Mexico+(Hannah)

__General Information__ Capital: La Ciudad de Mexico (Mexico City) Population: 112 million Demographics: Mestizos make up 60 percent of the population. Indigenous peoples make up 30 percent of the population. People of European ancestry, primarily Spanish, make up about nine percent of the population. About two percent of all Mexicans are immigrants from abroad.
 * __MEXICO __**

Religion: Roman Catholic Official languages: Spanish, Nahuatl, Various Mayan, and other indigenous languages Major exports/industries: oil, silver, coffee, cotton, manufactured products/food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, tourism Monetary system: Peso Mexicano

__Geography__

Most of Mexico is highland or mountanious, less than 15% of the land is arable. 25% of the country is forested. Low lying strips of land can be found along the Gulf of Mexico. The heart of Mexico is made up of Mexican Plateau which is 8000 ft high. Southern Mexico has deserts. Shallow lakes can be seen throughout the country.

Mexico’s geographic location presents advantages in many industries including tourism, agriculture, natural resources, migration, and illicit drugs. Its location provides great trade opportunities with Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Chile.

Mexico has tropical forests, dry deserts, fertile valleys and snow-capped mountains. Since Mexico's land is vastly varied, so is the weather. On the coast the climate is generally warm year-round, but some months are rainy and others dry, and Mexico City can have days and nights that are quite chilly. In Mexico there are two main seasons, rainy and dry. Rainy season is from May till September or October and it mostly only rains in the evenings. June to November is hurricane season.

Mexico's has 31 states. They are Aguascalientes, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Colima, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Mexico, Michoacán, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo León, Oaxaca, Puebla, Querétaro de Arteaga, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosí, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz, Yucatán, and Zacatecas.

__Brief History__ Before the Spanish arrival in 1519, Mexico was occupied by a large number of Indian groups. Natives were the Maya of the Yucatan, Totonac, Huastec, Otomi, Mixtecs, Zapotecs, Tlaxcalans, Tarascans, and Aztecs. A number of these groups developed high civilizations with elaborate urban centers used for religious, political, and commercial purposes. By AD 1100 the Toltecs had conquered much of central and southern Mexico and had established their capital at Tula in the Mesa Central. From the time of Hernando Cortez's conquest until 1821, Mexico was a colony of Spain. Cortez first entered the Valley of Mexico on the Mesa Central in 1519 after marching overland from Veracruz, the town he had founded on the Gulf Coastal Plain. With fewer than 200 soldiers and a few horses, the initial conquest of the Aztecs was possible only with the assistance of the large Indian armies Cortez assembled from among the Aztecs' enemies. After a brief initial success at Tenochtitlan, the Spanish were driven from the city on the Noche Triste but returned in 1521 to destroy the city and to overwhelm the Aztecs. Within a short time the rest of central and southern Mexico and much of Central America were conquered from Mexico City. Mexico fought for and gained its independence in the early 1800s. On Sept. 16, 1810, in the town of Dolores Hidalgo, the priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla rang his church's bells and told the local Indians to "recover from the hated Spaniards the land stolen from your forefathers" This is celebrated as Mexican Independence Day. In 1858 Benito Juarez, a Zapotec from Oaxaca, became president.

__Government/Current Political Situation__ Mexico is a Federal Representative Republic, named Estados Unidos Mexicanos (United Mexican States) which is based on a presidential system set up by the Mexican 1917 Constitution. The system of government establishes three levels of government:


 * The Federal Union
 * The State Governments
 * The Municipal Governments



The political climate in Mexico has been fairly stable since the election of Calderon in July of 2006. Presidential elections will be held in Mexico in July 2012.
 * Felipe Calderón President since 2006 **

__Culture__ Clothing: In main cities people dress modern, much like we do. Traditional Mexican clothing can be commonly found in small towns though. Traditional clothing combines native and European elements. Choice fibers are cotton, wool and silk. They like very earthy tones. Typical women clothing includes a skirt, a “huipil” (a kind of sleeve-less tunic), a “quechquémitl” (a closed shoulder cape) and a “rebozo” (a kind of shawl). Mexican clothing for men is mostly “European-like”, which means that both the trousers and the shirt are European garments, and possibly the only native addition to the men’s wardrobe is a large blanket cape, called “Sarape”. Men often wear Mexican boots too. Celebrations occur throughout the year and cause citizens to wear all kinds of costumes. During the Carnival, the “Charro” suit, popularized by the famous musical ensembles known as the Mariachis is worn. On Day of the Dead, costumes of grining skeletons are worn.



Mexican food is known for varied flavors, colorful decoration, and variety of spices and ingredients. Staples are corn and beans. Squash and chili pepers are also common. Many dishes contains garlic and onion. Honey is important. Next to corn, rice is the most common grain. Chocolate played an important part in the history of Mexican cuisine. Chocolate was first drunk rather than eaten. It was also used for currency. The Maya civilization grew cacao seeds and used the trees to make a bitter drink called xocoatl. They also used the seeds to trade for other things they needed.

Holidays: May 5th-Cinco de Mayo Nov 1st-Day of the dead (celebrate spirts of loved ones who have passed)

[]

Dec 28th-Day of the innocents-people play practical jokes on each other (like April Fool's Day) May 23rd-Students Day Carnival-before lent in February-Parade-Masquerades September 16th-Independence Day

Sports: Soccer is the most popular followed by boxing. Charrería, or rodeo, is Mexico's national sport. Baseball, basketball and bullfighting are also highly popular and appreciated.

__Tourism__ When planning to visit Mexico the butterfly reserve is a must see. It can be found in El Rosario, Michoacan (in the mountains not far from Mexico City). From November to February every year millions of monarch butterflies migrate to the reserve from the North. Cancun is a very popular beach spot. It is home to the second-longest coral reef. Peak visiting season is December to April. In Cancun you can find turquoise seas, great scuba diving, and Maya archeological wonders. Cancun is made up of fourteen miles of beaches shaped the the number seven. A popular tourist spot in Mexico City is lake Xochimilco. The lake is composed of several canals. Very colorful boats called trajineras offer people a relaxing time to float down the lake while enjoying music and a meal.

__ Current Events __ []A woman was shot by a stray bullet in El Paso, Texas. The bullet is believed to have come from Juarez, Mexico. There was a gunfight over a car jacking. Ten to fifteen shots were fired. The woman was shopping when out of no where a bullet pierced her right calf. This incident shows how something that happens in another country can quickly affect things in America. []  Five taxi drivers were killed by gunmen in Monterrey, Mexico. This happened three hours after three drug cartel members were shot and killed. The shootings are thought to be related. The gunmen got away. Monterrey has had over 2,500 deaths since 2012 that have been drug related. Something obviously needs to be done to bring more security to this area. __Sources__ [] [] [] [] [] Realidades (Book)