t. includes several generations of highly productive writers. The themes relate, for example, to Mexican history or are of a universal existential nature, and the form can be realistic, absurd, Brecht-inspired, etc. A special type of Mexican drama, the so-called Chicano theater, is written in the southwestern US states, where it has great impact. It shows, often bitingly ironic or humorous, social inequalities and cultural clashes between North Americans and Mexican immigrants.
Mexico – music
Mexican music is the result of centuries of cultural mixing between Native American and European cultures, especially Spanish, with a pinch of African. The “national” music is ranchera, a hybrid music developed by music from western and central Mexico after the revolution in step with the immigration to the cities, the mixing of the people and the spread of radio and television. These are usually sentimental songs accompanied by mariachi, originally a 3-7 man troubadour group from western Mexico consisting of violins, guitars and harp; the harp has since been replaced by the trumpet.
In northern Mexico and among the Mexicans in the southwestern United States, norteño music (known abroad as tex mex), played by groups of 3-5 men, dominates, with bass, 12-string guitar and diatonic button accordion as a base, often supplemented by alto saxophone and a small marching drum. The accordion and dance music (polka, mazurka, scottish) come from Central European immigrants in Texas in the 1800’s. Son is traditional dance music in a myriad of regional forms. Son huasteco in northeastern Mexico is characterized by the falsetto song accompanied by violin and guitars. Son jarocho is the virtuoso dance music from the Gulf Coast around Veracruz, played with harp and various guitar variants; the bambais a son jarocho. To the west, mariachi music has its roots, to the south, violin, guitar and drums dominate. Further south and southeast are the gentle, Chilean-influenced chilena and the African-inspired dances for marimba orchestra in Oaxaca and Chiapas. On the Yucatán, there is a strong Cuban (bolero) and Colombian (bambuco) influence. Corrido is an ancient ballad form with roots in the Middle Ages, which became popular during the revolution with stories about the exploits of the revolutionary heroes. Most new corridors are tribute stories about drug barons.
The Native American influence in music is greatest in west-central and southern Mexico. It is still sung in the country’s numerous Native American languages. In the cities in particular, Afro-Caribbean music (salsa, merengue, cumbia) has taken root. In addition, rock is an important part of the youth culture of Mexico City and along the border. It is a more aggressive rock than the one we know in Western Europe, based on an alternative culture that has been pursued by the authorities for several years.
Mexico – film
With 50-100 films annually, Mexico is the country in Latin America that produces the most films. From approximately In 1910 there was a large production of revolutionary reports, which were replaced by the first fiction films about the revolution, such as El automóvil gris (1919, The Gray Car) by Enrique Rosas (1877-1920) and Sergej Eisenstein’s never completed Que Viva México! (1933, Viva Mexico).
The sound film exploited the country’s musical-folkloristic traditions in a number of melodramas and westerns. In 1942, a state film support scheme was created.
Mexican movie stars of the 1940’s include Dolores del Rio (1904-83), singer Jorge Negrete (1911-53) and comedian Mario “Cantinflas” Moreno (1911-93). The actor and director Emilio “El Indio” Fernández (1904-86) and the film photographer Gabriel Figueroa (1907-97), who also worked with Luis Buñuel, for example in Los Olvidados (1950, Lost Youth), created classics such as María Candelaría (1943) and La Perla (1946, The Pearl).
In the 1960’s a new generation came into being; Arturo Ripstein (b. 1943) made his debut in 1965 with the García Márquez film adaptation Tiempo de Morir (Time to Die), Felipe Cazals (b. 1937) became best known for the historical-political Canoa (1975), and Paul Leduc (b. 1942) for Reed – México Insurgente (1970, Reed) and Frida (1984).
Notable works in recent Mexican films include Alfonso Araus’ (b. 1932) Como agua para chocolate (1991, Hearts in Chile), a comedy mixed with the characteristic Latin American magical realism.
A major breakthrough for recent Mexican film was Alejandro González Iñárritus complex told Amores perros (2000, Love Is a Bitch) about fates in the big city and also the road film Y tu mamá también (2001, … And your mother!) By Alfonso Cuarón (f 1961) as well as Carlos Carreras (b. 1962) El crimen del padre Amaro (2002, Pater Amaros crime) has attracted attention; all three the latter with Gael García Bernal, who has gained international idol status in Spanish-language film.
Mexico – Kitchen
The Mexican cuisine is a distinct and varied mixed cuisine composed of the traditional Native American cuisines and the Spanish, in the 1800’s. added French and Austrian influence. Since then, Italian influence has also been important, and pasta has become a regular part of the kitchen. The main ingredients are corn, brown, red, yellow and black beans, chili, rice, tomatoes, avocado, garlic as well as a variety of local vegetables such as squash and squash flowers. Chili is the central and most distinctive part of Mexican gastronomy; there are over 100 known varieties in the country. They are used in the Mexican specialty mole, which is often served as a sauce (molli’sauce’), but which can also be independent dishes. Moles are traditionally made by 2-5 kinds of chili, tomatoes, onions, almonds, sesame seeds, cinnamon and chocolate. A common accompaniment to many dishes is guacamole.
An indispensable part of the diet is the pancake-like tortilla, usually made from corn. The tortilla is used as bread for most dishes, from the simple tacos and enchiladas to chilaquiles, a kind of (strong) Mexican lasagna. Another common corn dish is tamales, a corn dough with filling, wrapped in corn or banana leaves and steamed.
Other specialties are pozole, a mixture of soup and cooked dish with large corn kernels as the central as well as the indispensable chili, the refined chili in nut sauce, chiles en nogada, as well as the black parasitic mushroom huitlacoche, which grows on corn cobs and is cooked in supper. In addition, different cactus varieties are used in some areas. On the Pacific coast, the raw marinated fish seviche is very popular. Mexico’s most famous beverage is the spirits tequila.
In some areas, Native American traditions dominate gastronomy, and here, for example, many insects are considered delicacies. Among the most famous Native American dishes are cochinita pibil, prepared from pork in red sauce, juice from sour oranges and salt.
