Mexico#Sports

{{Main|Name of Mexico}}

{{lang|nah|Mēxihco}} is the Nahuatl term for the heartland of the Aztec Empire, namely the Valley of Mexico and surrounding territories, with its people being known as the Mexica. It is generally believed that the toponym for the valley was the origin of the primary ethnonym for the Aztec Triple Alliance, but it may have been the other way around.{{cite book|author=William Bright|title=Native American Placenames of the United States|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5XfxzCm1qa4C&pg=PA281|year=2004|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|isbn=978-0-8061-3598-4|page=281}} In the colonial era (1521–1821) when Mexico was known as New Spain this central region became the Intendency of Mexico. After New Spain achieved independence from the Spanish Empire in 1821 and became a sovereign state the Intendency came to be known as the State of Mexico, with the new country being named after its capital: Mexico City. The country's official name has changed as the form of government has changed. The declaration of independence signed on 6 November 1813 by the deputies of the Congress of Anáhuac called the territory América Septentrional (Northern America); the 1821 Plan of Iguala also used América Septentrional. On two occasions (1821–1823 and 1863–1867), the country was known as {{lang|es|Imperio Mexicano}} (Mexican Empire). All three federal constitutions (1824, 1857, and 1917, the current constitution) used the name {{lang|es|Estados Unidos Mexicanos}}{{cite web|url=http://ierd.prd.org.mx/coy128/hlb.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081101110558/http://ierd.prd.org.mx/coy128/hlb.htm|archive-date=1 November 2008 |title=El cambio de la denominación de "Estados Unidos Mexicanos" por la de "México" en la Constitución Federal |publisher=ierd.prd.org.mx |access-date=4 November 2009}}—or the variant {{lang|es|Estados-Unidos Mexicanos}},{{cite web |url=http://www.tlahui.com/politic/politi99/politi8/con1857.htm |title=Constitución Mexicana de 1857 |publisher=www.tlahui.com |access-date=30 May 2010 |archive-date=5 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181005022104/http://www.tlahui.com/politic/politi99/politi8/con1857.htm |url-status=live }} all of which have been translated as "United Mexican States". The phrase {{lang|es|República Mexicana}}, "Mexican Republic", was used in the 1836 Constitutional Laws.{{cite web |url=http://www.cervantesvirtual.com/servlet/SirveObras/01361697524573725088802/p0000001.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130823173543/http://www.cervantesvirtual.com/servlet/SirveObras/01361697524573725088802/p0000001.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=23 August 2013 |title=Leyes Constitucionales de 1836 |publisher=Cervantesvirtual.com |date=29 November 2010 |access-date=17 July 2013 }}

{{Main|History of Mexico}}

{{See also|History of the Catholic Church in Mexico|Economic history of Mexico|History of democracy in Mexico|History of Mexico City|Military history of Mexico}}

{{main|Pre-Columbian Mexico|Mesoamerican chronology}}

File:Off-center_view_of_Pyramid_of_the_Sun_from_Pyramid_of_the_Moon,_Teotihuacan.jpg was the 6th largest city in the world at its peak (1 AD to 500 AD)]]

File:Chichen Itza 3.jpg in the Maya city of Chichen Itza]]

File:Painting_of_Tenochtitlan-Tlatelolco_on_Lake_Texcoco_(9755215791).jpg, the Aztec capital and largest city in the Americas at the time. The city was completely destroyed in the 1521 siege of Tenochtitlan and rebuilt as Mexico City.]]

The earliest human artifacts in Mexico are chips of stone tools found near campfire remains in the Valley of Mexico and radiocarbon-dated to circa 10,000 years ago.{{sfn|Werner|2001|pp=386–}} Mexico is the site of the domestication of maize, tomato, and beans, which produced an agricultural surplus. This enabled the transition from paleo-Indian hunter-gatherers to sedentary agricultural villages beginning around 5000 BC.{{cite book|author1=Susan Toby Evans|author2=David L. Webster|title=Archaeology of Ancient Mexico and Central America: An Encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6ba_AAAAQBAJ&pg=PT54|year=2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-80186-0|page=54}} The formative period of Mesoamerica is considered one of the six independent cradles of civilization, this era saw the origin of distinct cultural traits such as religious and symbolic traditions, maize cultivation, artistic and architectural complexes as well as a vigesimal (base 20) numeric system{{cite book |last1=Diehl |first1=Richard A. |title=The Olmecs: America's First Civilization |date=2004 |publisher=Thames & Hudson |isbn=978-0-500-02119-4 |pages=9–25 }} that spread from the Mexican cultures to the rest of the Mesoamerican cultural area. In this period, villages became more dense in terms of population, becoming socially stratified with an artisan class, and developing into chiefdoms. The most powerful rulers had religious and political power, organizing the construction of large ceremonial centers.{{cite book |last1=Carmack |first1=Robert M. |last2=Gasco |first2=Janine L. |last3=Gossen |first3=Gary H. |title=The Legacy of Mesoamerica: History and Culture of a Native American Civilization |date=2016 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-34678-4 }}{{page needed|date=December 2020}}

The earliest complex civilization in Mexico was the Olmec culture, which flourished on the Gulf Coast from around 1500 BC. Olmec cultural traits diffused through Mexico into other formative-era cultures in Chiapas, Oaxaca, and the Valley of Mexico.{{cite book|author=Colin M. MacLachlan|title=Imperialism and the Origins of Mexican Culture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fqdKCAAAQBAJ&pg=PT38|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-28643-6|page=38|date=13 April 2015}} In the subsequent pre-classical period, the Maya and Zapotec civilizations developed complex centers at Calakmul and Monte Albán, respectively. During this period the first true Mesoamerican writing systems were developed in the Epi-Olmec and Zapotec cultures. The Mesoamerican writing tradition reached its height in the Classic Maya Hieroglyphic script, the earliest written histories date from this era. The tradition of writing was important after the Spanish conquest in 1521, with indigenous scribes learning to write their languages in alphabetic letters, while also continuing to create pictorial texts.Restall, Matthew, "A History of the New Philology and the New Philology in History", Latin American Research Review - Volume 38, Number 1, 2003, pp.113–134{{cite book |last1=Sampson |first1=Geoffrey |title=Writing Systems: A Linguistic Introduction |date=1985 |publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=978-0-8047-1756-4 }}{{page needed|date=December 2020}}

In Central Mexico, the height of the classic period saw the ascendancy of Teotihuacán, which formed a military and commercial empire. Teotihuacan, with a population of more than 150,000 people, had some of the largest pyramidal structures in the pre-Columbian Americas.{{cite journal |last1=Cowgill |first1=George L. |title=State and Society at Teotihuacan, Mexico |journal=Annual Review of Anthropology |date=21 October 1997 |volume=26 |issue=1 |pages=129–161 |doi=10.1146/annurev.anthro.26.1.129 |oclc=202300854 |s2cid=53663189 |s2cid-access=free }} After the collapse of Teotihuacán around 600 AD, competition ensued between several important political centers in central Mexico such as Xochicalco and Cholula. At this time, during the Epi-Classic, Nahua peoples began moving south into Mesoamerica from the North, and became politically and culturally dominant in central Mexico, as they displaced speakers of Oto-Manguean languages. During the early post-classic era (ca. 1000–1519 AD), Central Mexico was dominated by the Toltec culture, Oaxaca by the Mixtec, and the lowland Maya area had important centers at Chichén Itzá and Mayapán. Toward the end of the post-Classic period, the Aztecs (or Mexica) established dominance, establishing a political and economic empire based in the city of Tenochtitlan (modern Mexico City), extending from central Mexico to the border with Guatemala.{{cite web |website=Ancient Civilizations World |title=Ancient Civilizations of Mexico |url=https://ancientcivilizationsworld.com/mexico/ |date=12 January 2017 |access-date=14 July 2019 |archive-date=12 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190712161602/https://ancientcivilizationsworld.com/mexico/ |url-status=live }}

{{Main|Spanish conquest of Mexico|New Spain}}

File:Leutze, Emanuel — Storming of the Teocalli by Cortez and His Troops — 1848.jpg by Cortez and his Troops (painted in 1848)]]

Although the Spanish Empire had established colonies in the Caribbean starting in 1493 the Spanish first learned of Mexico during the Juan de Grijalva expedition of 1518. The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire began in February 1519 when Hernán Cortés founded the Spanish city of Veracruz. The 1521 capture of Tenochtitlan and posterior founding of the Spanish capital Mexico City on its ruins was the beginning of a 300-year-long colonial era during which Mexico was known as {{lang|es|Nueva España}} (New Spain). Two factors made Mexico a jewel in the Spanish Empire: the existence of large, hierarchically organized Mesoamerican populations that rendered tribute and performed obligatory labor and the discovery of vast silver deposits in northern Mexico.Lockhart, James and Stuart B. Schwartz. Early Latin America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1983, 59

File:Guanaguato_at_night.jpg was one of the richest and most opulent cities in New Spain]]

The Kingdom of New Spain was created from the remnants of the Aztec empire. The two pillars of Spanish rule were the State and the Roman Catholic Church, both under the authority of the Spanish crown. In 1493 the pope had granted sweeping powers to the Spanish monarchy for its overseas empire, with the proviso that the crown spread Christianity in its new realms. In 1524, King Charles I created the Council of the Indies based in Spain to oversee State power in its overseas territories; in New Spain the crown established a high court in Mexico City, the {{lang|es|Real Audiencia}} ('royal audience' or 'royal tribunal'), and then in 1535 created the Viceroyalty of New Spain. The viceroy was the highest official of the State. In the religious sphere, the Diocese of Mexico was created in 1530 and elevated to the Archdiocese of Mexico in 1546, with the archbishop as the head of the ecclesiastical hierarchy. Castilian Spanish was the language of rulers. The Catholic faith was the only one permitted, with non-Catholics and Catholics (excluding Indians) holding unorthodox views being subject to the Mexican Inquisition, established in 1571.Chuchiak, John F. IV, "Inquisition" in Encyclopedia of Mexico. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn 1997, pp. 704–708

Spanish military forces, sometimes accompanied by native allies, led expeditions to conquer territory or quell rebellions through the colonial era. Notable Amerindian revolts in sporadically populated northern New Spain include the Chichimeca War (1576–1606),{{cite web |website=Latino LA: Comunidad |title=The Indigenous People of Zacatecas |url=http://latinola.com/story.php?story=1109 |date=17 July 2003 |access-date=14 July 2019 |last=Schmal |first=John P. |archive-date=14 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314015134/http://latinola.com/story.php?story=1109|url-status=dead}} Tepehuán Revolt (1616–1620),{{cite journal |title=The Tepehuan Revolt of 1616: Militarism, Evangelism, and Colonialism in Seventeenth-Century Nueva Vizcaya |journal=The Americas |volume=58 |issue=2 |pages=302–303 |author=Charlotte M. Gradie |location=Salt Lake City |publisher=University of Utah Press |year=2000 |doi=10.1353/tam.2001.0109 |s2cid=144896113 }} and the Pueblo Revolt (1680), the Tzeltal Rebellion of 1712 was a regional Maya revolt.{{cite journal |last1=Wasserstrom |first1=Robert |year=1980 |title=Ethnic Violence and Indigenous Protest: The Tzeltal (Maya) Rebellion of 1712 |journal=Journal of Latin American Studies |volume=12 |pages=1–19 |doi=10.1017/S0022216X00017533 |s2cid=145718069 }} Most rebellions were small-scale and local, posing no major threat to the ruling elites.{{cite book |last1=Taylor |first1=William B. |title=Drinking, Homicide, and Rebellion in Colonial Mexican Villages |date=1 June 1979 |publisher=Stanford University Press |location=Stanford |isbn=978-0804711128 |edition=1st }} To protect Mexico from the attacks of English, French, and Dutch pirates and protect the Crown's monopoly of revenue, only two ports were open to foreign trade—Veracruz on the Atlantic (connecting to Spain) and Acapulco on the Pacific (connecting to the Philippines). Among the best-known pirate attacks are the 1663 Sack of Campeche{{cite web |website=In Search of Lost Places |title=Campeche, Mexico – largest pirate attack in history, now UNESCO listed |date=31 January 2017 |access-date=14 July 2019 |last=White |first=Benjamin |url=http://insearchoflostplaces.com/2017/01/campeche-mexico/ |archive-date=15 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190715021345/http://insearchoflostplaces.com/2017/01/campeche-mexico/ |url-status=live }} and 1683 Attack on Veracruz.{{cite web |website=University of Rochester Newsletter |title=The mysterious aftermath of an infamous pirate raid |url=https://www.rochester.edu/newscenter/pablo-sierra-silva-mysterious-aftermath-infamous-pirate-raid-287352/ |date=13 December 2017 |access-date=14 July 2019 |first=Sandra |last=Knispel |archive-date=15 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190715021337/https://www.rochester.edu/newscenter/pablo-sierra-silva-mysterious-aftermath-infamous-pirate-raid-287352/ |url-status=live }} Of greater concern to the crown was the issue of foreign invasion, especially after Britain seized in 1762 the Spanish ports of Havana and Manila in the Seven Years' War. It created a standing military, increased coastal fortifications, and expanded the northern presidios and missions into Alta California. The volatility of the urban poor in Mexico City was evident in the 1692 riot in the Zócalo. The riot over the price of maize escalated to a full-scale attack on the seats of power, with the viceregal palace and the archbishop's residence attacked by the mob.{{cite book |last=Cope |first=R. Douglas |title=The Limits of Racial Domination: Plebeian Society in Colonial Mexico City, 1660–1720 |location=Madison, Wis. |publisher=University of Wisconsin |date=1994 }}

{{Main|Mexican War of Independence|First Mexican Empire|First Mexican Republic|Centralist Republic of Mexico|Mexican–American War}}

File:Plaza de Dolores.JPG's Cry of Dolores on 16 September 1810, by J.J. del Moral. The call to arms marks the beginning of Mexico's War of Independence against Spanish colonial rule.]]

On 16 September 1810, secular priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla declared against "bad government" in the small town of Dolores, Guanajuato. This event, known as the Cry of Dolores ({{langx|es|Grito de Dolores}}) is commemorated each year, on 16 September, as Mexico's independence day.{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Grito-de-Dolores |title=Grito de Dolores |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Britannica |access-date=12 September 2018 |archive-date=11 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180911171102/https://www.britannica.com/event/Grito-de-Dolores |url-status=live }} The upheaval in the Spanish Empire that resulted in the independence of most of its New World territories was due to Napoleon Bonaparte's invasion of Spain in 1808. Hidalgo and some of his soldiers were eventually captured, Hidalgo was defrocked, and they were executed by firing squad on 31 July 1811. The first 35 years after Mexico's independence were marked by political instability and the changing of the Mexican state from a transient monarchy to a fragile federated republic.Van Young, Stormy Passage, 179–226 There were military coups d'état, foreign invasions, ideological conflict between Conservatives and Liberals, and economic stagnation.

File:Batalla de la Alhóndiga de Granaditas.jpg in Guanajuato by Hidalgo's army on 28 September 1810, by José Díaz del Castillo]]

File:Generales del Trigarante.jpg to Mexico City on 27 September 1821]]

Former Royal Army General Agustín de Iturbide became regent, as newly independent Mexico sought a constitutional monarch from Europe. When no member of a European royal house desired the position, Iturbide himself was declared Emperor Agustín I. The United States was the first country to recognize Mexico's independence, sending an ambassador to the court and sending a message to Europe via the Monroe Doctrine not to intervene in Mexico. The emperor's rule was short (1822–1823) and he was overthrown by army officers in the Plan of Casa Mata.{{cite journal |author-link=Nettie Lee Benson |last=Benson |first=Nettie Lee |title=The Plan of Casa Mata |journal=Hispanic American Historical Review |volume=25 |date=February 1945 |pages=45–56 |doi=10.1215/00182168-25.1.45 }} After the forced abdication of the monarch, Central America and Chiapas left the union to form the Federal Republic of Central America. In 1824, the First Mexican Republic was established. Former insurgent General Guadalupe Victoria became the first president of the republic — the first of many army generals to hold the presidency. In 1829, former insurgent general and fierce Liberal Vicente Guerrero, a signatory of the Plan of Iguala that achieved independence, became president in a disputed election. During his short term in office, from April to December 1829, he abolished slavery.{{Cite book |author-link=Charles A. Hale |last=Hale |first=Charles A. |title=Mexican Liberalism in the Age of Mora |location=New Haven |publisher=Yale University Press |date=1968 |page=224 }} His Conservative vice president, former Royalist General Anastasio Bustamante, led a coup against him and Guerrero was judicially murdered.{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/blackhistory/article-24160 |title=Ways of ending slavery |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=23 June 2022 |archive-date=16 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141016025606/http://www.britannica.com/blackhistory/article-24160 |url-status=live }}

Mexico's ability to maintain its independence and establish a viable government was in question. Spain attempted to reconquer its former colony during the 1820s but eventually recognized its independence. France attempted to recoup losses it claimed for its citizens during Mexico's unrest and blockaded the Gulf Coast during the so-called Pastry War of 1838–1839.{{cite encyclopedia |last=Costeloe |first=Michael P. |chapter=Pastry War |title=Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture |volume=4 |page=318 }} General Antonio López de Santa Anna emerged as a national hero because of his role in both these conflicts; Santa Anna came to dominate the politics for the next 25 years, often known as the "Age of Santa Anna", until his overthrow in 1855.Van Young, Stormy Passage, "The Age of Santa Anna", 227–270

File:FalloftheAlamo.jpg (1836), between the Mexican army led by President Antonio López de Santa Anna and American troops.]]

Mexico also contended with indigenous groups that controlled the territory that Mexico claimed in the north. For example, the Comanche controlled a huge territory in sparsely populated central and northern Texas.Weber, David J., The Mexican Frontier, 1821–1846: The American Southwest under Mexico, University of New Mexico Press, 1982 Wanting to stabilize and develop that area — and as few people from central Mexico had chosen to resettle to this remote and hostile territory — the Mexican government encouraged Anglo-American immigration into present-day Texas, a region that bordered that United States. Mexico by law was a Catholic country; the Anglo-Americans were primarily Protestant English speakers from the southern United States. Some brought their black slaves, which after 1829 was contrary to Mexican law. In 1835, Santa Anna sought to centralize government rule in Mexico, suspending the 1824 constitution and promulgating the Seven Laws, which placed power in his hands. As a result, civil war spread across the country. Three new governments declared independence: the Republic of Texas, the Republic of the Rio Grande and the Republic of Yucatán.{{cite book |author=Angel Miranda Basurto |title=La Evolucíon de Mėxico |publisher=Editorial Porrúa |year=2002 |location=Mexico City |edition=6th |isbn=970-07-3678-4 |page=358 |language=es |trans-title=The Evolution of Mexico }}{{rp|129–137}} The largest blow to Mexico was the U.S. invasion of Mexico in 1846 in the Mexican–American War. Mexico lost much of its sparsely populated northern territory, sealed in the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Despite that disastrous loss, Santa Anna returned to the presidency yet again before being ousted and exiled in the Liberal Revolution of Ayutla.

{{Main|Second Mexican Republic|La Reforma|Second Mexican Empire|Restored Republic (Mexico)|Porfiriato}}

File:Photograph_of_Benito_Juarez.jpg. Known for his efforts to modernize the country, defend its sovereignty, and promote liberal reforms, especially during the mid-19th century.]]

The overthrow of Santa Anna and the establishment of a civilian government by Liberals allowed them to enact laws that they considered vital for Mexico's economic development. The Liberal Reform attempted to modernize Mexico's economy and institutions along liberal principles. They promulgated a new Constitution of 1857, separating Church and State, stripping the Church and the military of their special privileges ({{lang|es|fueros}}); mandating the sale of Church-owned property and sale of indigenous community lands, and secularizing education.{{cite encyclopedia |last=Britton |first=John A. |chapter=Liberalism |title=Encyclopedia of Mexico |page=739 }} Conservatives revolted, touching off civil war between rival Liberal and Conservative governments (1858–1861).

The Liberals defeated the Conservative army on the battlefield, but Conservatives sought another solution to gain power via foreign intervention by the French, asking Emperor Napoleon III to place a European monarch as head of state in Mexico. The French Army defeated the Mexican Army and placed Maximilian Habsburg on the newly established throne of Mexico, supported by Mexican Conservatives and propped up by the French Army. The Liberal Republic under Benito Juárez was a government in internal exile, but with the end of the Civil War in the United States in April 1865, the Reunified U.S. government began aiding the Mexican Republic. Two years later, the French Army withdrew its support, but Maximilian remained in Mexico. Republican forces captured him and he was executed. The "Restored Republic" saw the return of Juárez, "the personification of the embattled republic,"{{cite encyclopedia |last=Hamnett |first=Brian |chapter=Benito Juárez |title=Encyclopedia of Mexico |pages=719–20 }} as president.

The Conservatives had been not only defeated militarily but also discredited politically for their collaboration with the French invaders and Liberalism became synonymous with patriotism.Britton, "Liberalism" p. 740. The Mexican Army that had its roots in the colonial royal army and then the army of the early republic was destroyed and new military leaders had emerged from the War of the Reform and the conflict with the French, most notably Porfirio Díaz, a hero of the {{lang|es|Cinco de Mayo}}, who now sought civilian power and challenged Juárez on his re-election in 1867. Díaz then rebelled but was crushed by Juárez. Having won re-election, Juárez died in office in July 1872, and Liberal Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada became president, declaring a "religion of the state" for the rule of law, peace, and order. When Lerdo ran for re-election, Díaz rebelled against the civilian president, issuing the Plan of Tuxtepec. Díaz had more support and waged guerrilla warfare against Lerdo. On the verge of Díaz's victory on the battlefield, Lerdo fled from office into exile.{{cite encyclopedia |last=Sullivan |first=Paul |chapter=Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada |title=Encyclopedia of Mexico |pages=736–38 }}

File:Edouard Manet 022.jpg, 19 June 1867. Gen. Tomás Mejía, left; Maximiian, center; Gen. Miguel Miramón, right. Painting by Édouard Manet 1868]]

After the turmoil in Mexico from 1810 to 1876, the 35-year rule of Liberal General Porfirio Díaz (r.1876–1911) allowed Mexico to rapidly modernize in a period characterized as one of "order and progress". The Porfiriato was characterized by economic stability and growth, significant foreign investment and influence, an expansion of the railroad network and telecommunications, and investments in the arts and sciences.{{cite web |website=Inside Mexico.com |url=https://www.inside-mexico.com/el-porfiriato-en-mexico/ |title=El Porfiriato en Mexico |date=2 February 2018 |access-date=18 July 2019 |author=Adela M. Olvera |language=es |trans-title=The Porfirio Era in Mexico |archive-date=26 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190326165321/https://www.inside-mexico.com/el-porfiriato-en-mexico/ |url-status=live }} Díaz ruled with a group of advisors that became known as the {{lang|es|científicos}} ('scientists').{{cite encyclopedia |last=Buchenau |first=Jürgen |chapter=Científicos |title=Encyclopedia of Mexico |pages=260–265 }} The most influential {{lang|es|científico}} was Secretary of Finance José Yves Limantour.{{cite encyclopedia |last=Schmidt |first=Arthur |chapter=José Ives Limantour |title=Encyclopedia of Mexico |pages=746–49 }} The Porfirian regime was influenced by positivism.{{cite encyclopedia |chapter=cientifico |chapter-url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/cientifico |title=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=7 February 2017 |language=en |archive-date=7 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207113443/https://www.britannica.com/topic/cientifico |url-status=live }} They rejected theology and idealism in favor of scientific methods being applied towards national development. An integral aspect of the liberal project was secular education. The Díaz government led a protracted conflict against the Yaqui that culminated with the forced relocation of thousands of Yaqui to Yucatán and Oaxaca. As the centennial of independence approached, Díaz gave an interview where he said he was not going to run in the 1910 elections, when he would be 80. Political opposition had been suppressed and there were few avenues for a new generation of leaders. But his announcement set off a frenzy of political activity, including the unlikely candidacy of the scion of a rich landowning family, Francisco I. Madero. Madero won a surprising amount of political support when Díaz changed his mind and ran in the election, jailing Madero. The September centennial celebration of independence was the last celebration of the Porfiriato. The Mexican Revolution starting in 1910 saw a decade of civil war, the "wind that swept Mexico."{{cite book |last1=Brenner |first1=Anita |title=The Wind that Swept Mexico: The History of the Mexican Revolution of 1910–1942 |date=1 January 1984 |publisher=University of Texas Press |isbn=978-0292790247 |edition=New }}

{{Main|Mexican Revolution}}

File:Francisco_I_Madero.jpg, who challenged Díaz in the fraudulent 1910 election and was elected president when Díaz was forced to resign in May 1911]]

The Mexican Revolution was a decade-long transformational conflict.Benjamin, Thomas. La Revolución: Mexico's Great Revolution as Memory, Myth, and History. Austin: University of Texas Press 2000 It began with scattered uprisings against President Díaz after the fraudulent 1910 election, his resignation in May 1911, demobilization of rebel forces, an interim presidency of a member of the old guard and the democratic election of a rich, civilian landowner, Francisco I. Madero in fall 1911. In February 1913, a military coup d'état overthrew Madero's government, with the support of the U.S., resulting in Madero's murder by agents of Federal Army General Victoriano Huerta. During the Revolution, the U.S. Republican administration of Taft supported the Huerta coup against Madero, but when Democrat Woodrow Wilson was inaugurated as president in March 1913, Wilson refused to recognize Huerta's regime and allowed arms sales to the Constitutionalists. Wilson ordered troops to occupy the strategic port of Veracruz in 1914, which was lifted.{{cite web|website=Library of Congress|title=The Mexican Revolution and the United States in the Collections of the Library of Congress, U.S. Involvement Before 1913|url=http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/mexican-revolution-and-the-united-states/us-involvement-before-1913.html|access-date=18 July 2019|archive-date=19 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190719051634/http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/mexican-revolution-and-the-united-states/us-involvement-before-1913.html|url-status=live}} A coalition of anti-Huerta forces in the North, the Constitutional Army led by Governor of Coahuila Venustiano Carranza, and a peasant army in the South under Emiliano Zapata defeated the Federal Army in 1914, leaving only revolutionary forces.

Following the revolutionaries' victory against Huerta, they sought to broker a peaceful political solution, but the coalition splintered, plunging Mexico again into a civil war. Constitutionalist general Pancho Villa, commander of the Division of the North, broke with Carranza and allied with Zapata. Carranza's best general Alvaro Obregón defeated Villa, his former comrade-in-arms, in the Battle of Celaya in 1915, and Villa's northern forces melted away. Carranza became the de facto head of Mexico, and the U.S. recognized his government while Zapata's forces in the south reverted to guerrilla warfare. After Pancho Villa was defeated by revolutionary forces in 1915, he led an incursion raid into Columbus, New Mexico, prompting the U.S. to send 10,000 troops led by General John J. Pershing in an unsuccessful attempt to capture Villa. Carranza pushed back against U.S. troops being in northern Mexico. The expeditionary forces withdrew as the U.S. entered World War I.{{cite web|website=U.S. Department of State archive|date=20 January 2009|access-date=18 July 2019|title=Punitive Expedition in Mexico, 1916–1917|url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/wwi/108653.htm|archive-date=15 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230615184624/https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/wwi/108653.htm|url-status=live}} Although often viewed as an internal conflict, the revolution had significant international elements:Katz, Friedrich. The Secret War in Mexico. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Germany attempted to get Mexico to side with it, sending a coded telegram in 1917 to incite war between the U.S. and Mexico, with Mexico to regain the territory it lost in the Mexican-American War{{cite web|website=The National WWI Museum and Memorial|url=https://www.theworldwar.org/explore/centennial-commemoration/us-enters-war/zimmermann-telegram|title=ZIMMERMANN TELEGRAM|access-date=18 July 2019|date=2 March 2017|archive-date=19 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190719051644/https://www.theworldwar.org/explore/centennial-commemoration/us-enters-war/zimmermann-telegram|url-status=live}} but Mexico remained neutral in the conflict.

File:Urbina,_Villa_y_Zapata_en_Palacio,_Museo_de_la_Ciudad_de_México,_México_D.F.,_México,_2013-10-16,_DD_138.JPG, Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata in the National Palace during the Mexican Revolution, 1914]]

In 1916, the winners of the Mexican revolution met at a constitutional convention to draft the Constitution of 1917, which was ratified in February 1917. The Constitution empowered the government to expropriate resources including land, gave rights to labor, and strengthened anticlerical provisions of the 1857 Constitution.Matute, Alvaro. "Mexican Revolution: May 1917 – December 1920" in Encyclopedia of Mexico, 862–864. With amendments, it remains the governing document of Mexico. It is estimated that the revolutionary war killed 900,000 people out of Mexico's 15 million population at the time.{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/investigations/505_mexicanrevolution.html |title=The Mexican Revolution |publisher=Public Broadcasting Service |date=20 November 1910 |access-date=17 July 2013 |archive-date=14 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514205614/http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/investigations/505_mexicanrevolution.html |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://www.hist.umn.edu/~rmccaa/missmill/ |title=Missing millions: the human cost of the Mexican Revolution |author=Robert McCaa |publisher=University of Minnesota Population Center |access-date=17 July 2013 |archive-date=2 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160402165542/http://www.hist.umn.edu/~rmccaa/missmill/ |url-status=live }} Consolidating power, President Carranza had peasant leader Emiliano Zapata assassinated in 1919. Carranza had gained the support of the peasantry during the Revolution, but once in power, he did little to institute land reform, which had motivated many to fight in the Revolution. Carranza returned some confiscated land to their original owners. President Carranza's best general, Obregón, served briefly in his administration but returned to his home state of Sonora to position himself to run in the 1920 presidential election. Since Carranza could not run for re-election, he chose a civilian to succeed him, intending to remain the power behind the presidency. Obregón and two other Sonoran revolutionary generals drew up the Plan of Agua Prieta, overthrowing Carranza, who died fleeing Mexico City in 1920. General Adolfo de la Huerta became interim president, followed by the election of General Álvaro Obregón.

{{Further|Maximato|Institutional Revolutionary Party}}

File:General_PE_Calles_(cropped).jpg, the ruler of the Maximato and the founder of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, that held uninterrupted power in the country from 1929 to 2000]]

The first quarter-century of the post-revolutionary period (1920–1946) was characterized by revolutionary generals serving as Presidents of Mexico, including Álvaro Obregón (1920–24), Plutarco Elías Calles (1924–28), Lázaro Cárdenas (1934–40), and Manuel Avila Camacho (1940–46). The post-revolutionary project of the Mexican government sought to bring order to the country, end military intervention in politics, and create organizations of interest groups. Workers, peasants, urban office workers, and even the army for a short period were incorporated as sectors of the single party that dominated Mexican politics from its founding in 1929. Obregón instigated land reform and strengthened the power of organized labor. He gained recognition from the United States and took steps to settle claims with companies and individuals that lost property during the Revolution. He imposed his fellow former Sonoran revolutionary general, Calles, as his successor, prompting an unsuccessful military revolt. As president, Calles provoked a major conflict with the Catholic Church and Catholic guerrilla armies when he strictly enforced anticlerical articles of the 1917 Constitution which ended with an agreement. Although the constitution prohibited the reelection of the president, Obregón wished to run again and the constitution was amended to allow non-consecutive re-election; he won the 1928 elections but was assassinated by a Catholic activist, causing a political crisis of succession. Calles could not become president again, so he sought to set up a structure to manage presidential succession, founding the Institutional Revolutionary Party, which went on to dominate Mexico for the rest of the 20th century.{{cite web |website=Instituto Nacional de Estudios Historicos de las Revoluciones de Mexico |url=https://inehrm.gob.mx/es/inehrm/Articulo_85_aniversario_de_la_Fundacion_del_Partido_Nacional_Revolucionario_PNR |title=85º Aniversario de la Fundación del Partido Nacional Revolucionario (PNR) |access-date=18 July 2019 |language=es |trans-title=85th anniversary of the founding of the National Revolutionary Party (PRN) |author=Rafael Hernández Ángeles |archive-date=19 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190719051635/https://inehrm.gob.mx/es/inehrm/Articulo_85_aniversario_de_la_Fundacion_del_Partido_Nacional_Revolucionario_PNR |url-status=dead }}

Despite not holding the presidency, Calles remained the key political figure during the period known as the Maximato (1929–1934), that ended during the presidency of Lázaro Cárdenas, who expelled Calles from the country and implemented many economic and social reforms. This included the Mexican oil expropriation in March 1938, which nationalized the U.S. and Anglo-Dutch oil company known as the Mexican Eagle Petroleum Company, which would result in the creation of the state-owned Pemex. Cárdenas's successor, Manuel Ávila Camacho (1940–1946) was more moderate, and relations between the U.S. and Mexico vastly improved during World War II, when Mexico was a significant ally. From 1946 the election of Miguel Alemán, the first civilian president in the post-revolutionary period, Mexico embarked on an aggressive program of economic development, known as the Mexican miracle, which was characterized by industrialization, urbanization, and the increase of inequality between urban and rural areas.{{cite web |title=The Mexican Miracle: 1940–1968 |work=World History from 1500 |publisher=Emayzine |url=http://www.emayzine.com/lectures/mex9.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070403000322/http://www.emayzine.com/lectures/mex9.html |archive-date=3 April 2007 |access-date=30 September 2007}} The Green Revolution, a technological movement that led to a significant worldwide increase in crop production, began in the Yaqui Valley of Sonora in the middle of the 20th century.{{cite web |last1=Staff |first1=M. N. D. |title=He left India for Mexico to solve global hunger: Meet Ravi Singh |url=https://mexiconewsdaily.com/india/he-left-india-for-mexico-to-solve-global-hunger-meet-ravi-singh/ |website=Mexico News Daily |access-date=14 March 2024 |date=13 March 2024 |quote=...specifically the Yaqui Valley in Sonora... is considered the birthplace of the Green Revolution. |archive-date=14 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240314062320/https://mexiconewsdaily.com/india/he-left-india-for-mexico-to-solve-global-hunger-meet-ravi-singh/ |url-status=live }}

File:Exèrcit al Zócalo-28 d'agost.jpg during the protests of 1968]]

With robust economic growth, Mexico sought to showcase it to the world by hosting the 1968 Summer Olympics. The government poured huge resources into building new facilities, prompting political unrest among university students and others. Demonstrations in central Mexico City went on for weeks before the planned opening of the games, with the government of Gustavo Díaz Ordaz cracking down. The culmination was the Tlatelolco Massacre,{{Cite book |title=Massacre in Mexico |author=Elena Poniatowska |publisher=Viking, New York |year=1975 |isbn=978-0-8262-0817-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CmnDdj7eP-wC |author-link=Elena Poniatowska|access-date=23 July 2018 |archive-date=4 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240204185551/https://books.google.com/books?id=CmnDdj7eP-wC |url-status=live }} which killed around 300 protesters based on conservative estimates and perhaps as many as 800.{{cite news |last=Kennedy |first=Duncan |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/7513651.stm |title=Mexico's long forgotten dirty war |work=BBC News |date=19 July 2008 |access-date=17 July 2013 |archive-date=29 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170629110724/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/7513651.stm |url-status=live }} Although the economy continued to flourish for some, social inequality remained a factor of discontent. PRI rule became increasingly authoritarian and at times oppressive in what is now referred to as the Mexican Dirty War.{{cite magazine |last=Krauze |first=Enrique |title=Furthering Democracy in Mexico |date=January–February 2006 |magazine=Foreign Affairs |url=http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20060101faessay85106/enrique-krauze/furthering-democracy-in-mexico.html? |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060110074536/http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20060101faessay85106/enrique-krauze/furthering-democracy-in-mexico.html |archive-date=10 January 2006 |access-date=7 October 2007 }}

File:President Bush, Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and Mexican President Carlos Salinas participate in the... - NARA - 186460.jpg (Mexico), President George H. W. Bush (U.S.), and Prime Minister Brian Mulroney (Canada).]]

In the 1980s the first cracks emerged in the PRI's complete political dominance. In Baja California, the PAN candidate was elected as governor. When De la Madrid chose Carlos Salinas de Gortari as the candidate for the PRI, and therefore a foregone presidential victor, Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, son of former President Lázaro Cárdenas, broke with the PRI and challenged Salinas in the 1988 elections. In 1988 there was massive electoral fraud, with results showing that Salinas had won the election by the narrowest percentage ever. There were massive protests in Mexico City over the stolen election. Salinas took the oath of office on 1 December 1988.{{cite web |url=http://www.photius.com/countries/mexico/government/mexico_government_the_1988_elections.html |title="Mexico The 1988 Elections" (Sources: The Library of the Congress Country Studies, CIA World Factbook) |publisher=Photius Coutsoukis |access-date=30 May 2010 |archive-date=15 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180915102322/https://www.photius.com/countries/mexico/government/mexico_government_the_1988_elections.html |url-status=live }} In 1990 the PRI was famously described by Mario Vargas Llosa as the "perfect dictatorship", but by then there had been major challenges to the PRI's hegemony.{{cite web |url=http://theconversation.com/massacres-disappearances-and-1968-mexicans-remember-the-victims-of-a-perfect-dictatorship-104196 |last=Gomez Romero |first=Luis |title=Massacres, disappearances and 1968: Mexicans remember the victims of a 'perfect dictatorship' |date=5 October 2018 |website=The Conversation |access-date=12 May 2019 |archive-date=12 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190512234050/http://theconversation.com/massacres-disappearances-and-1968-mexicans-remember-the-victims-of-a-perfect-dictatorship-104196 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=https://elpais.com/diario/1990/09/01/cultura/652140001_850215.html |title=Vargas Llosa: "México es la dictadura perfecta" |date=1 September 1990 |newspaper=El País |access-date=12 May 2019 |archive-date=24 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111024235439/http://www.elpais.com/articulo/cultura/AZUA/_FELIX_DE/TRIAS/_EUGENIO/VARGAS_LLOSA/_MARIO/MARSE/_JUAN_/ESCRITOR/PAZ/_OCTAVIO/SARAMAGO/elpepicul/19900901elpepicul_1/Tes |url-status=live }}{{cite journal |last=Reding |first=Andrew |year=1991 |title=Mexico: The Crumbling of the "Perfect Dictatorship" |jstor=40209208 |journal=World Policy Journal |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=255–284}}

Salinas embarked on a program of neoliberal reforms that fixed the exchange rate of the peso, controlled inflation, opened Mexico to foreign investment, and began talks with the U.S. and Canada to join their free-trade agreement, which culminated in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on 1 January 1994; the same day, the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) in Chiapas began armed peasant rebellion against the federal government, which captured a few towns but brought world attention to the situation in Mexico. The armed conflict was short-lived and has continued as a non-violent opposition movement against neoliberalism and globalization. In 1994, following the assassination of the PRI's presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio, Salinas was succeeded by victorious PRI candidate Ernesto Zedillo. Salinas left Zedillo's government to deal with the Mexican peso crisis, requiring a $50 billion IMF bailout. Major macroeconomic reforms were started by Zedillo, and the economy rapidly recovered and growth peaked at almost 7% by the end of 1999.{{cite web |last=Cruz Vasconcelos |first=Gerardo |title=Desempeño Histórico 1914–2004 |url=http://www.imef.org.mx/NR/rdonlyres/F722BEDD-A8DE-49BA-AF4F-1A00889CE618/1192/CAPITULOI1.pdf |access-date=17 February 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060703181721/http://www.imef.org.mx/NR/rdonlyres/F722BEDD-A8DE-49BA-AF4F-1A00889CE618/1192/CAPITULOI1.pdf |archive-date=3 July 2006 |language=es }}

File:Vicente Fox flag (cropped).jpg won the 2000 general election and became the first president not from the PRI since 1929, and the first elected from an opposition party since Francisco I. Madero in 1911.]]

After 71 years of rule, the incumbent PRI lost the 2000 presidential election to Vicente Fox of the opposing conservative National Action Party (PAN). In the 2006 presidential election, Felipe Calderón from the PAN was declared the winner, with a very narrow margin (0.58%) over leftist politician Andrés Manuel López Obrador of the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD).{{cite journal |last1=Valles Ruiz |first1=Rosa María |title=Elecciones presidenciales 2006 en México. La perspectiva de la prensa escrita |trans-title=2006 presidential Elections in Mexico. The Perspective of the Press |language=es |journal=Revista mexicana de opinión pública |date=June 2016 |issue=20 |pages=31–51 |url=http://www.scielo.org.mx/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2448-49112016000100031 |access-date=12 July 2019 |archive-date=21 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200321091207/http://www.scielo.org.mx/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2448-49112016000100031 |url-status=live }} López Obrador, however, contested the election and pledged to create an "alternative government".{{cite journal|last=Reséndiz|first=Francisco|title=Rinde AMLO protesta como "presidente legítimo"|journal=El Universal|year=2006|url=http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/389114.html|language=es|access-date=1 October 2007|archive-date=18 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118162332/http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/389114.html|url-status=dead}}

After twelve years, in the 2012 presidential election, the PRI again won the presidency with the election of Enrique Peña Nieto. However, he won with a plurality of around 38% and did not have a legislative majority.{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/centralamericaandthecaribbean/mexico/9369278/Enrique-Pena-Nieto-wins-Mexican-presidential-election.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/centralamericaandthecaribbean/mexico/9369278/Enrique-Pena-Nieto-wins-Mexican-presidential-election.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Enrique Pena Nieto wins Mexican presidential election|date=2 July 2012|work=The Telegraph|access-date=25 August 2015}}{{cbignore}}

During the twenty-first century, Mexico has contended with high crime rates, bureaucratic corruption, narcotrafficking, and a stagnant economy. Many state-owned industrial enterprises were privatized starting in the 1990s with neoliberal reforms, but Pemex, the state-owned petroleum company is only slowly being privatized, with exploration licenses being issued.{{cite news |last1=Sharma |first1=Gaurav |title=Mexico's Oil And Gas Industry Privatization Efforts Nearing Critical Phase |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/gauravsharma/2018/05/10/mexicos-oil-and-gas-industry-privatization-efforts-nearing-critical-phase/ |access-date=4 June 2020 |work=Forbes |date=10 May 2018 |archive-date=4 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604081840/https://www.forbes.com/sites/gauravsharma/2018/05/10/mexicos-oil-and-gas-industry-privatization-efforts-nearing-critical-phase/ |url-status=live }} In a push against government corruption, the ex-CEO of Pemex, Emilio Lozoya Austin, was arrested in 2020.{{cite news |last1=Barrera Diaz |first1=Cyntia |last2=Villamil |first2=Justin |last3=Still |first3=Amy |title=Pemex Ex-CEO Arrest Puts AMLO in Delicate Situation |url=https://www.rigzone.com/news/wire/pemex_exceo_arrest_puts_amlo_in_delicate_situation-14-feb-2020-161099-article/ |access-date=4 June 2020 |work=Rigzone |agency=Bloomberg |date=14 February 2020 |archive-date=27 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200527071038/https://www.rigzone.com/news/wire/pemex_exceo_arrest_puts_amlo_in_delicate_situation-14-feb-2020-161099-article/ |url-status=live }}

After founding the new political party MORENA, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (commonly known as AMLO) won the 2018 presidential election with over 50% of the vote. His political coalition, led by his left-wing party founded after the 2012 elections, included parties and politicians from across the political spectrum. The coalition also won a majority in both the upper and lower Congress chambers. His success is attributed to the country's opposing political forces exhausting their chances as well as AMLO's adoption of a moderate discourse with a focus on reconciliation.{{cite news |last=Sieff |first=Kevin |title=López Obrador, winner of Mexican election, given broad mandate |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/lopez-obrador-a-leftist-wins-sweeping-mandate-in-mexican-presidential-election/2018/07/02/4c5e1de4-7be3-11e8-ac4e-421ef7165923_story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180702170755/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/lopez-obrador-a-leftist-wins-sweeping-mandate-in-mexican-presidential-election/2018/07/02/4c5e1de4-7be3-11e8-ac4e-421ef7165923_story.html |archive-date=2 July 2018 |access-date=2 July 2018 |newspaper=Washington Post}} The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Mexico occurred on 28 February 2020. The COVID-19 vaccination in Mexico began in December 2020.

Claudia Sheinbaum, López Obrador's political successor, won the 2024 presidential election in a landslide and upon taking office in October became the first woman to lead the country in Mexico's history.{{Cite web |url=https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20240603-sheinbaum-set-to-win-mexico-election-becoming-first-female-president |title=Ruling leftist party candidate Sheinbaum elected Mexico's first female president |date=3 June 2024 |access-date=3 June 2024 |archive-date=3 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240603063457/https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20240603-sheinbaum-set-to-win-mexico-election-becoming-first-female-president |url-status=live }} She was sworn in as Mexico's president on 1 October 2024.{{cite news |title=Claudia Sheinbaum sworn in as 1st female president of Mexico |url=https://apnews.com/article/mexico-president-claudia-sheinbaum-7d3599b39a7298df46e7eda34d80afee |work=AP News |date=1 October 2024 |language=en}}

{{Main|Geography of Mexico}}

File:Mexico topo.jpg of Mexico]]

File:Pico de Orizaba desde Hidalgo, Puebla.jpg, the highest mountain in Mexico]]

Mexico is located between latitudes 14° and 33°N, and longitudes 86° and 119°W in the southern portion of North America, with a total area of {{convert|1972550|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}}, is the 13th largest country by total area. It has coastlines on the Pacific Ocean and Gulf of California, as well as the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea, the latter two forming part of the Atlantic Ocean.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MuN7xR6wR-4C&pg=PA405 |page=405 |last=Vargas |first=Jorge A. |title=Mexico and the Law of the Sea: Contributions and Compromises |year=2011 |publisher=Martinus Nijhoff Publishers |isbn=9789004206205 |access-date=25 September 2020 |archive-date=4 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240204185531/https://books.google.com/books?id=MuN7xR6wR-4C&pg=PA405#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }} Within these seas are about {{convert|6000|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}} of islands. Almost all of Mexico lies in the North American Plate, with small parts of the Baja California peninsula on the Pacific and Cocos Plates. Geophysically, some geographers include the territory east of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (around 12% of the total) within Central America.{{cite web|url=http://www.grec.cat/ |archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20160515192216/http://www.grec.cat/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 May 2016 |title=Nord-Amèrica, in Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana |publisher=Grec.cat |access-date=17 July 2013 }} Geopolitically, however, Mexico is entirely considered part of North America.{{cite book |last=Parsons |first=Alan |author2=Jonathan Schaffer |title=Geopolitics of oil and natural gas |publisher=U.S. Department of State |series=Economic Perspectives |date=May 2004}}

The majority of Mexican central and northern territories are located at high altitudes, and as such the highest elevations are found at the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt which crosses Mexico east to west: Pico de Orizaba ({{convert|5700|m|ft|0|disp=or|abbr=on}}), Popocatépetl ({{convert|5462|m|ft|0|disp=or|abbr=on}}) and Iztaccihuatl ({{convert|5286|m|ft|0|disp=or|abbr=on}}) and the Nevado de Toluca ({{convert|4577|m|ft|0|disp=or|abbr=on}}). Two mountain ranges known as Sierra Madre Oriental and Sierra Madre Occidental, which are the extension of the Rocky Mountains from northern North America crossed the country from north to south and a fourth mountain range, the Sierra Madre del Sur, runs from Michoacán to Oaxaca. The Mexican territory is prone to volcanism.

Mexico has nine distinct regions: Baja California, the Pacific Coastal Lowlands, the Mexican Plateau, the Sierra Madre Oriental, the Sierra Madre Occidental, the Cordillera Neo-Volcánica, the Gulf Coastal Plain, the Southern Highlands, and the Yucatán Peninsula.[https://www.britannica.com/place/Mexico Fact Book] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231013082328/https://www.britannica.com/place/Mexico |date=13 October 2023 }} Mexico. Accessed 4 May 2022 An important geologic feature of the Yucatán peninsula is the Chicxulub crater, the scientific consensus is that the Chicxulub impactor was responsible for the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event. Although Mexico is large (a little over {{convert|2000|mi|km|0|abbr=on}} in length from its farthest land points), much of its land mass is incompatible with agriculture due to aridity, soil, or terrain. In 2018, an estimated 54.9% of land is agricultural; 11.8% is arable; 1.4% is in permanent crops; 41.7% is permanent pasture; and 33.3% is forest.[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/mexico/#geography] Mexico Fact Book. accessed 6 May 2022 Mexico is irrigated by several rivers, with the longest being the Rio Grande, which serves as a natural eastern border with the United States.{{cite web |last1=Monforti |first1=Jessica Lavariega |last2=Graham |first2=Margaret A. |title=The Rio Grande |url=https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/display/document/obo-9780199913701/obo-9780199913701-0134.xml |website=obo |access-date=5 June 2024 |language=en}} The Usumacinta River serves as a natural southern border between Mexico and Guatemala.[https://www.britannica.com/place/Usumacinta-River "Usumacinta River | Yucatan, Guatemala, Belize, & Map"] "Brittanica", retrieved on October 16, 2024.

{{Main|Climate of Mexico|Climate change in Mexico}}

File:Mexico Köppen.svg]]

The climate of Mexico is varied due to the country's size and topography. The Tropic of Cancer effectively divides the country into temperate and tropical zones. Land north of the Tropic of Cancer experiences cooler temperatures during the winter months. South of the Tropic of Cancer, temperatures are fairly constant year-round and vary solely as a function of elevation. This gives Mexico one of the world's most diverse weather systems. Maritime air masses bring seasonal precipitation from May until August. Many parts of Mexico, particularly the north, have a dry climate with only sporadic rainfall, while parts of the tropical lowlands in the south average more than {{convert|2000|mm|in|1|abbr=on}} of annual precipitation. For example, many cities in the north like Monterrey, Hermosillo, and Mexicali experience temperatures of {{convert|40|C|F}} or more in summer. In the Sonoran Desert temperatures reach {{convert|50|C|F}} or more.

There are 7 major climate types in Mexico[https://gisviewer.semarnat.gob.mx/aplicaciones/Atlas2015/atm_climas.html "ATLAS / ATMOSFERA"] "SEMARNAT", retrieved on October 10, 2024. with warm sub-humid climate being coastal up to 900 meters found mostly in the southern region of Mexico; dry and desertic climates being found in the northern half of the country; temperate humid and sub-humid being found mostly on pastures at an elevation of 1,800 meters and higher in central Mexico and cold climate usually found at an elevation of 3,500 meters and beyond. Most of the country's territory has a temperate to dry climate. Areas south of the Tropic of Cancer with elevations up to {{convert|1000|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} (the southern parts of both coastal plains as well as the Yucatán Peninsula), have a yearly median temperature between {{convert|24|and|28|C|F|1}}. Temperatures here remain high throughout the year, with only a {{convert|5|C-change|0}} difference between winter and summer median temperatures. The Pacific coast is subject to natural hazards such as tsunamis and both Mexican coasts with the exception of the south coast of the Bay of Campeche and northern Baja California are vulnerable to serious hurricanes during the summer and fall. Although low-lying areas north of the Tropic of Cancer are hot and humid during the summer, they generally have lower yearly temperature averages (from {{convert|20|to|24|C|F|1|disp=or}}) because of more moderate conditions during the winter.{{cite encyclopedia |chapter-url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Mexico/drainage |chapter=Drainage |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220701220713/https://www.britannica.com/place/Mexico/Drainage |archive-date=1 July 2022 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica Mexico |access-date=6 May 2022 |title=Mexico | History, Map, Flag, Population, & Facts | Britannica }}

File:Flooding in Mexico (837).jpg

Climate change in Mexico is causing widespread impacts including rising temperatures, altered precipitation patterns, intensified hurricanes, and sea-level rise in coastal regions.{{Cite web |last=UNDP |date=2024-12-16 |title=Mexico {{!}} UNDP Climate Change Adaptation |url=https://www.adaptation-undp.org/explore/latin-america-and-caribbean/mexico |access-date=2025-03-05 |website=www.adaptation-undp.org |language=en}} These changes pose threats to water resources and agriculture (particularly for rural and smallholder farmers),{{Cite web |last=Godoy |first=Emilio |date=14 Dec 2017 |title=Climate Change Threatens Mexican Agriculture - Mexico |url=https://reliefweb.int/report/mexico/climate-change-threatens-mexican-agriculture |access-date=2019-09-28 |website=ReliefWeb |language=en}}{{Cite journal |last1=Estrada |first1=Francisco |last2=Mendoza-Ponce |first2=Alma |last3=Calderón-Bustamante |first3=Oscar |last4=Botzen |first4=Wouter |date=2022-10-18 |title=Impacts and economic costs of climate change on Mexican agriculture |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10113-022-01986-0 |journal=Regional Environmental Change |language=en |volume=22 |issue=4 |pages=126 |doi=10.1007/s10113-022-01986-0 |bibcode=2022REnvC..22..126E |issn=1436-378X}} and affect crops including maize and coffee, contributing to economic insecurity.{{Cite journal |last1=Torres Castillo |first1=Nora E. |last2=Melchor-Martínez |first2=Elda M. |last3=Ochoa Sierra |first3=Jhosseph S. |last4=Ramirez-Mendoza |first4=Ricardo A. |last5=Parra-Saldívar |first5=Roberto |last6=Iqbal |first6=Hafiz M. N. |date=2020-10-10 |title=Impact of climate change and early development of coffee rust - An overview of control strategies to preserve organic cultivars in Mexico |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32806380/# |journal=The Science of the Total Environment |volume=738 |pages=140225 |doi=10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140225 |issn=1879-1026 |pmid=32806380}} Climate change is impacting Mexican's health,{{Cite journal |last1=Riojas-Rodríguez |first1=Horacio |last2=Quezada-Jiménez |first2=María Laura |last3=Zúñiga-Bello |first3=Pamela |last4=Hurtado-Díaz |first4=Magali |date=2018 |title=Climate Change and Potential Health Effects in Mexican Children |journal=Annals of Global Health |language=en |volume=84 |issue=2 |pages=281–284 |doi=10.29024/aogh.915 |pmid=30873791 |pmc=6748264 |issn=2214-9996 }} exacerbating human migration,{{Cite web |date=2013-02-15 |title=Climate Change and Migration in Mexico: A Report Launch |url=https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/climate-change-and-migration-mexico-report-launch |access-date=2019-09-28 |website=Wilson Center |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Wirtz |first=Nic |date=2017-10-16 |title=Climate change and migration in Mexico: Fifth in our series |url=https://theglobalamericans.org/2017/10/climate-change-migration-mexico-fifth-series/ |access-date=2019-09-28 |website=Global Americans |language=en-US |archive-date=27 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427203702/https://theglobalamericans.org/2017/10/climate-change-migration-mexico-fifth-series/ |url-status=dead }}{{Cite journal |last1=Zhu |first1=Julia Li |last2=Chau |first2=Nancy |last3=Rodewald |first3=Amanda D. |last4=Garip |first4=Filiz |date=2024-11-12 |title=Weather deviations linked to undocumented migration and return between Mexico and the United States |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume=121 |issue=46 |pages=e2400524121 |doi=10.1073/pnas.2400524121|pmid=39495908 |pmc=11572974 |bibcode=2024PNAS..12100524Z }} and increasing extinction risk for Mexico's biodiversity by as much as ten times for endemic species.{{Cite journal |last1=Ulises |first1=Ramírez-Sánchez Hermes |last2=Lucia |first2=Fajardo-Montiel Aida |last3=Enrique |first3=García-Guadalupe Mario |last4=Hugo |first4=Ulloa-Godínez Héctor |date=2023-05-02 |title=Climate Change and Its Impacts on Biodiversity in Mexico |url=https://journalajee.com/index.php/AJEE/article/view/446 |journal=Asian Journal of Environment & Ecology |volume=20 |issue=4 |pages=29–54 |doi=10.9734/ajee/2023/v20i4446 |issn=2456-690X}}

{{See also|Wildlife of Mexico}}

File:Mexican wolf lounging.jpg]]

Mexico ranks fourth{{cite web|title=Ocupa México cuarto lugar mundial de biodiversidad|url=http://eleconomista.com.mx/sociedad/2011/11/05/ocupa-mexico-cuarto-lugar-mundial-biodiversidad|website=El Economista|access-date=5 February 2017|language=es|archive-date=6 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170206104728/http://eleconomista.com.mx/sociedad/2011/11/05/ocupa-mexico-cuarto-lugar-mundial-biodiversidad|url-status=live |author1=Notimex }} in the world in biodiversity and is one of the 17 megadiverse countries. With over 200,000 species, Mexico is home of 10–12% of the world's biodiversity.{{cite web|title=Biodiversidad de México |publisher=SEMARNAT |url=http://cruzadabosquesagua.semarnat.gob.mx/iii.html |access-date=7 October 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071007045210/http://cruzadabosquesagua.semarnat.gob.mx/iii.html |archive-date=7 October 2007}} Mexico ranks first in biodiversity in reptiles with 707 known species, second in mammals with 438 species, fourth in amphibians with 290 species, and fourth in flora, with 26,000 species.{{cite web|title=Biodiversidad en México|publisher=CONEVYT|url=http://oregon.conevyt.org.mx/actividades/diversidad/lectura_biodiversidad.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071007013648/http://oregon.conevyt.org.mx/actividades/diversidad/lectura_biodiversidad.htm|archive-date=7 October 2007|access-date=7 October 2007}} Mexico is also considered the second country in the world in ecosystems and fourth in overall species. About 2,500 species are protected by Mexican legislation.{{cite web|title=Sistema Nacional sobre la Biodiversidad en México|publisher=CONABIO|url=http://www.conabio.gob.mx/institucion/snib/doctos/acerca.html|access-date=7 October 2007|archive-date=12 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012020717/http://www.conabio.gob.mx/institucion/snib/doctos/acerca.html|url-status=live}} {{as of|2002|alt=In 2002}}, Mexico had the second fastest rate of deforestation in the world, second only to Brazil.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1854188.stm |title=Mexico's 'devastating' forest loss |work=BBC News |date=4 March 2002 |access-date=8 August 2011 |archive-date=16 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180116232007/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1854188.stm |url-status=live }} It had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 6.82/10, ranking it 63rd globally out of 172 countries.{{cite journal |last1=Grantham |first1=H. S. |last2=Duncan |first2=A. |last3=Evans |first3=T. D. |last4=Jones |first4=K. R. |last5=Beyer |first5=H. L. |last6=Schuster |first6=R. |last7=Walston |first7=J. |last8=Ray |first8=J. C. |last9=Robinson |first9=J. G. |last10=Callow |first10=M. |last11=Clements |first11=T. |last12=Costa |first12=H. M. |last13=DeGemmis |first13=A. |last14=Elsen |first14=P. R. |last15=Ervin |first15=J. |last16=Franco |first16=P. |last17=Goldman |first17=E. |last18=Goetz |first18=S. |last19=Hansen |first19=A. |last20=Hofsvang |first20=E. |last21=Jantz |first21=P. |last22=Jupiter |first22=S. |last23=Kang |first23=A. |last24=Langhammer |first24=P. |last25=Laurance |first25=W. F. |last26=Lieberman |first26=S. |last27=Linkie |first27=M. |last28=Malhi |first28=Y. |last29=Maxwell |first29=S. |last30=Mendez |first30=M. |last31=Mittermeier |first31=R. |last32=Murray |first32=N. J. |last33=Possingham |first33=H. |last34=Radachowsky |first34=J. |last35=Saatchi |first35=S. |last36=Samper |first36=C. |last37=Silverman |first37=J. |last38=Shapiro |first38=A. |last39=Strassburg |first39=B. |last40=Stevens |first40=T. |last41=Stokes |first41=E. |last42=Taylor |first42=R. |last43=Tear |first43=T. |last44=Tizard |first44=R. |last45=Venter |first45=O. |last46=Visconti |first46=P. |last47=Wang |first47=S. |last48=Watson |first48=J. E. M. |title=Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity |journal=Nature Communications |date=8 December 2020 |volume=11 |issue=1 |page=5978 |doi=10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3 |pmid=33293507 |pmc=7723057 |bibcode=2020NatCo..11.5978G }} According to SGI there is Deforestation and soil erosion especially in rural areas of Mexico. In the 2022 report it was noted environmental protection laws have improved in major cities but remain unenforced or unregulated in rural regions.{{cite web | url=https://www.sgi-network.org/2022/Mexico/Environmental_Policies#:~:text=Mexico%20faces%20a%20number%20of,of%20the%20most%20pressing%20problems. | title=SGI 2022 | Mexico | Environmental Policies | access-date=18 April 2024 | archive-date=18 April 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240418114421/https://www.sgi-network.org/2022/Mexico/Environmental_Policies#:~:text=Mexico%20faces%20a%20number%20of,of%20the%20most%20pressing%20problems. | url-status=live }}

File:Puma en Bosque de Niebla, Sierra de Manantlan.jpg in a cloud forest, Sierra de Manantlán Biosphere Reserve]]

In Mexico, {{convert|170000|km2|sqmi|0|sp=us}} are considered "Protected Natural Areas". These include 34 biosphere reserves, 67 national parks, 4 natural monuments, 26 areas of protected flora and fauna, 4 areas for natural resource protection and 17 sanctuaries (zones rich in diverse species). Some of Mexico's native culinary ingredients include maize, tomato, beans, squash, chocolate, vanilla, avocado, guava, chayote, epazote, camote, jícama, nopal, zucchini, tejocote, huitlacoche, sapote, mamey sapote, and a great variety of chiles, such as the habanero and the jalapeño. Tequila, the distilled alcoholic drink made from cultivated agave cacti is a major industry. Because of its high biodiversity Mexico has also been a frequent site of bioprospecting by international research bodies.Hayden, Cori. 2003. When Nature Goes Public: The Making and Unmaking of Bioproscpecting in Mexico. Princeton University Press.

{{Main|Politics of Mexico|Federal government of Mexico}}

File:Bandera Mexicana - panoramio - cz354x (3).jpg on the east side of Plaza de la Constitución or Zócalo, the main square of Mexico City; it was the residence of viceroys and Presidents of Mexico and now the seat of the Mexican government.]]

File:Mexico_Chamber_of_Deputies_backdrop.jpg, the lower house of the Congress of Mexico]]

The United Mexican States are a federation whose government is representative, democratic, and republican based on a presidential system according to the 1917 Constitution. The Constitution establishes three levels of government: the federal Union, the state governments, and the municipal governments.

The federal legislature is the bicameral Congress of the Union, composed of the Senate of the Republic and the Chamber of Deputies. The Congress makes federal law, declares war, imposes taxes, approves the national budget and international treaties, and ratifies diplomatic appointments.{{cite web|title=Articles 50 to 79|work=Political Constitution of the United Mexican States|publisher=Congress of the Union of the United Mexican States|url=http://constitucion.gob.mx/index.php?idseccion=12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061113175736/http://constitucion.gob.mx/index.php?idseccion=12|archive-date=13 November 2006|access-date=3 October 2007}} The federal Congress, as well as the state legislatures, are elected by a system of parallel voting that includes plurality and proportional representation. The Chamber of Deputies has 500 deputies. Of these, 300 are elected by plurality vote in single-member districts (the federal electoral districts) and 200 are elected by proportional representation with closed party lists{{cite web|title=Third Title, First Chapter, About Electoral systems, Article 11–1 |work=Código Federal de Instituciones y Procedimientos Electorales (Federal Code of Electoral Institutions and Procedures) |date=15 August 1990 |publisher=Congress of the Union of the United Mexican States |url=http://normateca.ife.org.mx/normanet/files_otros/COFIPE/cofipe.pdf |access-date=3 October 2007 |language=es |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071025020343/http://normateca.ife.org.mx/normanet/files_otros/COFIPE/cofipe.pdf |archive-date=25 October 2007}} for which the country is divided into five electoral constituencies. The Senate comprises 128 senators: 64 (two for each state and two for Mexico City) are elected by plurality vote in pairs, 32 are the first minority or first-runner-up (one for each state and one for Mexico City), and 32 are elected by proportional representation from national closed party lists.

The executive is the President of the United Mexican States, who is the head of state and government, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Mexican military forces. The President also appoints the Cabinet and other officers. The President is responsible for executing and enforcing the law and has the power to veto bills.

The highest organ of the judicial branch of government is the Supreme Court of Justice, the national supreme court, which has eleven judges appointed by the President and approved by the Senate. The Supreme Court of Justice interprets laws and judges cases of federal competency. Other institutions of the judiciary are the Federal Electoral Tribunal, collegiate, unitary, and district tribunals, and the Council of the Federal Judiciary.

Three parties have historically been the dominant parties in Mexican politics: the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), a catch-all party{{cite book |editor=Niko Vorobyov |title=Dopeworld: Adventures in Drug Lands |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lHUKBAAAQBAJ&q=taiwan+far-right+NP&pg=PA44 |quote=... Mexico spent most of the twentieth century governed by the Institutional Revolutionary Party or PRI, a bigtent, catch-all alliance that included everyone ... |date=2019 |publisher=Hachette UK |isbn=9781317755098 |access-date=19 January 2021 |archive-date=1 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230401070104/https://books.google.com/books?id=lHUKBAAAQBAJ&q=taiwan+far-right+NP&pg=PA44 |url-status=live }} and member of the Socialist International{{cite web|url=http://www.pri.org.mx/PriistasTrabajando/saladeprensa/comunicados/noticia.aspx?x=1485|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081217142341/http://www.pri.org.mx/PriistasTrabajando/saladeprensa/comunicados/noticia.aspx?x=1485|archive-date=17 December 2008 |title=Entrevista a la Lic. Beatriz Paredes Rangel, Presidenta dle Comité Ejecutivo Nacional del PRI |date=17 December 2008 |access-date=17 July 2013}} that was founded in 1929 to unite all the factions of the Mexican Revolution and held an almost hegemonic power in Mexican politics since then; the National Action Party (PAN), a conservative party founded in 1939 and belonging to the Christian Democrat Organization of America;{{cite web |url=http://www.odca.org.mx/miembros.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080714033103/http://www.odca.org.mx/miembros.html|archive-date=14 July 2008 |title=Miembros Titulares |publisher=ODCA |date=14 July 2008 |access-date=17 July 2013}} and the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) a left-wing party,{{cite web|url=http://www.prd.org.mx/portal/documentos/estatuto_xi.pdf |title=Estatuto del Partido de la Revolución Democrática |access-date=17 July 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116235928/http://www.prd.org.mx/portal/documentos/estatuto_xi.pdf |archive-date=16 January 2013}} founded in 1989 as the successor of the coalition of socialists and liberal parties.

{{Main|Foreign relations of Mexico}}

File:Edificio_Tlatelolco_(S.R.E).JPG]]

The foreign relations of Mexico are directed by the President of Mexico and managed through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.{{cite web|author=Internal Rules of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs |title=Article 2, Section 1 |date=10 August 2001 |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs |url=http://www.sre.gob.mx/acerca/marco_normativo/reglamento.htm |access-date=28 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080611012801/http://www.sre.gob.mx/acerca/marco_normativo/reglamento.htm |archive-date=11 June 2008|language=es}} The principles of the foreign policy are constitutionally recognized in the Article 89, Section 10, which include: respect for international law and legal equality of states, their sovereignty and independence, trend to non-interventionism in the domestic affairs of other countries, peaceful resolution of conflicts, and promotion of collective security through active participation in international organizations.{{cite web|author=Political Constitution of the United Mexican States |title=Article 89, Section 10 |date=5 February 1917 |publisher=Chamber of Deputies |url=http://www.cddhcu.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/pdf/1.pdf |access-date=28 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070825041639/http://www.cddhcu.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/pdf/1.pdf |archive-date=25 August 2007|language=es}} Since the 1930s, the Estrada Doctrine has served as a crucial complement to these principles.{{cite web|last=Palacios Treviño |first=Jorge |title=La Doctrina Estrada y el Principio de la No-Intervención |url=http://www.diplomaticosescritores.org/obras/DOCTRINAESTRADA.pdf |access-date=4 April 2009 |language=es |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090206085102/http://diplomaticosescritores.org/obras/DOCTRINAESTRADA.pdf |archive-date=6 February 2009 }}

Mexico is a founding member of several international organizations, most notably the United Nations,{{cite web|author=UN |title=United Nations Member States |date=7 November 1945 |publisher=UN official website |url=https://www.un.org/members/list.shtml#m |access-date=6 April 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090417145758/http://www.un.org/members/list.shtml |archive-date=17 April 2009 }} the Organization of American States,Velázquez Flores (2007), p. 145. the Organization of Ibero-American States,{{cite web |author=Organization of Ibero-American States |title=Members |publisher=OEI official website |url=http://www.oei.es/acercaoei.htm |access-date=6 April 2009 |language=es |archive-date=16 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221216083900/https://www.oei.es/acercaoei.htm |url-status=live }} the OPANAL{{cite web|author=OPANAL |title=Members |publisher=OPANAL official website |url=http://www.opanal.org/opanal/about/about-i.htm |access-date=6 April 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090814205200/http://opanal.org/opanal/about/about-i.htm |archive-date=14 August 2009 }} and the CELAC.{{cite web|author=Ministry of Foreign Affairs |title=El Presidente Felipe Calderón Hinojosa en la Ceremonia de Entrega de la Secretaría Pro Témpore del Grupo de Río |date=7 March 2007 |publisher=Gobierno Federal |url=http://portal2.sre.gob.mx/gruporio/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2&Itemid=2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090823035712/http://portal2.sre.gob.mx/gruporio/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2&Itemid=2 |archive-date=23 August 2009 |access-date=6 April 2009|language=es}} In 2008, Mexico contributed over 40 million dollars to the United Nations regular budget.{{cite web |author=United Nations |title=Regular Budget Payments of Largest Payers |year=2008 |publisher=Global Policy |url=http://www.globalpolicy.org/finance/tables/reg-budget/large08.htm |access-date=4 April 2009 |archive-date=16 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221216083915/https://www.globalpolicy.org/finance/tables/reg-budget/large08.htm |url-status=live }} In addition, it was the only Latin American member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development since it joined in 1994 until Chile gained full membership in 2010.{{cite web |author=Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development |title=Members |date=18 May 1994 |publisher=OECD official website |url=http://www.oecd.org/document/58/0,3343,en_2649_201185_1889402_1_1_1_1,00.html |access-date=6 April 2009 |archive-date=5 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205075153/http://www.oecd.org/document/58/0,3343,en_2649_201185_1889402_1_1_1_1,00.html |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Chile joins the OECD's Economic Club |date=12 January 2010 |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/business/2010/01/100112_chile_oecd_biz.shtml |access-date=23 April 2010 |archive-date=9 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100209231717/http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/business/2010/01/100112_chile_oecd_biz.shtml |url-status=live }}

Mexico is considered a regional power{{cite web|title=Japan's Regional Diplomacy, Latin America and the Caribbean|publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/other/bluebook/2006/05.pdf|access-date=4 April 2009|archive-date=16 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230316232649/http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/other/bluebook/2006/05.pdf|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=Latin America: Region is losing ground to competitors|publisher=Oxford Analytica|url=http://www.oxanstore.com/displayfree.php?NewsItemID=130098 |access-date=4 April 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071024190633/http://www.oxanstore.com/displayfree.php?NewsItemID=130098 |archive-date=24 October 2007}} hence its presence in major economic groups such as the G8+5 and the G-20. Since the 1990s Mexico has sought a reform of the United Nations Security Council and its working methodsMinistry of Foreign Affairs (2005), p. 215. with the support of Canada, Italy, Pakistan and other nine countries, which form a group informally called the Coffee Club.{{cite news |author=Maggie Farley |title=Mexico, Canada Introduce Third Plan to Expand Security Council |date=22 July 2005 |work=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-jul-22-fg-unreform22-story.html |access-date=4 April 2009 |archive-date=6 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206141851/http://articles.latimes.com/2005/jul/22/world/fg-unreform22 |url-status=live }}

{{Main|Mexican Armed Forces|Military history of Mexico}}

File:From the front, ARM USUMACINTA, ARM BENITO JUAREZ, and JS IZUMO during the Japan-Mexico goodwill exercise.jpg Usumacinta, Mexican-Dutch-made Reformador-class Benito Juárez and Japananese Izumo-class carrier. 2022.]]

File:S-45 BAALAM.png by Hydra Technologies. 2022.]]

The Mexican Armed Forces are administered by the Secretariat of National Defense ({{lang|es|Secretaria de Defensa Nacional}}, SEDENA). There are two branches: the Mexican Army (which includes the Mexican Air Force) and Mexican Navy. The National Guard, which was formed in 2019 from the disbanded Federal Police and military police of the Army and Navy, functions as a gendarmerie; while responsible for law enforcement, it is placed under military command.{{Cite web |date=2024-09-25 |title=Mexico's Congress puts National Guard under military command despite criticism. Why does it matter? |url=https://apnews.com/article/mexico-congress-national-guard-military-b31ab1b6aa165f87012fb93845922b9a |access-date=2024-12-24 |website=AP News |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2025-01-14 |title=The Structural Redesign of Security in Mexico {{!}} Wilson Center |url=https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/structural-redesign-security-mexico |access-date=2024-12-24 |website=www.wilsoncenter.org |language=en}} Figures vary, but as of 2024, there are approximately 220,000 armed forces personnel: 160,000 Army; 10,000 Air Force; and 50,000 Navy, including about 20,000 marines. The National Guard has roughly 110,000 personnel. Military expenditures are a small fraction of GDP, at around 0.6% as of 2023.[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/mexico/#military-and-security] World Fact Book, Mexico. accessed 4 May 2022

The Mexican Armed Forces maintain significant infrastructure, including facilities for the design, research, and testing of weapons, vehicles, aircraft, naval vessels, defense systems and electronics; military industry manufacturing centers for building such systems; and advanced naval dockyards that build heavy military vessels and advanced missile technologies. Since the 1990s, when the military escalated its role in the war on drugs, increasing importance has been placed on acquiring airborne surveillance platforms, aircraft, helicopters, digital war-fighting technologies,{{cite web|author=Loke |url=http://impreso.milenio.com/node/8696274 |title=Capacitarán a militares en combates con rifles láser | Ediciones Impresas Milenio |publisher=Impreso.milenio.com |access-date=30 May 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100514075604/http://impreso.milenio.com/node/8696274 |archive-date=14 May 2010}} urban warfare equipment and rapid troop transport.{{cite web |url=http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/pub638.pdf |title=Strategy on recent equipment purchases: The Mexican Armed Forces in Transition |access-date=17 July 2013 |archive-date=25 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170125104336/https://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/pub638.pdf |url-status=dead }} Mexico has the capabilities to manufacture nuclear weapons, but abandoned this possibility with the Treaty of Tlatelolco in 1968, pledging to use its nuclear technology only for peaceful purposes.{{cite web|url=http://www.opanal.org/opanal/Tlatelolco/Tlatelolco-i.htm |title=Text of the Treaty of Tlatelolco |publisher=Opanal.org |date=27 November 1963 |access-date=9 March 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430200457/http://www.opanal.org/opanal/Tlatelolco/Tlatelolco-i.htm |archive-date=30 April 2011}} Mexico signed the UN treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.{{cite web |url=https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XXVI-9&chapter=26&clang=_en |title=Chapter XXVI: Disarmament – No. 9 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons |publisher=United Nations Treaty Collection |date=7 July 2017 |access-date=9 August 2019 |archive-date=6 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190806220546/https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XXVI-9&chapter=26&clang=_en |url-status=live }}

Historically, Mexico has remained neutral in international conflicts,{{cite web |language=es |author=Gustavo Iruegas |title=Adiós a la neutralidad |date=27 April 2007 |work=La Jornada |url=http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2007/04/27/index.php?section=opinion&article=023a2pol |access-date=4 April 2009 |archive-date=27 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180227154140/http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2007/04/27/index.php?section=opinion&article=023a2pol |url-status=live }} with the exception of World War II. However, in recent years some political parties have proposed an amendment of the Constitution to allow the Mexican Army, Air Force or Navy to collaborate with the United Nations in peacekeeping missions, or to provide military help to countries that officially ask for it.{{cite web |author1=Ricardo Gómez |author2=Andrea Merlos |name-list-style=amp |title=Diputados, en Favor de Derogar Neutralidad en Guerras |date=20 April 2007 |work=El Universal |url=http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/nacion/150273.html |access-date=4 April 2009 |language=es |archive-date=15 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131015201504/http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/nacion/150273.html |url-status=dead }}

{{main|Law enforcement in Mexico|Crime in Mexico}}

{{Further|Mexican Drug War|Human trafficking in Mexico|Femicide in Mexico}}

File:Día_del_Policía_Federal.jpg celebration]]

File:Ayotz1napa ohs202.jpg in the Mexican town of Iguala]]

The Mexican Federal Police was dissolved in 2019 by a constitutional amendment during the administration of President López Obrador, being replaced by the National Guard, a national gendarmerie formed from units and assets of the Federal Police, Military Police, and Naval Police.{{cite news |title=A Look At Mexico's New National Guard |url=https://www.npr.org/2019/07/13/741391138/a-look-at-mexicos-new-national-guard |access-date=14 May 2022 |work=NPR |date=13 July 2019 |language=en |archive-date=28 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220628134718/https://www.npr.org/2019/07/13/741391138/a-look-at-mexicos-new-national-guard |url-status=live }} As of 2022, the National Guard numbered 110,000 personnel. López Obrador had increasingly used military forces for domestic law enforcement, particularly against drug cartels.[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/mexico/] World Fact Book accessed 14 May 2022. There have been serious abuses of power reported in security operations in the southern part of the country and in indigenous communities and poor urban neighborhoods. The National Human Rights Commission has had little impact in reversing this trend, engaging mostly in documentation but failing to use its powers to issue public condemnations to the officials who ignore its recommendations.{{cite news |url=https://www.economist.com/world/la/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10696136 |title=Big, expensive and weirdly spineless |publisher=The Economist |date=14 February 2008 |access-date=17 July 2013 |archive-date=21 April 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080421203502/http://www.economist.com/world/la/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10696136 |url-status=live }} Most Mexicans have low confidence in the police or the judicial system, and therefore, few crimes are actually reported by the citizens.{{cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/379167/Mexico |title=Mexico |publisher=Britannica Online Encyclopedia |access-date=6 March 2011 |archive-date=17 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110317221559/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/379167/Mexico |url-status=live }} There have been public demonstrations of outrage against what is considered a culture of impunity.[https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/27/world/americas/debanhi-escobar-mexico.html "A Woman's Haunting Disappearance Sparks Outrage in Mexico Over Gender Violence"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220517172820/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/27/world/americas/debanhi-escobar-mexico.html |date=17 May 2022 }} New York Times accessed 17 May 2022.

Mexico has fully recognised same-sex marriage since 2022,{{cite web |title=Same-Sex Marriage Around the World |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/fact-sheet/gay-marriage-around-the-world/ |website=Pew Research Center |access-date=11 September 2023 |archive-date=16 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116174657/https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/fact-sheet/gay-marriage-around-the-world/ |url-status=live }} and anti-discrimination laws regarding sexual orientation have existed in the nation since 2003.{{cite web | author=International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission | title=Mexico protects its gay and lesbian citizens with new law | date=23 April 2003 | url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Mexico+protects+its+gay+and+lesbian+citizens+with+new+law.-a0108149079 | access-date=27 November 2009 | archive-date=21 February 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221202108/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/403.htm | url-status=live }} However, hate crimes towards the LGBT community remain an issue in Mexico.{{cite web |title=STONEWALL GLOBAL WORKPLACE BRIEFINGS 2018 MEXICO |url=https://www.stonewall.org.uk/system/files/mexico_global_workplace_briefing_2018.pdf |website=Stonewall |access-date=11 September 2023 |archive-date=4 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231004145321/https://www.stonewall.org.uk/system/files/mexico_global_workplace_briefing_2018.pdf |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last1=Lopez |first1=Oscar |title=Mexico sees deadliest year for LGBT+ people in five years |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-lgbt-murders-trfn-idUSKBN22R37Y |website=Reuters |access-date=11 September 2023 |archive-date=4 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231004145319/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-lgbt-murders-trfn-idUSKBN22R37Y |url-status=live }} Other crime and human rights violations in Mexico have been criticized, including enforced disappearances (kidnappings), abuses against migrants, extrajudicial killings, gender-based violence, especially femicide, and attacks on journalists and human rights advocates.{{cite book|title=World Report, Mexico 2022|chapter=Mexico: Events of 2021|chapter-url=https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2022/country-chapters/mexico?gclid=Cj0KCQjwpv2TBhDoARIsALBnVnlVHMbJ-Wc9gl98yizh3SmWhLJqcpoBeBZvdQkK92NKBgsbfpf8YAYaAhY-EALw_wcB|via=Human Rights Watch.org|date=10 December 2021|publisher=Human Rights Watch|access-date=14 May 2022|archive-date=12 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812221207/https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2022/country-chapters/mexico?gclid=Cj0KCQjwpv2TBhDoARIsALBnVnlVHMbJ-Wc9gl98yizh3SmWhLJqcpoBeBZvdQkK92NKBgsbfpf8YAYaAhY-EALw_wcB|url-status=live}} A 2020 report by the BBC gives statistics on crime in Mexico, with 10.7 million households with at least one victim of crime.[https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-latin-america-30053745 "Mexico crime and violence in numbers"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220508184955/https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-latin-america-30053745 |date=8 May 2022 }} BBC News, accessed 8 May 2022

As of May 2022, 100,000 people are officially listed as missing, most since 2007 when President Calderón attempted to stop the drug cartels.[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-61477704 "Mexico disappearances reach record high of 100,000 amid impunity"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240108211845/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-61477704 |date=8 January 2024 }} BBC News accessed 17 May 2022. Drug cartels remain a major issue in Mexico, with a proliferation of smaller cartels when larger ones are broken up and increasingly the use of more sophisticated military equipment and tactics.[https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/04/world/americas/mexico-cartels-michoacan.html] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220814102457/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/04/world/americas/mexico-cartels-michoacan.html|date=14 August 2022}} "In Mexico, One Cartel Is Cleared, but Others Storm In" New York Times, accessed 8 May 2022[https://www.insightcrime.org/news/how-mexicos-cartel-have-learned-military-tactics/] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220527114615/https://insightcrime.org/news/how-mexicos-cartel-have-learned-military-tactics/|date=27 May 2022}} "How Mexico's Cartels Have Learned Military Tactics", accessed 8 May 2022

Mexico's drug war, ongoing since 2006, has left over 120,000 dead and perhaps another 37,000 missing.{{cite news|url=https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/mexicos-drug-war|title=Mexico's Drug War|work=Council on Foreign Relations|date=24 January 2019|access-date=19 July 2019|author1=Brianna Lee|author2=Danielle Renwick|author3=Rocio Cara Labrador|archive-date=16 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190716001309/https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/mexicos-drug-war|url-status=live}} Mexico's National Geography and Statistics Institute estimated that in 2014, one-fifth of Mexicans were victims of some sort of crime.{{cite news |last1=Franco |first1=Yanira |title=Uno de cada cinco, víctima de algún delito: Inegi |trans-title=One in five, victim of a crime: Inegi |url=https://www.milenio.com/policia/uno-de-cada-cinco-victima-de-algun-delito-inegi |access-date=4 June 2020 |work=Milenio |date=1 October 2015 |location=Mexico City |language=es |archive-date=4 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604081837/https://www.milenio.com/policia/uno-de-cada-cinco-victima-de-algun-delito-inegi |url-status=live }} The mass kidnapping of 43 students in Iguala on 26 September 2014 triggered nationwide protests against the government's weak response to the disappearances and widespread corruption that gives free rein to criminal organizations.{{cite news |last1=Tuckman |first1=Jo |title=Mexicans in biggest protest yet over missing students |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/nov/21/mexicans-protesting-about-missing-students-scuffle-with-police |access-date=4 June 2020 |work=The Guardian |date=21 November 2014 |location=Mexico City |archive-date=8 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200508062121/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/nov/21/mexicans-protesting-about-missing-students-scuffle-with-police |url-status=live }} More than 100 journalists and media workers have been killed or disappeared since 2000, and most of these crimes remained unsolved, improperly investigated, and with few perpetrators arrested and convicted.{{cite web|title=Freedom of Expression in Mexico|url=http://www.pen.org/campaign/freedom-expression-mexico|publisher=PEN American Center|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130723210845/http://www.pen.org/campaign/freedom-expression-mexico|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 July 2013}}{{cite news|last1=Alcázar|first1=Jesús|title=Más de 100 periodistas asesinados en México desde el año 2000|url=http://www.elmundo.es/internacional/2014/06/17/53a089ccca47415c528b45a4.html|agency=EFE|publisher=El Mundo (Spain)|date=17 July 2014|language=es|access-date=3 March 2018|archive-date=24 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924171324/http://www.elmundo.es/internacional/2014/06/17/53a089ccca47415c528b45a4.html|url-status=live}}

{{Main|Administrative divisions of Mexico}}

{{Further|States of Mexico|Municipalities of Mexico}}

{{See also|List of Mexican state legislatures}}

The boundaries and constituent units of Mexico evolved from its colonial-era origins. Central America peacefully separated from Mexico after independence in 1821. Yucatán was briefly an independent republic. Texas separated in the Texas Revolution and when it was annexed to the U.S. in 1845, it set the stage for the Mexican–American War and major territorial loss to the U.S. The sale of northern territory known in the U.S. as the Gadsden Purchase was the last loss of Mexican territory. The United Mexican States are a federation of 31 free and sovereign states, which form a union that exercises a degree of jurisdiction over Mexico City.{{cite web|publisher=Thought.Co.|title=Mexico's 31 States and One Federal District|url=https://www.thoughtco.com/states-of-mexico-1435213|author=Amanda Briney|date=8 October 2018|access-date=15 July 2019|archive-date=15 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190715171654/https://www.thoughtco.com/states-of-mexico-1435213|url-status=live}} Each state has its constitution, congress, and a judiciary, and its citizens elect by direct voting a governor for a six-year term, and representatives to their respective unicameral state congresses for three-year terms.

Mexico City is a special political division that belongs to the federation as a whole and not to a particular state. Formerly known as the Federal District, its autonomy was previously limited relative to that of the states. It dropped this designation in 2016 and is in the process of achieving greater political autonomy by becoming a federal entity with its constitution and congress.{{cite web |title=Federal District is now officially Mexico City: The change brings more autonomy for the country's capital |date=30 January 2016 |work=Mexico News Daily |url=http://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/federal-district-is-now-officially-mexico-city/ |access-date=5 January 2018 |archive-date=21 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170721155716/http://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/federal-district-is-now-officially-mexico-city |url-status=dead }} The states are divided into municipalities, the smallest administrative political entity in the country, governed by a mayor or municipal president ({{lang|es|presidente municipal}}), elected by its residents by plurality.

{{Mexico labeled map|width=700|float=center}}

{{Main|Economy of Mexico|}}

{{See also|Economic history of Mexico}}

File:Mexico_City_(2018)_-_508.jpg building, in Mexico City]]

File:Plaza_Carso_Mexico.jpg in Mexico City, the largest mobile network operator outside Asia]]

File:Paronama_de_San_Pedro_Garza_García.jpgs in San Pedro Garza García, Nuevo León]]

As of April 2024, Mexico has the 12th largest nominal GDP (US$1.848 trillion), the 12th largest by purchasing power parity (US$3.303 trillion) and a GDP in PPP per capita of US$24,971.{{cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2024/April/weo-report?c=273,&s=NGDP_RPCH,NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPDPC,PPPPC,PCPIPCH,&sy=2022&ey=2029&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1 |title=Report for Selected Countries and Subjects: April 2024|publisher=International Monetary Fund|website=imf.org}} The World Bank reported in 2023 that the country's gross national income in market exchange rates was the second highest in Latin America after Brazil at US$1,744,711.4 million.{{cite web |title=GNI (current US$) |publisher=World Bank |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GNP.MKTP.CD |access-date=2024-10-08}} Mexico is established as an upper-middle-income country. After the slowdown of 2001 the country recovered and grew 4.2, 3.0 and 4.8 percent in 2004, 2005 and 2006,{{cite web|url=http://www.eclac.org/prensa/noticias/comunicados/0/27580/GDPchartforprelimoverview_ENG.pdf|title=Reporte ECLAC|access-date=16 February 2007|language=es|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070615205535/http://www.eclac.org/prensa/noticias/comunicados/0/27580/GDPchartforprelimoverview_ENG.pdf|archive-date=15 June 2007|url-status=dead}} even though it is considered to be well below Mexico's potential growth.{{Citation |last1=Hufbauer |first1=G.C. |last2=Schott |first2=J.J. |contribution=Chapter 1, Overview |contribution-url=http://www.iie.com/publications/chapters_preview/332/01iie3349.pdf |title=NAFTA Revisited: Achievements and Challenges |location=Washington, DC |publisher=Institute for International Economics |publication-date=October 2005 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/naftarevisitedac00hufb/page/1 1–78] |isbn=978-0-88132-334-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/naftarevisitedac00hufb/page/1 |date=1 January 2005 }} By 2050, Mexico could potentially become the world's fifth or seventh-largest economy.{{cite web|url=http://thecatalist.org/2010/03/mexico-2050-the-world%C2%B4s-fifth-largest-economy/|title=Mexico 2050: The World's Fifth Largest Economy|date=17 March 2010 |access-date=12 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100819135700/http://thecatalist.org/2010/03/mexico-2050-the-world%C2%B4s-fifth-largest-economy |archive-date=19 August 2010}}{{cite web|url=http://www.pwc.com/en_GX/gx/world-2050/assets/pwc-world-in-2050-report-january-2013.pdf|title=World in 2050 – The BRICs and beyond: prospects, challenges and opportunities|publisher=PwC Economics|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130222040853/http://www.pwc.com/en_GX/gx/world-2050/assets/pwc-world-in-2050-report-january-2013.pdf|archive-date=22 February 2013|url-status=dead|access-date=17 July 2013}}

The electronics industry of Mexico has grown enormously within the last decade. Mexico has the sixth largest electronics industry in the world after China, the United States, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Mexico is the second-largest exporter of electronics to the United States where it exported $71.4 billion worth of electronics in 2011. The Mexican electronics exports grew 73% between 2002 and 2012. The manufactured value-added sector, which electronics is part of, accounted for 18% of Mexico's GDP.[https://www.entradagroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Whitepaper_Electronics-Whitepaper_pdf.pdf "Mexico, A New Hub For Electronic Manufacturing."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241215234343/https://www.entradagroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Whitepaper_Electronics-Whitepaper_pdf.pdf |date=15 December 2024 }}, page 2, retrieved on November 08, 2024.

Mexico produces the most automobiles of any North American nation.{{cite web |url=http://www.upi.com/Business_News/2008/12/11/Mexico_tops_US_Canadian_car_makers/UPI-17741229011704/ |title=Mexico tops U.S., Canadian car makers |publisher=Upi.com |date=11 December 2008 |access-date=30 May 2010 |archive-date=31 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190831183233/https://www.upi.com/Business_News/2008/12/11/Mexico_tops_US_Canadian_car_makers/UPI-17741229011704/ |url-status=live }} The industry produces technologically complex components and engages in some research and development activities.{{Cite book |last1=Gereffi |first1=G |last2=Martínez |first2=M |chapter=Mexico's Economic Transformation under NAFTA |editor-last=Crandall |editor-first=R |editor2-last=Paz |editor2-first=G |editor3-last=Roett |editor3-first=R |title=Mexico's Democracy at Work: Political and Economic Dynamics |publisher=Lynne Reiner Publishers |publication-date=30 September 2004 |isbn=978-1-58826-300-1 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KlPiswEACAAJ |year=2005 |url=https://archive.org/details/mexicosdemocracy0000unse }} The "Big Three" (General Motors, Ford and Chrysler) have been operating in Mexico since the 1930s, while Volkswagen and Nissan built their plants in the 1960s.{{Cite book |last1=Hufbauer |first1=G.C. |last2=Schott |first2=J.J. |contribution=Chapter 6, The Automotive Sector |contribution-url=http://www.iie.com/publications/chapters_preview/332/06iie3349.pdf |title=NAFTA Revisited: Achievements and Challenges |place=Washington, D.C. |publisher=Institute for International Economics |publication-date=October 2005 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/naftarevisitedac00hufb/page/1 1–78] |isbn=978-0-88132-334-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/naftarevisitedac00hufb/page/1 |date=1 January 2005 }} In Puebla alone, 70 industrial part-makers cluster around Volkswagen. In the 2010s expansion of the sector was surging. In September 2016 Kia opened a $1 billion factory in Nuevo León,{{cite news |last1=García |first1=Daniela |title=Inauguran Kia Motors en Pesquería |trans-title=Kia Motors launched in Pesquería |url=https://www.milenio.com/estados/inauguran-kia-motors-en-pesqueria |access-date=4 June 2020 |work=Milenio |date=7 September 2016 |location=Pesquería |language=es |archive-date=4 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604081837/https://www.milenio.com/estados/inauguran-kia-motors-en-pesqueria |url-status=live }} with Audi also opening an assembling plant in Puebla the same year.{{cite news |title=Audi inaugura planta automotriz en Puebla |trans-title=Audi opens automotive plant in Puebla |url=http://www.autoexplora.com/autoexplora-drive-style/noticias/nacionales/audi-inaugura-planta-automotriz-en-puebla/ |access-date=4 June 2020 |work=Autoexplora |date=30 September 2016 |language=es |archive-date=27 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927002505/http://www.autoexplora.com/autoexplora-drive-style/noticias/nacionales/audi-inaugura-planta-automotriz-en-puebla/ |url-status=dead }} BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Nissan currently have plants in construction.{{cite news|title=Automaker Kia plans $1 bn assembly plant in Mexico|url=http://www.mexiconews.net/index.php/sid/225153337|date=28 August 2014|access-date=28 August 2014|publisher=Mexico News.Net|archive-date=3 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903092239/http://www.mexiconews.net/index.php/sid/225153337|url-status=live}} The domestic car industry is represented by DINA S.A., which has built buses and trucks since 1962,{{cite web |url=http://www.dina.com.mx/history.html |title=History |author=DINA Camiones Company |access-date=15 April 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110513110559/http://www.dina.com.mx/history.html |archive-date=13 May 2011}} and the new Mastretta company that builds the high-performance Mastretta MXT sports car.{{cite web|url=http://www.autoblog.com/2008/07/25/london-2008-mastretta-mxt-will-be-mexicos-first-homegrown-car/|title=London 2008: Mastretta MXT will be Mexico's first homegrown car|author=Jeremy Korzeniewski|date=25 July 2008 |access-date=30 July 2008|archive-date=20 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190220122614/https://www.autoblog.com/2008/07/25/london-2008-mastretta-mxt-will-be-mexicos-first-homegrown-car/|url-status=live}} In 2006, trade with the United States and Canada accounted for almost 50% of Mexico's exports and 45% of its imports.

During the first three quarters of 2010, the United States had a $46.0 billion trade deficit with Mexico.{{cite web |url=http://www.koreauspartnership.org/pdf/Koreas%20Balance%20of%20Payments.pdf |title=Korea's Balance of Payments |access-date=9 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501111207/http://www.koreauspartnership.org/pdf/Koreas%20Balance%20of%20Payments.pdf |archive-date=1 May 2011 |url-status=dead }} In August 2010 Mexico surpassed France to become the 9th largest holder of US debt.{{cite web |url=http://www.ustreas.gov/tic/mfh.txt |title=Major Foreign Holders Of Treasury Securities |publisher=U.S. Department of the Treasury |access-date=17 July 2013 |archive-date=23 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101123161108/http://www.ustreas.gov/tic/mfh.txt |url-status=live }} The remittances from Mexican citizens working in the United States are significant; after dipping during the 2008 Great Recession and again during COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 they are topping other sources of foreign income.[https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/BX.TRF.PWKR.CD.DT?locations=MX] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220511185705/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/BX.TRF.PWKR.CD.DT?locations=MX|date=11 May 2022}} "Personal Remittances Received, Mexico", World Bank accessed 11 May 2022[https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/remittances-mexico-soar-covid-pandemic-rcna13638] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220511185113/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/remittances-mexico-soar-covid-pandemic-rcna13638|date=11 May 2022}} "Latino Remittances from Mexico Soar". NBC News accessed 11 May 2022 Remittances are directed to Mexico by direct links from a U.S. government banking program.[https://www.judicialwatch.org/most-of-the-33-billion-in-remittances-to-mexico-flow-via-u-s-govt-banking-program/] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220518171346/https://www.judicialwatch.org/most-of-the-33-billion-in-remittances-to-mexico-flow-via-u-s-govt-banking-program/|date=18 May 2022}} "Most of the $33 Billion in Remittances to Mexico Flow Via U.S. Govt. Banking Program", Judicial Watch, accessed 12 May 2022

Although multiple international organizations coincide and classify Mexico as an upper middle income country, or a middle class country,{{cite news|newspaper=The Mazatlan Post|date=11 April 2019|access-date=15 July 2019|title=How much should you earn in Mexico to belong to the middle or upper class?|url=https://themazatlanpost.com/2019/04/11/how-much-should-you-earn-in-mexico-to-belong-to-the-middle-or-upper-class/|archive-date=15 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190715181153/https://themazatlanpost.com/2019/04/11/how-much-should-you-earn-in-mexico-to-belong-to-the-middle-or-upper-class/|url-status=live}}{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Noah |title=Mexico Is Solidly Middle Class (No Matter What Trump Says) |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-08-26/mexico-s-economic-growth-lifts-it-into-middle-class-status |work=Bloomberg |date=26 August 2019 |access-date=27 September 2019 |archive-date=8 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240108212012/https://ad.doubleclick.net/ddm/adi/N1395.273558.BLOOMBERG/B6753675.346299363;dc_ver=99.292;dc_eid=40004000;sz=970x250;u_sd=1;gdpr=0;dc_adk=4266363305;ord=dv8zb7;click=https%3A%2F%2Fadclick.g.doubleclick.net%2Fpcs%2Fclick%3Fxai%3DAKAOjsvOwLbc3X0f5-M_Rg6ujiM1V3fon_a4FrpB3nmGk76dwL2PhUj3LdDd44KnL2QzTd7-VQX4U3f8Fk1AKAU-xLGePQhPVk4VcXqFTpMldaMoC0nxcJyYVG5dp9K23ItSU1OQjhmjOZ7TqAC_2gcGTizlAABgCRzqdWGX90bNUWfkM013c6uKGfvwMyeglNa6el7tsGk1789Jagk3dUQRic8z-RCogjfsdQxIeX6MiateHjK6RWLMcEQib0kRO_y0dSd0DupeBM_8dGuLjTJ81noNf10XtvpE6OA8BbIEUK6hKAI1nSDuo0isKsihz7Kd8a7Yz5tbv9llCiezNtOLvWVc75gsD14-36LrZGY8WI3_rYS8G4h640XeF78Pjg%26sai%3DAMfl-YR5c4kVVCtILCebOcX745E_3v6caGOo7I0-wrSYNL3tfMALASqA_56hmnB-wyOCNiDJfNiCS6NU0Ot-fkgfGhCNl8eiKFHFzVRwdXbB6vJzNCxaMMrFSD5fPawqtRI%26sig%3DCg0ArKJSzGs1rAg5i3MeEAE%26fbs_aeid%3D%255Bgw_fbsaeid%255D%26urlfix%3D1%26adurl%3D;dc_rfl=1,https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bloomberg.com%2Fview%2Farticles%2F2019-08-26%2Fmexico-s-economic-growth-lifts-it-into-middle-class-status$0;xdt=0;crlt=Pg9O1pn3Gi;cmpl=8;gcsr=m;stc=1;sttr=114;prcl=s |url-status=live }} Mexico's National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development Policy (CONEVAL), which is the organization in charge to measure the country's poverty reports that a huge percentage of Mexico's population lives in poverty. According to said council, from 2006 to 2010 (the year on which the CONEVAL published its first nationwide report of poverty) the portion of Mexicans who live in poverty rose from 18%–19%{{cite web |title=Human Development Report 2009 |url=http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/reports/269/hdr_2009_en_complete.pdf |website=United Nations Development Programme |publisher=United Nations |access-date=4 June 2020 |page=118 |archive-date=8 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608105942/http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/reports/269/hdr_2009_en_complete.pdf |url-status=live }} to 46% (52 million people).{{cite web |url=http://web.coneval.gob.mx/Informes/Evaluaci%C3%B3n%202011/Informe%20de%20Evaluaci%C3%B3n%20de%20la%20Pol%C3%ADtica%20de%20Desarrollo%20Social%202011/Informe_de_evaluacion_de_politica_social_2011.pdf |title=CONEVAL Informe 2011 |access-date=31 March 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021025820/http://web.coneval.gob.mx/Informes/Evaluaci%C3%B3n%202011/Informe%20de%20Evaluaci%C3%B3n%20de%20la%20Pol%C3%ADtica%20de%20Desarrollo%20Social%202011/Informe_de_evaluacion_de_politica_social_2011.pdf |archive-date=21 October 2013 }} Despite this situation, CONEVAL reported in 2023 that the country's poverty rate has been decreasing in recent years, as the organization registered, within the period between 2018 and 2022, a 5.6% decrease, from 41.9% to 36.3% (from 51.9 million to 46.8 million people), according to its Multidimensional Poverty Index, though the extreme poverty rate rose by 0.1% (410 thousand people) within the same period, remaining at 7.1% (9.1 million people), and the number of people lacking access to healthcare services has significantly increased, from 16.2% to 39.1% (50.4 million people),{{cite news|first=Carolina|last=Gómez Mena|title=Reducción de casi 9 millones de personas en pobreza entre 2020-2022: Coneval|trans-title=Decrease of nearly 9 million people in poverty between 2020-2022: Coneval|work=La Jornada|date=10 August 2023|language=es|url=https://www.jornada.com.mx/notas/2023/08/10/sociedad/entre-2020-y-2022-se-redujo-en-casi-9-millones-cifra-de-personas-en-pobreza-coneval/|access-date=11 December 2023|archive-date=12 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231212072125/https://www.jornada.com.mx/notas/2023/08/10/sociedad/entre-2020-y-2022-se-redujo-en-casi-9-millones-cifra-de-personas-en-pobreza-coneval/|url-status=live}}{{cite journal|first=Valeria|last=Moy|title=Buenas y malas en la reducción de la pobreza|trans-title=Good and bad news regarding the decrease in poverty|journal=El Universal|date=15 August 2023|language=es|url=https://www.eluniversal.com.mx/opinion/valeria-moy/buenas-y-malas-en-la-reduccion-de-la-pobreza/|access-date=11 December 2023|archive-date=12 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231212072125/https://www.eluniversal.com.mx/opinion/valeria-moy/buenas-y-malas-en-la-reduccion-de-la-pobreza/|url-status=live}} though some specialists have expressed a degree of doubt regarding the accuracy of these rates.{{cite news|first=Dulce|last=Soto|title=Expertos y ONG dudan que pobreza en México haya disminuido como reportó Coneval|trans-title=Experts and NGO doubt that poverty in Mexico has decreased as Coneval reported|work=Expansión Política|date=25 September 2023|language=es|url=https://politica.expansion.mx/mexico/2023/09/25/expertos-y-ong-dudan-que-pobreza-en-mexico-haya-disminuido-como-reporto-coneval|access-date=11 December 2023|archive-date=12 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231212072125/https://politica.expansion.mx/mexico/2023/09/25/expertos-y-ong-dudan-que-pobreza-en-mexico-haya-disminuido-como-reporto-coneval|url-status=live}} According to the OECD's own poverty line (defined as the percentage of a country's population who earns 60%{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8177864.stm |title=Just what is poor? |access-date=27 August 2019 |author=Michael Blastland |work=BBC News |date=31 July 2009}} The "economic distance" concept, and a level of income set at 60% of the median household income or less of the national median income) 20% of Mexico's population lived in a situation of poverty in 2019.{{cite web |title=Under Pressure: The Squeezed Middle Class |url=https://www.oecd.org/els/soc/OECD-middle-class-2019-main-findings.pdf |publisher=OECD Publishing |access-date=4 June 2020 |location=Paris |date=2019 |archive-date=1 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200701060002/https://www.oecd.org/els/soc/OECD-middle-class-2019-main-findings.pdf |url-status=live }}

Among the OECD countries, Mexico has the second-highest degree of economic disparity between the extremely poor and extremely rich, after Chile – although it has been falling over the last decade, being one of few countries in which this is the case.{{cite book |chapter-url=http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/soc_glance-2011-en/06/01/index.html?contentType=&itemId=/content/chapter/soc_glance-2011-16-en&containerItemId=/content/serial/19991290&accessItemIds=/content/book/soc_glance-2011-en&mimeType=text/html |chapter=Income inequality |title=Society at a Glance 2011: Social Indicators |publisher=OECD |isbn=9789264098527 |date=12 April 2011 |archive-date=10 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010161819/http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/soc_glance-2011-en/06/01/index.html?contentType=&itemId=/content/chapter/soc_glance-2011-16-en&containerItemId=/content/serial/19991290&accessItemIds=/content/book/soc_glance-2011-en&mimeType=text/html |url-status=dead }} The bottom ten percent in the income hierarchy disposes of 1.36% of the country's resources, whereas the upper ten percent dispose of almost 36%. The OECD also notes that Mexico's budgeted expenses for poverty alleviation and social development are only about a third of the OECD average.{{cite web |url=http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/35/8/49363879.pdf |title=Perspectivas OCDE: México; Reformas para el Cambio |pages=35–36 |publisher=OECD |date=January 2012 |access-date=17 July 2013 |archive-date=22 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120522205932/http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/35/8/49363879.pdf |url-status=live }} This is also reflected by the fact that infant mortality in Mexico is three times higher than the average among OECD nations whereas its literacy levels are in the median range of OECD nations. Nevertheless, according to a Goldman Sachs report published in 2007, by 2050 Mexico will have the 5th largest economy in the world.{{cite web|url=http://www.chicagobooth.edu/alumni/clubs/pakistan/docs/next11dream-march%20%2707-goldmansachs.pdf |title=Goldman Sachs Paper No.153 Relevant Emerging Markets |access-date=30 May 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100331050553/http://www.chicagobooth.edu/alumni/clubs/pakistan/docs/next11dream-march%20%2707-goldmansachs.pdf |archive-date=31 March 2010 }} According to a 2008 UN report the average income in a typical urbanized area of Mexico was $26,654, while the average income in rural areas just miles away was only $8,403.{{Cite journal|title=Sobresale Nuevo León por su alto nivel de vida|journal=El Norte|year=2006|url=http://busquedas.gruporeforma.com/utilerias/imdservicios3w.dll?JPrintS&file=mty/norte01/00393/00393608.htm&palabra=|language=es|access-date=22 January 2007|archive-date=8 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240108211851/https://www.gruporeforma.com/utilerias/imdservicios3w.dll?JPrintS&file=mty/norte01/00393/00393608.htm&palabra=|url-status=live}} Daily minimum wages are set annually. The daily minimum wage will be $248.93 Mexican pesos (US$13.24) in 2024 ($375 in the country's northern border), making it comparable to the minimum wages of countries like Uruguay, Chile and Ecuador. The minimum wage has rapidly increased throughout the last few years, as it was set at 88.15 pesos in 2018.{{cite news|first=Karina|last=Suárez|title=El salario mínimo en México aumentará un 20% en 2024|trans-title=The Mexican minimum wage will increase by 20% in 2024|work=El País|date=1 December 2023|language=es|url=https://elpais.com/mexico/2023-12-01/el-salario-minimo-en-mexico-aumentara-un-20-en-2024.html|access-date=11 December 2023|archive-date=8 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240108211902/https://elpais.com/mexico/2023-12-01/el-salario-minimo-en-mexico-aumentara-un-20-en-2024.html|url-status=live}}

{{Main|Mass media in Mexico}}

File:Mexico_City_2015_081.jpg Tower in Mexico City]]

The telecommunications industry is mostly dominated by Telmex ({{lang|es|Teléfonos de México}}), previously a government monopoly privatized in 1990. By 2006, Telmex had expanded its operations to Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and the United States. Other players in the domestic industry are Axtel, Maxcom, Alestra, Marcatel, AT&T Mexico.{{cite web|website=Budde.com|title=Mexico – Telecoms Infrastructure, Operators, Regulations – Statistics and Analyses|url=https://www.budde.com.au/Research/Mexico-Telecoms-Infrastructure-Operators-Regulations-Statistics-and-Analyses|year=2019|access-date=15 July 2019|archive-date=15 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190715182621/https://www.budde.com.au/Research/Mexico-Telecoms-Infrastructure-Operators-Regulations-Statistics-and-Analyses|url-status=live}} Because of Mexican orography, providing a landline telephone service at remote mountainous areas is expensive, and the penetration of line-phones per capita is low compared to other Latin American countries, at 51.8% percent; however, 81.2% of Mexican households have an internet connection and 81.4% of Mexicans over the age of 6 have a mobile phone.[https://www.inegi.org.mx/contenidos/saladeprensa/boletines/2024/ENDUTIH/ENDUTIH_23.pdf "Encuesta Nacional sobre Disponibilidad y Uso de Tecnologías de la Información en los Hogares"] page 1 & 15, retrieved on October 3, 2024. Mobile telephony has the advantage of reaching all areas at a lower cost, and the total number of mobile lines is almost two times that of landlines, with an estimation of 97.2 million lines. The telecommunication industry is regulated by the government through Cofetel ({{lang|es|Comisión Federal de Telecomunicaciones}}).

The Mexican satellite system is domestic and operates 120 earth stations. There is also extensive microwave radio relay network and considerable use of fiber-optic and coaxial cable.{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/mexico/ |title=Communications |publisher=CIA Factbook |access-date=17 July 2013 |archive-date=26 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126164719/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/mexico |url-status=live }} Mexican satellites are operated by {{lang|es|Satélites Mexicanos}} (Satmex), a private company, leader in Latin America and servicing both North and South America.{{cite web|url=http://www.satmex.com.mx/english/?opcion=0|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090915211310/http://www.satmex.com.mx/english/?opcion=0|archive-date=15 September 2009 |title=Satmex. Linking the Americas |date=15 September 2009 |access-date=17 July 2013}} It offers broadcast, telephone, and telecommunication services to 37 countries in the Americas, from Canada to Argentina. Through business partnerships Satmex provides high-speed connectivity to ISPs and Digital Broadcast Services.{{cite web |author=Source: Arianespace |url=http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=7420 |title=Mexican Operator Satmex Has Chosen Arianespace to Launch Its New Satmex 6 Satellite |publisher=Spaceref.com |date=14 February 2002 |access-date=8 August 2011 |archive-date=11 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230311130432/https://spaceref.com/press-release/mexican-operator-satmex-has-chosen-arianespace-to-launch-its-new-satmex-6-satellite/ |url-status=dead }} Satmex maintains its satellite fleet with most of the fleet being designed and built in Mexico. Major players in the broadcasting industry are Televisa, the largest Mexican media company in the Spanish-speaking world,{{cite web|url=http://www.snellwilcox.com/news_events/press_releases/203|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071214054201/http://www.snellwilcox.com/news_events/press_releases/203|archive-date=14 December 2007 |title=Televisa Brings 2006 FIFA World Cup to Mexico in HD With Snell & Wilcox Kahuna SD/HD Production Switcher |publisher=Snellwilcox.com |access-date=30 May 2010}} TV Azteca and Imagen Televisión.

{{See also|Electricity sector in Mexico}}

File:Inauguración de Central Eólica Sureste I, Fase II.jpg]]

Energy production in Mexico is managed by the state-owned companies Federal Commission of Electricity and Pemex. Pemex, the public company in charge of exploration, extraction, transportation, and marketing of crude oil and natural gas, as well as the refining and distribution of petroleum products and petrochemicals, is one of the largest companies in the world by revenue, making US$86 billion in sales a year.{{cite web|url=http://www.americaeconomia.com/PLT_WRITE-PAGE.asp?SessionId=&Language=0&Modality=0&DateView=&NamePage=SearchResultArti&Section=1&Content=28380&Style=15624|title=Top 500 Companies in Latin America |access-date=16 February 2007 |author=América Economia |format=Requires subscription}} {{dead link|date=July 2019|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}{{cite news |url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/global500/2010/snapshots/6385.html |title=Fortune Global 500 2010: 64. Pemex |work=Fortune |access-date=26 July 2010 |archive-date=10 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140410072733/http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/global500/2010/snapshots/6385.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news|url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/5de6ef96-8b95-11db-a61f-0000779e2340.html|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221211181250/https://www.ft.com/content/5de6ef96-8b95-11db-a61f-0000779e2340|archive-date=11 December 2022|url-access=subscription|url-status=live|title=FT Non-Public 150 – the full list|newspaper=Financial Times|date=14 December 2006|access-date=26 July 2010}} Mexico is the sixth-largest oil producer in the world, with 3.7 million barrels per day.{{cite web|url=http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/topworldtables1_2.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070216112638/http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/topworldtables1_2.html|archive-date=16 February 2007 |title=Top World Oil Net Exporters and Producers |access-date=16 February 2007 |author=Energy Information Administration}} In 1980 oil exports accounted for 61.6% of total exports; by 2000 it was only 7.3%. Mexico owns 7 oil refineries on its territory, with the newest one being built in 2022{{cite news |access-date=31 May 2021 |author=Karol García |date=18 October 2020 |location=México |periodical=El Economista |title=Refinería de Dos Bocas se inaugurará el 1 de julio de 2022, asegura AMLO |url=https://www.eleconomista.com.mx/empresas/Refineria-de-Dos-Bocas-se-inauguro-el-1-de-julio-de-2022-asegura-AMLO-20201018-0094.html }}{{Dead link|date=February 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} and another refinery within the United States.{{cite web |url=https://www.shell.com/media/news-and-media-releases/2022/shell-completes-sale-of-interest-in-deer-park-refinery-to-partner-pemex.html |title=Shell completes sale of interest in Deer Park refinery to partner Pemex |date=January 20, 2022 |access-date=January 28, 2022 |website=www.shell.com |language=en}} Mexico has 60 hydroelectric power plants which generate 12% of the country's electricity[https://app.cfe.mx/Aplicaciones/OTROS/Boletines/boletin%3Fi%3D2482 "hidroeléctricas, energía limpia y confiable para la población"], retrieved on September 28, 2024. with the largest being the 2,400 MW Manuel Moreno Torres Dam on the Grijalva River in Chicoasén, Chiapas. This is the world's fourth most productive hydroelectric plant.{{cite web|url=http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/Mexico/Background.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060309021853/http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/Mexico/Background.html|archive-date=9 March 2006 |title=EIA |publisher=Eia.doe.gov |access-date=30 October 2010}}

Mexico is the country with the world's third-largest solar power potential.Sener & GTZ 2006 The country's gross solar potential is estimated at 5kWh/m² daily, which corresponds to 50 times the national electricity generation.{{cite web |url=http://cec.org/files/PDF/ECONOMY/Pres-Elvira-RenEnergyMeeting_es.pdf |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20081003033523/http://cec.org/files/PDF/ECONOMY/Pres-Elvira-RenEnergyMeeting_es.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=3 October 2008 |title=Perspectiva Del Mercado De La Energía Renovable En México |access-date=30 October 2010 }} Currently, there is over 1 million square meters of solar thermal panelsSENER 2009b installed in Mexico, while in 2005 there were only 115,000 square meters of solar PV (photo-voltaic) panels. The project SEGH-CFE 1 located in Puerto Libertad, Sonora in the Northwest of Mexico was completed in December 2018 and has a capacity of 46.8 MW from an array of 187,200 solar panels,{{Cite web|url=https://www.acciona.com/pressroom/news/2019/january/acciona-completes-assembly-405-mwp-photovoltaic-plant-mexico-installing-one-million-panels-two-months/|title=ACCIONA completes the assembly of a 405 MWp photovoltaic plant in Mexico, installing over one million panels in two months|website=acciona.com|language=en|access-date=2019-01-11}} all of its generated electricity is sold directly to the CFE and absorbed into the utility's transmission system for distribution throughout their existing network.Sonora Energy Group Hermosillo The Villanueva solar park in Coahuila which opened in 2019, is the largest solar power plant in the Americas with a capacity of 828 MW.{{cite web|access-date=22 January 2019 |first=Secretaría de |language=es |last=Energía |title=Se inaugura la Planta Solar Villanueva en Coahuila |url=http://www.gob.mx/sener/articulos/se-inaugura-la-planta-solar-villanueva-en-coahuila |website=gob.mx}} Mexico does have one nuclear power plant, the Laguna Verde Nuclear Power Station located in the state of Veracruz[http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Country-Profiles/Countries-G-N/Mexico/ "Nuclear Power in Mexico"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150407223454/http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Country-Profiles/Countries-G-N/Mexico/ |date=7 April 2015 }}, retrieved on September 28, 2024. and numerous wind farms,[https://transicionenergetica.ineel.mx/Revista.mvc/R1n2v3 "Energía eólica"], retrieved on September 30, 2024. with the largest wind farm in Latin America being located in the state of Oaxaca.[http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=347873&CategoryId=12394 Acciona Completes Assembly of LatAm’s Largest Wind Farm] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120302175705/http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=347873&CategoryId=12394 |date=2012-03-02 }} Latin American Herald Tribune.

Although Mexico has significantly increased its renewable electricity generation from wind and solar sources, it is still dependent on fossil fuels for the majority of its energy.{{Cite web |title=Mexico - Countries & Regions |url=https://www.iea.org/countries/mexico |access-date=2025-03-05 |website=IEA |language=en-GB}} In 2023 Mexico was in the top 15 highest greenhouse gas emitters, contributing over 5 million tonnes, or 1.4% of the global total.{{Citation |last1=Jones |first1=Matthew W. |title=National contributions to climate change due to historical emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide |date=2024-11-13 |url=https://zenodo.org/records/14054503 |access-date=2025-03-05 |doi=10.5281/zenodo.14054503 |last2=Peters |first2=Glen P. |last3=Gasser |first3=Thomas |last4=Andrew |first4=Robbie M. |last5=Schwingshackl |first5=Clemens |last6=Gütschow |first6=Johannes |last7=Houghton |first7=Richard A. |last8=Friedlingstein |first8=Pierre |last9=Pongratz |first9=Julia}} Mexico has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 35% by 2030, with an increased target of 40% conditional upon external support. The country also aims to cut black carbon emissions by 51% unconditionally and 70% with additional support by 2030 and has committed to net zero by 2050.{{Cite web |title=Mexico Climate Change Data {{!}} Emissions and Policies |url=https://www.climatewatchdata.org/countries/MEX?end_year=2021&start_year=1990 |access-date=2025-03-05 |website=www.climatewatchdata.org}}

{{Further|History of science and technology in Mexico}}

File:Large Millimeter Telescope Mexico.jpg in Puebla]]

The National Autonomous University of Mexico was officially established in 1910,{{cite book |first1=Don M. |last1=Coerver |first2=Suzanne B. |last2=Pasztor |first3=Robert |last3=Buffington |title=Mexico: An Encyclopedia of Contemporary Culture and History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YSred4NyOKoC&pg=PA161 |year=2004 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-57607-132-8 |page=161 |access-date=20 December 2020 |archive-date=8 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240108211844/https://books.google.com/books?id=YSred4NyOKoC&pg=PA161 |url-status=live }} and the university became one of the most important institutes of higher learning in Mexico.Summerfield, Devine & Levi (1998), p. 285{{full citation needed|date=December 2020}} UNAM provides world class education in science, medicine, and engineering.Summerfield, Devine & Levi (1998), p. 286{{full citation needed|date=December 2020}} Many scientific institutes and new institutes of higher learning, such as National Polytechnic Institute (founded in 1936),Forest & Altbach (2006), p. 882{{full citation needed|date=December 2020}} were established during the first half of the 20th century. Most of the new research institutes were created within UNAM. Twelve institutes were integrated into UNAM from 1929 to 1973.Fortes & Lomnitz (1990), p. 18{{full citation needed|date=December 2020}} In 1959, the Mexican Academy of Sciences was created to coordinate scientific efforts between academics.

In 1995, the Mexican chemist Mario J. Molina shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Paul J. Crutzen and F. Sherwood Rowland for their work in atmospheric chemistry, particularly concerning the formation and decomposition of ozone.{{cite web |url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1995/index.html |title=The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1995 |access-date=2 January 2009 |work=Nobelprize.org |publisher=Nobel Foundation |archive-date=26 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226095935/https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/1995/summary/ |url-status=live }} Molina, an alumnus of UNAM, became the first Mexican citizen to win the Nobel Prize in science.{{cite web |url=http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/1995/molina-1018.html |title=Molina wins Nobel Prize for ozone work |access-date=2 January 2009 |author=Thomson, Elizabeth A. |date=18 October 1995 |publisher=Massachusetts Institute of Technology |archive-date=9 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140109160659/http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/1995/molina-1018.html |url-status=live }}

In recent years, the largest scientific project being developed in Mexico was the construction of the Large Millimeter Telescope (Gran Telescopio Milimétrico, GMT), the world's largest and most sensitive single-aperture telescope in its frequency range.{{cite book |doi=10.1007/978-1-4020-6118-9_79 |chapter=Unravelling unidentified γ-ray sources with the large millimeter telescope |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_U9jCFy5hTUC&pg=PA527 |title=The Multi-Messenger Approach to High-Energy Gamma-Ray Sources |year=2007 |last1=Carramiñana |first1=Alberto |pages=527–530 |isbn=978-1-4020-6117-2 |access-date=20 December 2020 |archive-date=8 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240108211849/https://books.google.com/books?id=_U9jCFy5hTUC&pg=PA527#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }} It was designed to observe regions of space obscured by stellar dust. Mexico was ranked 56th in the Global Innovation Index in 2024.{{Cite web |title=Global Innovation Index 2024 : Unlocking the Promise of Social Entrepreneurship |url=https://www.wipo.int/web-publications/global-innovation-index-2024/en/ |access-date=2024-11-29 |website=www.wipo.int |language=en}}

{{Main|Tourism in Mexico}}

File:Cancun_aerial_photo_by_safa.jpg, May 2008]]

As of 2017, Mexico was the 6th most visited country in the world and had the 15th highest income from tourism in the world which is also the highest in Latin America.{{cite book |title=UNWTO Tourism Highlights |year=2017 |publisher=World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) |isbn=9789284419029 |doi=10.18111/9789284419029 |last1=Magalhães |first1=Bianca dos Santos |url=https://tede.ufrrj.br/jspui/handle/jspui/5202 |access-date=4 March 2023 |archive-date=4 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404213946/https://tede.ufrrj.br/jspui/handle/jspui/5202 |url-status=live }}{{page needed|date=December 2020}} The vast majority of tourists come to Mexico from the United States and Canada followed by Europe and Asia. A smaller number also come from other Latin American countries.{{cite web| url=http://www.sectur.gob.mx/wb/sectur/sect_Estadisticas_del_Sector| title=Turismo de internación 2001–2005, Visitantes internacionales hacia México |publisher=Secretaría de Turismo (SECTUR) |access-date=26 July 2008|year=2006|language=es |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080610233248/http://www.sectur.gob.mx/wb/sectur/sect_Estadisticas_del_Sector |archive-date=10 June 2008}} pp. 5 In the 2017 Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report, Mexico was ranked 22nd in the world, which was 3rd in the Americas.{{cite web |title=The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017 |publisher=World Economic Forum |url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_TTCR_2017_web_0401.pdf |date=April 2017 |access-date=16 October 2017 |archive-date=25 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525161433/http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_TTCR_2017_web_0401.pdf |url-status=live }}

The coastlines of Mexico are rich in sunny beach stretches. According to the Constitution of Mexico Article 27, the entirety of the coastlines is under federal ownership. On the Yucatán peninsula, one of the most popular beach destinations is the resort town of Cancún, especially among university students during spring break. To the south of Cancun is the coastal strip called Riviera Maya which includes the beach town of Playa del Carmen and the ecological parks of Xcaret and Xel-Há. To the south of Cancún is the town of Tulum, notable for its ruins of Maya civilization. Other notable tourist destinations include Acapulco with crowded beaches and multi-story hotels on the shores. At the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula is the resort town of Cabo San Lucas, noted for its marlin fishing.{{cite web|url=http://icabo.com/what-to-do/cabo-fishing.aspx |title=Cabo Fishing Information - Sport Fishing in Los Cabos |publisher=icabo.com |access-date=23 April 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502144017/http://icabo.com/what-to-do/cabo-fishing.aspx |archive-date=2 May 2013}} Closer to the United States border is the weekend draw of San Felipe, Baja California.{{Cite web|url=https://www.offroadxtreme.com/event-coverage/off-road-events/2022-score-san-felipe-250-everything-you-need-to-know/|title=2022 SCORE San Felipe 250: Everything You Need To Know|first=Micah|last=Anderson|date=30 March 2022|website=Off Road Xtreme}}

In Mexican cities along the Mexico–United States border, the most lucrative hospitality industry is now medical tourism, with remnants of the traditional motivations that drove tourists to Mexico's northern borderlands for nearly a century. Dominant medical tourism for tourism planning are the purchase of medication, dentistry, elective surgery, optometry, and chiropractic.{{Cite book|title= Handbook of Globalisation and Tourism | editor1=Dallen J. Timothy |publisher= Edward Elgar Publishing |year=2019 |isbn=9781786431295 | pages=327}}

{{Main|Transportation in Mexico}}

File:Puente Baluarte 03.jpg, the highest bridge in the Americas.]]

Despite its difficult topography, Mexico's roadway is extensive and most areas in the country are covered. The roadway network in Mexico has an extent of {{convert|366,095|km|mi|abbr=on}},{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/mexico/|title=CIA World Factbook|publisher=CIA|access-date=20 December 2010|archive-date=26 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126164719/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/mexico|url-status=live}} of which {{convert|116,802|km|mi|abbr=on}} are paved,{{cite web|url=http://dgaf.sct.gob.mx/fileadmin/EST_BASICA/EST_BASICA_2005/EST2005_12INFRA.pdf |title=Infraestructura Carretera |work=dgaf.sct.gob.mx |publisher=Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes |place=México |access-date=13 January 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070716114353/http://dgaf.sct.gob.mx/fileadmin/EST_BASICA/EST_BASICA_2005/EST2005_12INFRA.pdf |archive-date=16 July 2007}} making it 9th largest of any country.{{Cite web |last=Transporte |first=Instituto Mexicano del |title=Red Nacional de Caminos |url=http://www.gob.mx/imt/acciones-y-programas/red-nacional-de-caminos |access-date=6 July 2023 |website=gob.mx |language=es |archive-date=3 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230503030240/https://www.gob.mx/imt/acciones-y-programas/red-nacional-de-caminos |url-status=live }} Of these, {{convert|10,474|km|mi|abbr=on}} are multi-lane expressways: {{convert|9,544|km|mi|abbr=on}} are four-lane highways and the rest have 6 or more lanes.

Starting in the late nineteenth century, Mexico was one of the first Latin American countries to promote railway development, and the network covers {{convert|30,952|km|mi|abbr=on}}. The Secretary of Communications and Transport of Mexico proposed a high-speed rail link that will transport its passengers from Mexico City to Guadalajara, Jalisco.{{cite web|url=https://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/0106mextrain06.html |title=Mexico reviving travel by train |publisher=Azcentral.com |date=6 January 2006 |access-date=30 October 2010}} {{Dead link|date=July 2013}}{{cite web|url=http://guadalajarareporter.com/news-mainmenu-82/regional-mainmenu-85/3249-bullet-train-to-mexico-city-looks-to-be-back-on-track-.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430022112/http://guadalajarareporter.com/news-mainmenu-82/regional-mainmenu-85/3249-bullet-train-to-mexico-city-looks-to-be-back-on-track-.html|archive-date=30 April 2011 |title=Bullet Train To Mexico City Looks To Be Back On Track ? |work=Guadalajara Reporter |date=17 October 2003 |url-status=usurped|access-date=30 October 2010}} The train, which will travel at {{convert|300|km/h|abbr=off|sp=us}},{{cite web|url=http://www.systra.com/Project-for-a-Mexico-City-Guadalajara-High-Speed-Line?lang=fr |title=Project for a Mexico City – Guadalajara High Speed Line. Rail transport engineering, public transport engineering |publisher=Systra |access-date=30 October 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501154553/http://www.systra.com/Project-for-a-Mexico-City-Guadalajara-High-Speed-Line?lang=fr |archive-date=1 May 2011}} will allow passengers to travel from Mexico City to Guadalajara in just 2 hours. The whole project was projected to cost 240 billion pesos, or about 25 billion US$ and is being paid for jointly by the Mexican government and the local private sector including one of the wealthiest men in the world, Mexico's billionaire business tycoon Carlos Slim.{{cite news|url=http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-127506564/slim-invest-santa-cruz.html |work=The America's Intelligence Wire |title=Slim to invest in Santa Cruz |date=21 January 2005 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118011900/http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-127506564/slim-invest-santa-cruz.html |archive-date=18 January 2012}} The federal government has also been funding the construction of an inter city railway line connecting cities such as Cozumel, Mérida, Chichen Itza, Cancún and Palenque;{{cite news |last=Fuentes |first=Yngrid |date=November 15, 2018 |title=Tren Maya: así es el ambicioso proyecto que propone AMLO y tiene un costo de miles de millones de dólares para México |language=es |url=https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-america-latina-45254080 |publisher=BBC Mundo |accessdate=February 23, 2019}} another inter city train connecting the city of Toluca and Mexico City{{Cite web|url=https://www.eleconomista.com.mx/empresas/Tren-Mexico-Toluca-funcionaria-a-finales-del-2022-20190716-0040.html|title=Tren México-Toluca funcionaría a finales del 2022|last=Rosa|first=Alejandro de la|website=El Economista|date=16 July 2019 |access-date=2019-07-23}} and has restored the Interoceanic train corridor, which connects the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.{{cite web |title=De 70 a 100 kilómetros por hora tiene el tren del Istmo de Tehuantepec |url=https://www.presencia.mx/nota.aspx?id=199793&s=4 |website=Presencia.MX |access-date=5 January 2024 |language=es-es |date=19 September 2023}}

Mexico has 233 airports with paved runways; of these, 10 carry 72% of national cargo and 97% of international cargo.[https://imt.mx/resumen-boletines.html%3FIdArticulo%3D157%26IdBoletin%3D52 "El transporte aéreo de carga en México"] retrieved in September 22, 2024. The Mexico City International Airport remains the busiest in Latin America and the 36th busiest in the world{{cite web|url=http://www.aicm.com.mx/acercadelaicm/Estadisticas/index.php?Publicacion=169|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080531064833/http://www.aicm.com.mx/acercadelaicm/Estadisticas/index.php?Publicacion=169|archive-date=31 May 2008 |title=Acerca del AICM. Posicionamiento del Aeropuerto Internacional de la Ciudad de México (AICM) con los 50 aeropuertos más importantes del mundo |publisher=AICM |access-date=30 May 2010}} transporting 45 million passengers a year.{{cite web|url=https://www.aicm.com.mx/acercadelaicm/archivos/files/Estadisticas/Estadisticas2017_En.pdf|title=Statistics Mexico City airport|publisher=Mexico City International Airport|access-date=12 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180114021902/https://www.aicm.com.mx/acercadelaicm/archivos/files/Estadisticas/Estadisticas2017_En.pdf|archive-date=14 January 2018|url-status=dead}} Two additional airports operate simultaneously to help relieve congestion from the Mexico City International Airport: the Toluca International Airport and the Felipe Ángeles International Airport.{{cite news|url=https://themexicocitypost.com/2022/02/20/the-three-runways-at-the-amlos-general-felipe-angeles-airport-will-begin-to-operate/|title=On March 21, the three runways at the AMLO's General Felipe Ángeles Airport will begin to operate|work=Mexico City Post|date=20 February 2022}}

{{Main|Demographics of Mexico}}

File:Mexico Population Density, 2000 (5457623058).jpg

According to Mexico's National Geography and Statistics Institute, the country's estimated population in 2022 was of 129,150,971 people.[https://www.inegi.org.mx/contenidos/saladeprensa/aproposito/2023/EAP_DMPO23.pdf Estadísticas a propósito del día mundial de la población] "INEGI", July 2023. Retrieved on September 20, 2024. Since at least the 1970s, Mexico has been the most populous Spanish-speaking country in the world.{{cite web|title=Spanish Language History|publisher=Today Translations|url=http://www.todaytranslations.com/index.asp-Q-Page-E-Spanish-Language-History--13053095|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050417234656/http://www.todaytranslations.com/index.asp-Q-Page-E-Spanish-Language-History--13053095|archive-date=17 April 2005|access-date=1 October 2007}}

Throughout the 19th century, the population of Mexico had barely doubled. This trend continued during the first two decades of the 20th century, in 1900 the Mexican population was a little more than 13 million.[https://apps1.semarnat.gob.mx:8443/dgeia/informe_resumen/01_poblacion/cap1.html "POBLACIÓN"] "SEMARNAT", retrieved on October 4, 2024. The Mexican Revolution ({{circa}} 1910–1920) greatly impacted population growth with the 1921 census reporting a loss of about 1 million inhabitants. The growth rate increased dramatically between the 1930s and the 1980s when the country registered growth rates of over 3% (1950–1980). The Mexican population doubled in twenty years, and at that rate, it was expected that by 2000 there would be 120 million people living in Mexico. Mexico's population grew from 70 million in 1982{{Cite web|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL?end=2018&locations=MX&name_desc=true&start=1982|title=Population, total {{!}} Data|website=data.worldbank.org|date=2022|access-date=6 June 2023|archive-date=6 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230606130811/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL?end=2018&locations=MX&name_desc=true&start=1982|url-status=live}} to 123.5 million inhabitants in 2017.{{cite news |title=México cuenta con 123.5 millones de habitantes |trans-title=Mexico has 123.5 million inhabitants |url=https://www.eleconomista.com.mx/politica/Mexico-cuenta-con-123.5-millones-de-habitantes-20170710-0116.html |access-date=4 June 2020 |work=El Economista |agency=Notimex |date=10 July 2017 |language=es |archive-date=19 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170919231325/http://eleconomista.com.mx/sociedad/2017/07/10/mexico-cuenta-1235-millones-habitantes |url-status=live }} Life expectancy increased from 36 years in 1895 to 75 years in 2020.

{{Main|Mexicans}}

Mexico's population is highly diverse, but historically ethnic research has felt the impact of nationalist discourses on indentity.Knight, Alan. 1990. "Racism, Revolution and indigenismo: Mexico 1910–1940". Chapter 4 in The Idea of Race in Latin America, 1870–1940. Richard Graham (ed.) pp. 78–85Wimmer, Andreas, 2002. Nationalist Exclusion and Ethnic Conflict: Shadows of Modernity, Cambridge University Press page 115{{cite book |last1=Hall Steckel |first1=Richard |last2=R. Haines |first2=Michael |title=A population history of North America |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BPdgiysIVcgC&pg=PA621 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2000 |page=621 |isbn=978-0-521-49666-7 |access-date=17 June 2015 |archive-date=8 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240108212002/https://books.google.com/books?id=BPdgiysIVcgC&pg=PA621#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }} after the country gained independence from Spain on 1821 any traces of the colonial caste system were abandoned with race being omitted from public documents{{cite book |last1=Ayala |first1=María Isabel |chapter=The Demography of Race and Ethnicity of Mexico |title=The International Handbook of the Demography of Race and Ethnicity |series=International Handbooks of Population |date=2015 |volume=4 |pages=73–90 |doi=10.1007/978-90-481-8891-8_4 |isbn=978-90-481-8890-1 |access-date=}}{{rp|74–75}} then near the end of the 1800s the government led by Porfirio Díaz adopted policies of selective immigration for Europe as it was believed it would help to modernize the country.{{rp|75}} Later on, mainly after the Mexican revolution and during the 1930s in an attemp to unify the country under a sinlge national identity, Mexico's government promoted the views of academics such as José Vasconcelos, who asserted that all Mexicans were Mestizos, being distinguished only by residence in or outside of an indigenous community, degree of fluency in an indigenous language, and degree of adherence to indigenous customs.{{Cite web|url=http://www.nacionmulticultural.unam.mx/Portal/Izquierdo/BANCO/Mxmulticultural/Elmestizajeylasculturas-elmestizaje.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130823015618/http://www.nacionmulticultural.unam.mx/Portal/Izquierdo/BANCO/Mxmulticultural/Elmestizajeylasculturas-elmestizaje.html|url-status=dead|title=en el censo de 1930 el gobierno mexicano dejó de clasificar a la población del país en tres categorías raciales, blanco, mestizo e indígena, y adoptó una nueva clasificación étnica que distinguía a los hablantes de lenguas indígenas del resto de la población, es decir de los hablantes de español.|archive-date=23 August 2013}}{{cite web|url=http://www.redalyc.org/pdf/105/10503808.pdf |title=Al respecto no debe olvidarse que en estos países buena parte de las personas consideradas biológicamente blancas son mestizas en el aspecto cultural, el que aquí nos interesa (p. 196) |publisher=Redalyc.org |date=16 March 2005 |access-date=27 June 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131022220348/http://www.redalyc.org/pdf/105/10503808.pdf |archive-date=22 October 2013 }} While Mestizos are a prominent ethnic group in contemporary Mexico, the subjective and ever-changing definition of this category means that precise estimates are impossible.{{Cite journal |doi=10.1007/s12394-010-0074-7|title = "The Map of the Mexican's Genome": Overlapping national identity, and population genomics|journal = Identity in the Information Society|volume = 3|issue = 3|pages = 489–514|year = 2010|last1 = Schwartz-Marín|first1 = Ernesto|last2 = Silva-Zolezzi|first2 = Irma|hdl = 10871/33766|doi-access = free|hdl-access = free}}{{cite web |title=El mestizaje en Mexico |language=es |trans-title=The miscegenation in Mexico |first=Federico |last=Navarrete Linares |url=http://enp4.unam.mx/amc/libro_munioz_cota/libro/cap4/lec10_federiconavarreteelmestizaje.pdf |access-date=31 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801102632/http://enp4.unam.mx/amc/libro_munioz_cota/libro/cap4/lec10_federiconavarreteelmestizaje.pdf |archive-date=1 August 2017|url-status=dead}}

Active efforts have been made in contemporary Mexico to decrease social and economic inequality among indigenous Mexicans.{{rp|75–76}} In 1992, the Article 2 of the Constitution of Mexico of the Mexican Constitution was amended to define Mexico as a pluricultural country and specifically to emphasize the role of indigenous Mexicans. This new legal framework preceded the Zapatista Army of National Liberation's push against the mestizaje ideology that led to the 1996 San Andrés Accords which granted autonomy, recognition, and rights to the indigenous population of Mexico.{{rp|78}} According to Mexico's 2020 census, 19.4% of the population identifies as indigenous and 6.1% of Mexico's population speaks an Indigenous language. Since the 1960s there has also been a cultural and academic re-evaluation of the role of Afro-Mexicans in the country, dispelling the misconception that they had assimilated into the mestizo identity,{{rp|77}} according to the 2020 census, Afro-Mexicans comprised 2.04% of Mexico's population.{{cite journal |last1=Lewis |first1=Laura A. |title=Blacks, Black Indians, Afromexicans: The Dynamics of Race, Nation, and Identity in a Mexican "moreno" Community (Guerrero) |journal=American Ethnologist |date=2000 |volume=27 |issue=4 |pages=898–926 |doi=10.1525/ae.2000.27.4.898 |jstor=647400 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/647400 |access-date=20 February 2025 |issn=0094-0496}} Social stratification and racism in Mexico have remained in the modern era. Although phenotype is not as important as culture, European features and lighter skin tone are favored by middle- and upper-class groups.{{rp|75}}

Skin color surveys have been used to estimate the number of White Mexicans in the country (a method that is commonly used in latin america to estimate the White ethnicity),{{cite news |last1=Fuentes-Nieva |first1=Ricardo |title=Ser blanco |trans-title=Being white |language=es |url=https://www.eluniversal.com.mx/entrada-de-opinion/articulo/ricardo-fuentes-nieva/nacion/2017/07/6/ser-blanco |work=El Universal |date=6 July 2017 |access-date=20 December 2020 |archive-date=25 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225033205/https://www.eluniversal.com.mx/entrada-de-opinion/articulo/ricardo-fuentes-nieva/nacion/2017/07/6/ser-blanco |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Solís |first1=Arturo |title=Comprobado con datos: en México te va mejor si eres blanco |trans-title=Proven with data: in Mexico you do better if you are white |language=es |url=https://www.forbes.com.mx/inegi-lo-confirma-en-mexico-te-va-mejor-si-eres-blanco/ |work=Forbes México |date=7 August 2018 |access-date=20 December 2020 |archive-date=14 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201114183326/https://www.forbes.com.mx/inegi-lo-confirma-en-mexico-te-va-mejor-si-eres-blanco/ |url-status=live }} according to 2017 and 2022 surveys by Mexico's Council to Prevent Discrimination 28-29% of Mexican people identified with light skin tones,[http://www.cndh.org.mx/sites/all/doc/OtrosDocumentos/Doc_2018_061.pdf "Encuesta Nacional sobre Discriminación 2017"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180810235454/http://www.cndh.org.mx/sites/all/doc/OtrosDocumentos/Doc_2018_061.pdf |date=August 10, 2018 }}, CNDH, August 6, 2018, Retrieved on August 10, 2018.{{Cite web |title=Encuesta Nacional sobre Discriminación (ENADIS) 2022 |url=https://www.inegi.org.mx/programas/enadis/2022/#:~:text=La%20ENADIS%202022%20se%20suma,manera%20estructural%20han%20sido%20discriminados. |access-date=April 2, 2024 |website=www.inegi.org.mx |language=es}} more than 40% did so in a 2010 survey.{{cite web |url=http://www.conapred.org.mx/documentos_cedoc/21_Marzo_DiaIntElimDiscRacial_INACCSS.pdf|title=21 de Marzo: Día Internacional de la Eliminación de la Discriminación Racial|trans-title=March 21: International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination |language=es|publisher=CONAPRED|location=Mexico|page=7|date=2017|access-date=August 23, 2017 |archive-date=May 25, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525133622/http://www.conapred.org.mx/documentos_cedoc/21_Marzo_DiaIntElimDiscRacial_INACCSS.pdf|url-status=live}} In the page 7 of the press release, the council reported that 53.5% of Mexican women and 39.4% of Mexican men identified with the lightest skin colors used in the census questionary, CONAPRED, Mexico, March 21. Retrieved on April 28, 2017.[http://bibliodigitalibd.senado.gob.mx/bitstream/handle/123456789/3525/JASC%2520IBD%2520MMSI%25202016%2520V1.0.pdf?sequence=6&isAllowed=y "Visión INEGI 2021 Dr. Julio Santaella Castell"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190121234012/http://bibliodigitalibd.senado.gob.mx/bitstream/handle/123456789/3525/JASC%2520IBD%2520MMSI%25202016%2520V1.0.pdf?sequence=6&isAllowed=y |date=January 21, 2019 }}, INEGI, July 3, 2017, Retrieved on April 30, 2018. Encyclopædia Britannica estimates that 31% of Mexico's population are other ethnic groups of which White Mexicans are a significant component.Ethnic composition (2010): About one third{{cite encyclopedia |title=Mexico: Ethnic groups |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Mexico/Ethnic-groups |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=March 6, 2022}} Asians and Middle Easterners represent around 1% of the population each.

{{Main|Languages of Mexico}}

Spanish is the de facto national language spoken by the vast majority of the population, making Mexico the world's most populous Hispanophone country.{{Ethnologue18|spa|Spanish → Mexico}} Mexican Spanish refers to the varieties of the language spoken in the country, which differs from one region to another in sound, structure, and vocabulary.{{sfn|Werner|2001|pp=443, 444, 445}}

File:Mapa_de_lenguas_de_México_+_100_000.png

The federal government officially recognizes sixty-eight linguistic groups and 364 varieties of indigenous languages.{{cite journal | author=INALI [Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indígenas] | author-link=Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indígenas | date=14 January 2008 | title=Catálogo de las lenguas indígenas nacionales: Variantes lingüísticas de México con sus autodenominaciones y referencias geoestadísticas | url=http://www.inali.gob.mx/pdf/CLIN_completo.pdf | format=PDF online facsimile | journal=Diario Oficial de la Federación | location=Mexico City | volume=652 | issue=9 | pages=22–78 (first section), 1–96 (second section), 1–112 (third section) | oclc=46461036 | language=es | access-date=22 July 2011 | archive-date=16 October 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111016174101/http://www.inali.gob.mx/pdf/CLIN_completo.pdf | url-status=live }} It is estimated that around 8.3 million citizens speak these languages,{{cite web | url=http://cuentame.inegi.org.mx/hipertexto/todas_lenguas.htm | title=Indigenous Languages in Mexico: Speakers Aged Three or Older | publisher=National Institute of Statistics and Geography | date=2015 | access-date=11 September 2018 | archive-date=3 March 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303165419/http://cuentame.inegi.org.mx/hipertexto/todas_lenguas.htm | url-status=live }} with Nahuatl being the most widely spoken by more than 1.7 million, followed by Yucatec Maya used daily by nearly 850,000 people. Tzeltal and Tzotzil, two other Mayan languages, are spoken by around half a million people each, primarily in the southern state of Chiapas. Mixtec and Zapotec, with an estimated 500,000 native speakers each, are two other prominent language groups. Since its creation in March 2003, the National Indigenous Languages Institute has been in charge of promoting and protecting the use of the country's indigenous languages, through the General Law of Indigenous Peoples' Linguistic Rights, which recognizes them de jure as "national languages" with status equal to that of Spanish.{{cite web |url=http://www.nacionmulticultural.unam.mx/Edespig/diagnostico_y_perspectivas/leyes_declaraciones/2%20LENGUA%20Y%20CULTURA/Ley%20general%20de%20derechos%20linguisticos.pdf |title=Ley General de Derechos Lingüísticos de los Pueblos Indígenas |access-date=3 August 2017 |date=2003 |language=es |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921054016/http://www.nacionmulticultural.unam.mx/Edespig/diagnostico_y_perspectivas/leyes_declaraciones/2%20LENGUA%20Y%20CULTURA/Ley%20general%20de%20derechos%20linguisticos.pdf |archive-date=21 September 2013}} That notwithstanding, in practice, indigenous peoples often face discrimination and do not have full access to public services such as education and healthcare, or to the justice system, as Spanish is the prevailing language.{{cite web | url=https://site.inali.gob.mx/pdf/MODELO_DE_ACREDITACION_Y_CERTIFICACION_EN_MATERIA_DE_LENGUAS_INDIGENAS.pdf | title=Model of Accreditation and Certification of Indigenous Languages | publisher=National Indigenous Languages Institute | date=October 2012 | page=7 | language=es | access-date=11 September 2018 | archive-date=13 November 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181113062348/https://site.inali.gob.mx/pdf/MODELO_DE_ACREDITACION_Y_CERTIFICACION_EN_MATERIA_DE_LENGUAS_INDIGENAS.pdf | url-status=live }}

Aside from indigenous languages, there are several minority languages spoken in Mexico due to international migration such as Low German by the 80,000-strong Mennonite population, primarily settled in the northern states, fueled by the tolerance of the federal government towards this community by allowing them to set their educational system compatible with their customs and traditions.{{cite web|url=http://www.hshs.mb.ca/mennonite_old_colony_vision.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070205052716/http://www.hshs.mb.ca/mennonite_old_colony_vision.pdf|archive-date=5 February 2007|title=The Mennonite Old Colony Vision: Under siege in Mexico and the Canadian Connection|access-date=11 September 2018}} The Chipilo dialect, a variance of the Venetian language, is spoken in the town of Chipilo, located in the central state of Puebla, by around 2,500 people, mainly descendants of Venetians that migrated to the area in the late 19th century.{{e18|vec|Venetian (Mexico)}} English is the most commonly taught foreign language in Mexico. It is estimated that nearly 24 million, or around a fifth of the population, study the language through public schools, private institutions, or self-access channels;{{cite web | url=https://ei.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/latin-america-research/English%20in%20Mexico.pdf | title=English in Mexico: An examination of policy, perceptions and influencing factors | publisher=British Council | date=May 2015 | access-date=11 September 2018 | archive-date=13 November 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181113062412/https://ei.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/latin-america-research/English%20in%20Mexico.pdf | url-status=live }} however, a high level of English proficiency is limited to only 5% of the population.{{cite web | url=http://www.elfinanciero.com.mx/economia/en-mexico-solo-de-la-poblacion-habla-ingles-imco.html | title=En México sólo 5% de la población habla inglés: IMCO | last=Becerril | first=Isabel | publisher=El Financiero | language=es | date=27 April 2015 | access-date=11 September 2018 | archive-date=12 September 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180912092135/http://www.elfinanciero.com.mx/economia/en-mexico-solo-de-la-poblacion-habla-ingles-imco.html | url-status=live }} French is the second most widely taught foreign language, as every year between 200,000 and 250,000 Mexican students enroll in French language courses.{{cite web | url=https://www.francophonie.org/IMG/pdf/2e.pdf | title=Une Langue Pour Apprendre | page=132 | publisher=Organisation internationale de la Francophonie | date=6 September 2010 | language=fr | access-date=11 September 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181113062358/https://www.francophonie.org/IMG/pdf/2e.pdf | archive-date=13 November 2018 | url-status=dead }}{{cite web | url=https://mx.ambafrance.org/Cours-de-francais,6567 | title=Cours de français | publisher=Ambassade de France à Mexico | language=fr | date=19 March 2013 | access-date=11 September 2018 | archive-date=19 August 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170819021740/https://mx.ambafrance.org/Cours-de-francais,6567 | url-status=live }}{{cite web | url=http://loutardeliberee.com/mexique-lacteur-monte-francophonie-damerique/ | title=Le Mexique, l'acteur qui monte dans la francophonie d'Amérique | last=Simon-Clerc | first=Nathalie | publisher=L'Outarde Libérée | language=fr | date=2 November 2016 | access-date=11 September 2018 | archive-date=12 September 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180912092219/http://loutardeliberee.com/mexique-lacteur-monte-francophonie-damerique/ | url-status=live }}

{{main|Emigration from Mexico|Immigration to Mexico}}

File:Border USA Mexico.jpg between San Diego's border patrol offices in California, US (left) and Tijuana, Mexico (right)]]

As of 2019, it is estimated that 11.7 million Mexicans live outside Mexico, in addition to 13.5 million born abroad and another 12 million descendants; the vast majority of this combined population (98–99%) are in the U.S.{{Cite web |title=Seminar: "Statistical Information of the Mexican Population Abroad" |url=https://en.www.inegi.org.mx/eventos/2023/innametra/ |access-date=2024-06-04 |website=en.www.inegi.org.mx |archive-date=22 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240322092937/https://en.www.inegi.org.mx/eventos/2023/innametra/ |url-status=live }} The largest Mexican communities outside Mexico are in the metropolitan areas of Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston and Dallas–Fort Worth.{{cite web | url=https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/mexican-immigrants-united-states | title=Mexican Migrants in the United States | publisher=Migration Policy Institute | date=17 March 2016 | access-date=9 September 2018 | archive-date=3 July 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200703035905/https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/mexican-immigrants-united-states/ | url-status=live }} Between 1965 and 2015, more than 16 million Mexicans migrated to the United States alone—by far the top destination for both temporary and permanent migration—representing one of the largest mass migrations in modern history.{{Cite web |last=Gonzalez-Barrera |first=Ana |date=2021-07-09 |title=Before COVID-19, more Mexicans came to the U.S. than left for Mexico for the first time in years |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/07/09/before-covid-19-more-mexicans-came-to-the-u-s-than-left-for-mexico-for-the-first-time-in-years/ |access-date=2024-06-04 |website=Pew Research Center |language=en-US |archive-date=5 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240405004839/https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/07/09/before-covid-19-more-mexicans-came-to-the-u-s-than-left-for-mexico-for-the-first-time-in-years/ |url-status=live }} As a result of these major migration flows in recent decades, an estimated 37.2 million U.S. residents, or 11.2% of the country's population, identified as being of full or partial Mexican ancestry.{{cite web |date=2016 |title=Hispanic or Latino Origin by Specific Origin |url=https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_16_1YR_B03001&prodType=table |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180819090429/https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_16_1YR_B03001&prodType=table |archive-date=19 August 2018 |access-date=9 September 2018 |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau}}[https://www.pewresearch.org/race-and-ethnicity/fact-sheet/us-hispanics-facts-on-mexican-origin-latinos/#:~:text=Mexicans%20are%20the%20largest%20population,20.9%20million%20to%2037.2%20million. Facts on Hispanics of Mexican origin in the United States, 2021] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240604173813/https://www.pewresearch.org/race-and-ethnicity/fact-sheet/us-hispanics-facts-on-mexican-origin-latinos/#:~:text=Mexicans%20are%20the%20largest%20population,20.9%20million%20to%2037.2%20million. |date=4 June 2024 }} | Pew Research Center

Among the remaining 2% of Mexican expatriates not residing in the U.S., the most popular destinations are Canada (86,780), primarily the provinces of Ontario and Quebec,{{cite web | url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2011/dp-pd/dt-td/Ap-eng.cfm?LANG=E&APATH=5&DETAIL=0&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=0&GC=01&GID=0&GK=1&GRP=0&PID=105411&PRID=0&PTYPE=105277&S=0&SHOWALL=0&SUB=0&Temporal=2013&THEME=95&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF= | title=2011 National Household Survey | publisher=Statistics Canada | date=8 May 2013 | access-date=9 September 2018 | archive-date=15 July 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170715072024/http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2011/dp-pd/dt-td/Ap-eng.cfm?LANG=E&APATH=5&DETAIL=0&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=0&GC=01&GID=0&GK=1&GRP=0&PID=105411&PRID=0&PTYPE=105277&S=0&SHOWALL=0&SUB=0&Temporal=2013&THEME=95&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF= | url-status=live }} followed by Spain and Germany; the latter two countries account for two-thirds of all Mexicans living in Europe.{{cite web | url=https://www.bbvaresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/1809_AnuarioMigracionRemesas_2018.pdf | title=Yearbook of Migration and Remittances: Mexico 2018 | publisher=BBVA Research | date=2018 | access-date=9 September 2018 | archive-date=10 September 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180910061234/https://www.bbvaresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/1809_AnuarioMigracionRemesas_2018.pdf | url-status=live }} It is estimated that 69,000 Mexicans live in Latin America, led by Guatemala (18,870) followed by Bolivia (10,610), Chile (10,560), and Panama (5,000).

Historically, and relative to other countries in the Western Hemisphere, Mexico has not been a destination of mass migration. As of 2020, an estimated 1.2 million foreigners settled in Mexico,{{cite web |title=Table 1: Total migrant stock at mid-year by origin and by major area, region, country or area of destination, 2017 |url=http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/migration/data/estimates2/data/UN_MigrantStockByOriginAndDestination_2017.xlsx |publisher=United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division |access-date=9 September 2018 |archive-date=23 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180823213849/http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/migration/data/estimates2/data/UN_MigrantStockByOriginAndDestination_2017.xlsx |url-status=live }} up from nearly 1 million in 2010.{{cite web |title=Principales resultados de la Encuesta Intercensal 2015 Estados Unidos Mexicanos |url=http://www.inegi.org.mx/est/contenidos/proyectos/encuestas/hogares/especiales/ei2015/doc/eic2015_resultados.pdf |publisher=INEGI |access-date=9 September 2018 |page=1 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151210212235/http://www.inegi.org.mx/est/contenidos/proyectos/encuestas/hogares/especiales/ei2015/doc/eic2015_resultados.pdf |archive-date=10 December 2015 | df=mdy}} In 2021, Mexico officially received 68,000 new immigrants, a 16% increase from the prior year;{{Cite web |title=International Migration Outlook 2023 {{!}} Mexico |url=https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/08d19fb4-en/index.html?itemId=/content/component/08d19fb4-en |access-date=2024-06-04 |website=www.oecd-ilibrary.org |language=en}} the overall number of migrants, including those unauthorized to enter or stay in the country, may be higher than official figures.{{Cite web |last1=González |first1=Alex |last2=Ormerod |title=A New Wave of Migration Is Changing Mexico |url=https://www.americasquarterly.org/article/a-new-wave-of-migration-is-changing-mexico/ |access-date=2024-06-04 |website=Americas Quarterly |language=en-US |archive-date=4 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240604191810/https://www.americasquarterly.org/article/a-new-wave-of-migration-is-changing-mexico/ |url-status=live }} The vast majority of migrants in Mexico come from the United States (900,000), making Mexico the top destination for U.S. citizens abroad.{{cite web |url=https://www.overseasvotefoundation.org/files/counting%20american%20civilians%20abroad.pdf |title=These are our Numbers: Civilian Americans Overseas and Voter Turnout |last1=Smith |first1=Dr. Claire M. |date=August 2010 |work=OVF Research Newsletter |publisher=Overseas Vote Foundation |access-date=9 September 2018 |quote=Previous research indicates that the number of U.S. Americans living in Mexico is around 1 million, with 600,000 of those living in Mexico City. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131024051944/https://www.overseasvotefoundation.org/files/counting%20american%20civilians%20abroad.pdf |archive-date=24 October 2013 |url-status=dead }} The second largest group comes from neighboring Guatemala (54,500), followed by Spain (27,600). Other major sources of migration are fellow Latin American countries, which include Colombia (20,600), Argentina (19,200) and Cuba (18,100). Communities descended from the Lebanese diaspora and German-born Mennonites have had an outsized impact in the country's culture, particularly in its cuisine and traditional music.{{cite web |url=https://confines.mty.itesm.mx/articulos2/GarciaRE.pdf |title=Los árabes de México. Asimilación y herencia cultural |trans-title=The Arabs of Mexico: Assimilation and cultural heritage |date=December 2005 |language=es |access-date=17 April 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327124211/https://confines.mty.itesm.mx/articulos2/GarciaRE.pdf |archive-date=27 March 2009}}{{cite web |url=http://www.fundacionunam.org.mx/arte-y-cultura/los-menonitas-en-mexico/ |title=Los Menonitas en México |trans-title=The Menonnites in Mexico |publisher=Fundación UNAM | date=28 August 2013 |access-date=9 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180910094730/http://www.fundacionunam.org.mx/arte-y-cultura/los-menonitas-en-mexico/ |archive-date=10 September 2018 |url-status=dead }}

{{Main|Metropolitan areas of Mexico}}

{{See also|List of cities in Mexico}}

In 2020 there were 48 metropolitan areas in Mexico, in which close to 53% of the country's population lives.[https://www.gob.mx/sedatu/documentos/metropolis-de-mexico-2020%3Fstate%3Dpublished "Metropolis de México 2020"] Retrieved September 7, 2024. The most populous metropolitan area in Mexico is the Metropolitan Area of the Valley of Mexico, or Greater Mexico City, which in 2020 had a population of 21.8 million, or around 18% of the nation's population. The next four largest metropolitan areas in Mexico are Greater Monterrey (5.3 million), Greater Guadalajara (5.2 million), Greater Puebla (3.2 million) and Greater Toluca (2.3 million). Urban areas contain 76.81% of Mexico's total population.[https://www.gob.mx/cms/uploads/attachment/file/643102/PNOTDU_VERSION_FINAL_28.05.2021-comprimido.pdf "Programa Nacional de Ordenamiento Territorial y Urbano"] page 27, retrieved in August 28, 2024.

{{Largest metropolitan areas of Mexico|class=info}}

{{Main|Religion in Mexico}}

{{Pie chart

|caption =Religion in Mexico (2020 census){{cite web |url=https://www.inegi.org.mx/temas/religion/#Tabulados |title=Censo de Población y Vivienda 2020 – Cuestionario básico |publisher=INEGI |access-date=18 May 2022 |archive-date=19 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231219183810/https://www.inegi.org.mx/temas/religion/#Tabulados |url-status=live }}

|thumb=right

|label1 = Catholicism

|color1 = Purple

|value1 = 77.8

|label2 = Protestantism

|color2 = Blue

|value2 = 11.2

|label3 = Unaffiliated

|color3 = Salmon

|value3 = 2.5

|label4 = Other religions

|color4 = Yellow

|value4 = 0.2

|label5 = No religion

|color5 = Green

|value5 = 8.1

}}

Although the Constitutions of 1857 and 1917 put limits on the role of the Roman Catholic Church in Mexico, Roman Catholicism remains the country's dominant religious affiliation. The 2020 census by the {{Lang|es|Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía}} (National Institute of Statistics and Geography) gives Roman Catholicism as the main religion, with 77.8% (97,864,218) of the population, while 11.2% (14,095,307) belong to Protestant/Evangelical Christian denominations—including Other Christians (6,778,435), Evangelicals (2,387,133), Pentecostals (1,179,415), Jehovah's Witnesses (1,530,909), Seventh-day Adventists (791,109), and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (337,998)—; 8.1% (9,488,671) declared having no religion; 0.4% (491,814) were unspecified.{{cite web|url=https://www.milenio.com/politica/comunidad/catolicismo-pierde-creyentes-censo-inegi-2021|first1=Graciela|last1=Olvera|first2=Armando|last2=Martínez|date=25 January 2021|language=es|title=Catolicismo y otras religiones pierden creyentes en México|work=Milenio|access-date=25 March 2021|archive-date=30 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210330112031/https://www.milenio.com/politica/comunidad/catolicismo-pierde-creyentes-censo-inegi-2021|url-status=live}}

The 97,864,218 Catholics of Mexico constitute in absolute terms the second largest Catholic community in the world, after Brazil's.{{cite web |url=http://www.adherents.com/largecom/com_romcath.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071112104651/http://www.adherents.com/largecom/com_romcath.html |url-status=usurped |archive-date=12 November 2007 |title=The Largest Catholic Communities |access-date=10 November 2007 |publisher=Adherents.com }} 47% percent of them attend church services weekly.{{cite web|title=Church attendance |work=Study of worldwide rates of religiosity |year=1997 |publisher=University of Michigan |url=http://www.ns.umich.edu/htdocs/releases/print.php?Releases/1997/Dec97/chr121097a |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060901122224/http://www.ns.umich.edu/htdocs/releases/print.php?Releases%2F1997%2FDec97%2Fchr121097a |archive-date=1 September 2006 |access-date=3 January 2007 |url-status=dead }} The Pentecostalism is the second Christian creed in Mexico, with more than 1.3 million adherents. Migratory phenomena have led to the spread of different aspects of Christianity, including branches Protestants, Eastern Catholic Churches and Eastern Orthodox Church.[https://www.iis.unam.mx/blog/cristianismos-orientales-persecucion-muerte-migracion-y-cambio/ "Cristianismos orientales: persecución, muerte, migración y cambio – Resonancias – Instituto de Investigaciones Sociales"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021161144/https://www.iis.unam.mx/blog/cristianismos-orientales-persecucion-muerte-migracion-y-cambio/ |date=21 October 2020 }}, "UNAM", Mexico DF, 29 November 2019. Retrieved on 28 November 2020.

According to the 2020 census, there are 58,876 Jews in Mexico. The presence of Jews in Mexico dates back to the 16th century when Spaniards arrived to the Americas, however the modern Jewish Community began to be formed in the late 19th and early 20th century when Jews from Europe and the Ottoman Empire immigrated to the country due to instability and anti-semitism.{{cite web|url=https://embamex.sre.gob.mx/israel/index.php/en/community/mexican-jewish-community|language=en|title=Mexican Jewish Community |publisher=Embamex.sre.gob.mx}} Islam in Mexico (with 7,982 members) is practiced mostly by Arab Mexicans. In the 2020 census 36,764 Mexicans reported belonging to a spiritualist religion, a category which includes a tiny Buddhist population and about 74,000 people reported to practice religions with "ethnic roots" (religions mostly African and indigenous origins).

There is often a syncretism between shamanism and Catholic traditions. Another religion of popular syncretism in Mexico (especially in recent years) is the Santería, mainly due to the large number of Cubans who settled in the territory after the Cuban Revolution.{{Cite book | author = Jacobo Grinberg Zylberbaum | title = Los chamanes de México | date = 1989 | publisher = UNAM School of Psychology | location = Mexico City | isbn = 9686022015 | edition = University of Texas | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=1QVZAAAAMAAJ&q=chamanes+en+M%C3%A9xico | access-date = 19 August 2019 | archive-date = 21 February 2024 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20240221140237/https://books.google.com/books?id=1QVZAAAAMAAJ&q=chamanes+en+M%C3%A9xico | url-status = live }} One of the most exemplary cases of popular religiosity is the cult of Holy Dead (Santa Muerte). Other examples are the representations of the Passion of Christ and the celebration of Day of the Dead, which take place within the framework of the Catholic Christian imaginary, but under a very particular reinterpretation.{{cite journal |last1=Castells Ballarin |first1=Pilar |title=La Santa Muerte y la cultura de los derechos humanos |journal=LiminaR |date=June 2008 |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=13–25 |doi=10.29043/liminar.v6i1.263 |doi-access=free }}

{{Main|Healthcare in Mexico}}

File:Secretaría de Salud, México D.F., México, 2013-10-13, DD 12.jpg, Mexico City, Mexico]]

In the 1930s, Mexico made a commitment to rural health care, mandating that mostly urban medical students receive training in it and to make them agents of the state to assess marginal areas.Soto Laveaga, Gabriela. "Bringing the Revolution to| Medical School: Social Service and a Rural Health Emphasis." Mexican Studies/Estudios Mexicanos vol. 29 (2) summer 2013, 397–427. Since the early 1990s, Mexico entered a transitional stage in the health of its population and some indicators such as mortality patterns are identical to those found in highly developed countries like Germany or Japan.{{cite web|url=http://countrystudies.us/mexico/63.htm |title=Mexico – Health Care and Social Security |publisher=Countrystudies.us |access-date=30 May 2010}} Mexico's medical infrastructure is highly rated for the most part and is usually excellent in major cities,{{cite web|url=http://www.expatforum.com/articles/health/health-care-in-mexico.html |title=Health Care in Mexico |date=8 August 2009 |publisher=Expatforum.com |access-date=30 May 2010}}{{cite web |url=http://globerove.com/mexico/health-care-issues-mexico/695 |title=Health Care Issues Mexico |publisher=Kwintessential.co.uk |access-date=4 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130813094826/http://globerove.com/mexico/health-care-issues-mexico/695 |archive-date=13 August 2013 }} but rural communities still lack equipment for advanced medical procedures, forcing patients in those locations to travel to the closest urban areas to get specialized medical care. Social determinants of health can be used to evaluate the state of health in Mexico.

State-funded institutions such as Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) and the Institute for Social Security and Services for State Workers (ISSSTE) play a major role in health and social security. Private health services are also very important and account for 13% of all medical units in the country.{{cite web|url=http://sinais.salud.gob.mx/medicinaprivada/index.html |title=Sistema Nacional de Información en Salud – Infraestructura |publisher=Sinais.salud.gob.mx |access-date=30 May 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100609031712/http://www.sinais.salud.gob.mx/medicinaprivada/index.html |archive-date=9 June 2010 }} Medical training is done mostly at public universities with many specializations done in vocational or internship settings. Some public universities in Mexico, such as the University of Guadalajara, have signed agreements with the U.S. to receive and train American students in medicine. Health care costs in private institutions and prescription drugs in Mexico are on average lower than that of its North American economic partners.

{{Main|Education in Mexico}}

File:-_panoramio_(2288).jpg of the National Autonomous University of Mexico]]

As of 2020, the literacy rate in Mexico is 95.25%, a slight increase from 94.86% in 2018, and significantly higher than 82.99% in 1980.{{Cite web|url=https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/MEX/mexico/literacy-rate|title=Mexico Literacy Rate 1980-2021|website=www.macrotrends.net}} Literacy between males and females is relatively equal.

According to most rankings, the publicly funded National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) is the best university in the country. Other prominent public universities include the National Polythechnic Institute, the Metropolitan Autonomous University, the University of Guadalajara and the Autonomous University of Nuevo León and El Colegio de México.{{Cite web |title=2019 Mexico Rankings |url=https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/rankings-by-location/mexico/2019 |access-date=6 July 2023 |website=Top Universities |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=University Rankings - Mexico 2023 |url=https://www.scimagoir.com/rankings.php?sector=Higher+educ.&country=MEX |access-date=6 July 2023 |website=www.scimagoir.com}}{{Cite web |title=Mexico {{!}} Ranking Web of Universities: Webometrics ranks 30000 institutions |url=https://www.webometrics.info/en/North_america/Mexico |access-date=6 July 2023 |website=www.webometrics.info}}{{Cite web |title=URAP - University Ranking by Academic Academic Performance |url=https://urapcenter.org/Rankings/2020-2021/World_Ranking_2020-2021 |access-date=6 July 2023 |website=urapcenter.org}}

In terms of private academic institutions, among the most highly ranked is the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education; other prominent private universities include {{Lang|es|Universidad Iberoamericana|italic=no}}, Universidad Panamericana, ITAM and Universidad Anáhuac.

{{Main|Culture of Mexico}}

File:211-ANIVERSARIO-DEL-GRITO-DE-INDEPENDENCIA_(3).jpg. Every year on the eve of Independence Day, the President of Mexico re-enacts the cry from the balcony of the National Palace in Mexico City, ]]

Mexican culture reflects a long and complex history of interactions between various peoples through migration, conquest, and trade. Three centuries of Spanish rule resulted in the blending of Spanish culture with those of different indigenous groups. Efforts to assimilate the native population into Christian European culture during the colonial era were only partially successful, with many pre-Columbian customs, traditions, and norms persisting regionally (particularly in rural areas) or becoming syncretized; conversely, many Spanish settlers integrated into local communities through acculturation or intermarriage. However, a high degree of stratification along the lines of class, ethnicity, and race perpetuated distinct subcultures.{{Cite web |title=Mexico - Health, Welfare, Poverty {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Mexico/Health-and-welfare |access-date=2024-06-04 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}

The Porfirian era (el Porfiriato) (1876–1911), which brought relative peace after four decades of civil unrest and war, saw the development of philosophy and art, often with government support. Since that time, as accentuated during the Mexican Revolution, cultural identity has had its foundation in mestizaje: the blending of different races and cultures, of which the indigenous (i.e. Amerindian) element is the core.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}} In light of the various ethnicities that formed the Mexican people, José Vasconcelos in La Raza Cósmica (The Cosmic Race) (1925) defined Mexico and Latin America to be the melting pot of all races (thus extending the definition of the mestizo) not only biologically but culturally as well.{{Cite book|last=Vasconcelos|first=José|others=Didier T. Jaén (translator)|title=La Raza Cósmica (The Cosmic Race)|publisher=The Johns Hopkins University Press|year=1997|isbn=978-0-8018-5655-6|page=[https://archive.org/details/cosmicracebiling00vasc/page/160 160]|url=https://archive.org/details/cosmicracebiling00vasc/page/160|url-access=registration}} Other Mexican intellectuals grappled with the idea of Lo Mexicano, which seeks "to discover the national ethos of Mexican culture."{{cite journal |last1=Phelan |first1=John Leddy |title=México y lo Mexicano |journal=Hispanic American Historical Review |date=1 August 1956 |volume=36 |issue=3 |pages=309–318 |doi=10.1215/00182168-36.3.309 |jstor=2509215 |doi-access=free }} Nobel laureate Octavio Paz explores the notion of a Mexican national character in The Labyrinth of Solitude.

{{Main|Mexican art}}

File:Diego_Rivera_and_Frida_Kahlo.jpg and Frida Kahlo, two of the most famous Mexican artists]]

Painting is one of the oldest arts in Mexico. Cave painting in Mexican territory is about 7500 years old and has been found in the caves of the Baja California Peninsula.[http://www.elmundo.es/2002/12/12/ciencia/1292233.html Descubierta en una cueva de México la pintura rupestre más Antigua de América / EL MUNDO] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090213061450/http://www.elmundo.es/2002/12/12/ciencia/1292233.html |date=February 13, 2009 }} Pre-Columbian Mexican art is present in buildings and caves, in Aztec codices, in ceramics, in garments, etc.; examples of this are the Maya mural paintings of Bonampak or the murals found in Teotihuacán, Cacaxtla and Monte Albán. Mural painting with Christian religious themes had an important flowering during the 16th century, early colonial era in newly constructed churches and monasteries. Examples can be found in Acolman, Actopan, Huejotzingo, Tecamachalco and Zinacantepec.{{cite web |url=http://www.mexicanarchitecture.org/glossary/index.php?detail=121 |last=Ekland |first=Charlote |title=Mexican Colonial Architecture |publisher=Mexican Architecture |access-date=November 29, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120526112024/http://www.mexicanarchitecture.org/glossary/index.php?detail=121 |archive-date=May 26, 2012 |url-status=dead }}

As with most art during the early modern era in the West, colonial-era Mexican art was religious during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Starting in the late seventeenth century, and, most prominently in the eighteenth century, secular portraits and images of racial types, so-called casta painting appeared.Katzew, Ilona. Casta Painting: Images of Race in Eighteenth-Century Mexico. New Haven: Yale University Press 2005 Important painters of the late colonial period were Juan Correa, Cristóbal de Villalpando and Miguel Cabrera. In early post-independence Mexico, nineteenth-century painting had a marked romantic influence; landscapes and portraits were the greatest expressions of this era. Hermenegildo Bustos is one of the most appreciated painters of the historiography of Mexican art. Other painters include Santiago Rebull, Félix Parra, Eugenio Landesio, and his noted pupil, the landscape artist José María Velasco.Widdiefield, Stacie G. The Embodiment of the National in Late Nineteenth-Century Mexican Painting. Tucson: University of Arizona Press 1996

File:Murales Rivera - Markt in Tlatelolco 3.jpg showing the pre-Columbian Aztec city of Tenochtitlán. In the Palacio Nacional in Mexico City.]]

In the 20th century artists such as Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and José Clemente Orozco, the so-called "Big Three" of Mexican muralism achieved worldwide recognition. They were commissioned by the Mexican government to paint large-scale historical murals on the walls of public buildings, which helped shape popular perceptions of the Mexican Revolution and Mexican cultural identity.Anreus, Robin Adèle Greeley, and Leonard Folgarait, eds. Mexican Muralism: A Critical History. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press 2012. Frida Kahlo's largely personal portraiture is considered by many as the most important historical work by a female artist.Lozano, Luis-Martin, ed. Frida Kahlo: The Complete Paintings. Taschen 2021.{{ISBN|9783836574204}}

In the 21st century, Mexico City became home to the highest concentration of art museums in the world. Institutions like the Museo Jumex, the largest collection of its kind, founded by collector Eugenio López Alonso and bolstered by art advisor Esthella Provas, changed the notion of contemporary art in Latin America.{{Cite news |last=Amadour |first=Ricky |date=28 April 2022 |title=Urs Fischer Spotlights Pluralistic Notions of Love |language=en |work=Frieze |issue=228 |url=https://www.frieze.com/article/urs-fischer-lovers-2022-review |access-date=1 January 2024 |issn=0962-0672}}{{Cite book |last1=Greet |first1=Michele |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DQpQDwAAQBAJ&dq=esthella+provas+and+eugenio+lopez&pg=PT220 |title=Art Museums of Latin America: Structuring Representation |last2=Tarver |first2=Gina McDaniel |date=8 March 2018 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-351-77790-2 |language=en}} The Museo Tamayo Arte Contemporaneous founded by Rufino Tamayo is also considered a preeminent institution and introduced foreign artists to a wider population.{{Cite web |date=11 June 2023 |title=Museo Tamayo celebrates contemporary art in Mexico City - The Yucatan Times |url=https://www.theyucatantimes.com/2023/06/museo-tamayo-celebrates-contemporary-art-in-mexico-city/ |access-date=1 January 2024 |language=en-US}} The country is also an epicenter for International art galleries including Kurimanzutto and FF Projects,{{Cite web |last=Kinsella |first=Eileen |date=3 May 2018 |title=Mexico City's kurimanzutto Gallery Opens a New York Outpost With a Scrappy Ode to the Big Apple |url=https://news.artnet.com/market/mexico-city-manhattan-kurimanzutto-gallery-opens-new-york-1277855 |access-date=1 January 2024 |website=Artnet News |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Kinsella |first=Eileen |date=23 November 2020 |title=Latin American Galleries Missing Out on Miami Beach Have Banded Together to Form Their Own Version of Art Basel in Mexico City |url=https://news.artnet.com/market/art-basel-miami-beach-in-mexico-city-1925437 |access-date=1 January 2024 |website=Artnet News |language=en-US}} and leading artists including Gabriel Orozco, Bosco Sodi, Stefan Brüggemann, and Mario García Torres.{{Cite web |last=Davison |first=Tamara |date=1 August 2018 |title=Gabriel Orozco: The pioneer of Mexico's modern art movement |url=https://ec2-18-118-37-10.us-east-2.compute.amazonaws.com/gabriel-orozco/1147/ |access-date=1 January 2024 |website=Aztec Reports |language=en}}

{{Main|Architecture of Mexico}}The architecture of Mesoamerican civilizations evolved in style from simple to complex. Teotihuacan, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987, is one of the foremost examples of ancient pyramid construction. The cities of the Maya stand out to modern architects as examples of integration between large urban centers (with elaborate stone construction) and a thick jungle, generally with a complex network of roads. Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica also saw distinctive architectural influences from the Olmec, the Puuc and oasiamerican peoples.

File:Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City, MX.jpg (Palace of Fine Arts), with numerous murals, artworks and a major performance space]]

With the arrival of the Spanish, architectural theories of the Greco-Latin order with Arab influences were introduced. In the first few decades of Spanish presence in the continent, the high level of Christian missionary activity, especially by mendicant orders like the Dominicans or Franciscans, meant the construction of many monasteries, often with Romanesque, Gothic or Mudéjar elements. In addition, the interaction between Spaniards and Indigenous people gave rise to artistic styles such as the tequitqui (from the Nahuatl: worker or builder). Years later, Baroque and Mannerist styles prevailed in large cathedrals and civil buildings, while in rural areas, haciendas or stately estates with Mozarabic tendencies were built. In the 19th century, the neoclassical movement arose as the country gained independence and sought to establish itself as a republic. A famous example is the Hospicio Cabañas, an orphanage and hospital complex completed in 1829. The art nouveau, and the art deco were styles introduced into the design of the Palacio de Bellas Artes to mark the identity of the Mexican nation with Greek-Roman and pre-Columbian symbols.{{cite web |url=http://www.lonelyplanet.com/mexico/mexico-city/sights/376019 |title=Palacio de Bellas Artes |publisher=Lonely Planet Guides |access-date=February 18, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140313200055/http://www.lonelyplanet.com/mexico/mexico-city/sights/376019 |archive-date=March 13, 2014 }}

File:Ciudad_de_Mexico_-_1194_-_Auditorio_Nacional.jpg]]

As a new sense of nationalism developed in the 20th century, a strengthened central government issued formal policies that sought to use architecture to show Mexico's modernity and differentiation from other nations. The development of Mexican modernist architecture was especially manifested in the mid-1950s construction of the Ciudad Universitaria, Mexico City, the main campus of the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Designed by the most prestigious architects of the era, including Mario Pani, Eugenio Peschard, and Enrique del Moral, the buildings feature murals by artists Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and José Chávez Morado. It has since been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.{{cite web|author=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/news/364 |title=UNESCO |publisher=Whc.unesco.org |date=29 June 2007 |access-date=17 August 2013}}

Juan O'Gorman was one of the first environmental architects in modern Mexico to develop the "organic" theory, trying to integrate buildings onto the landscape within the same approaches of Frank Lloyd Wright.{{cite web|url=http://www.arqhys.com/arquitectura-mexicana.html|title=Arquitectura mexicana|website=www.arqhys.com|access-date=15 January 2018|archive-date=15 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171015150356/http://www.arqhys.com/arquitectura-mexicana.html|url-status=dead}} In the search for a new architecture that does not resemble the styles of the past, it achieves a joint manifestation with the mural painting and the landscaping. Luis Barragán combined the shape of the space with forms of rural vernacular architecture of Mexico and Mediterranean countries (Spain-Morocco), integrating color that handles light and shade in different tones and opens a look at the international minimalism. He won the 1980 Pritzker Prize, the highest award in architecture.{{Cite web|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/10/14/HOG51LMROS1.DTL|title=The Mexican garden revisited|access-date=26 June 2009|date=14 October 2006|first=Katherine|last=Endicott|work=San Francisco Chronicle|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110919002659/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2006%2F10%2F14%2FHOG51LMROS1.DTL|archive-date=19 September 2011}}

{{Main|Mexican cuisine}}{{See also|Mexican wine|List of restaurants in Mexico}}

File:Comida en la Feria del Mole 2014 12.JPG, which has dozens of varieties across the Republic, is seen as a symbol of Mexicanidad{{cite web|title=El mole símbolo de la mexicanidad|url=http://www.cultura.gob.mx/turismocultural/cuadernos/pdf12/articulo4.pdf|publisher=CONACULTA|access-date=27 September 2016}} and is considered Mexico's national dish.]]

The origin of the current Mexican cuisine was established during the Spanish colonial era, a mixture of the foods of Spain with native indigenous ingredients.{{cite web| url = http://projects.ups.edu/jlago/spring2003/250a/jlkeller/ | title = History and influences of Mexican food. | author = University of Puget Sound | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111208232651/http://projects.ups.edu/jlago/spring2003/250a/jlkeller/ | archive-date = 8 December 2011}} Foods indigenous to Mexico include corn, pepper vegetables, calabazas, avocados, sweet potato, turkey, many beans, and other fruits and spices. Similarly, some cooking techniques used today are inherited from pre-Columbian peoples, such as the nixtamalization of corn, the cooking of food in ovens at ground level, grinding in molcajete and metate. With the Spaniards came the pork, beef and chicken meats; peppercorn, sugar, milk and all its derivatives, wheat and rice, citrus fruits and another constellation of ingredients that are part of the daily diet of Mexicans.

From this meeting of two millennia old culinary traditions, were born pozole, mole sauce, barbacoa and tamale in its current forms, chocolate, a large range of breads, tacos, and the broad repertoire of Mexican street foods. Beverages such as atole, champurrado, milk chocolate and aguas frescas were born; desserts such as acitrón and the full range of crystallized sweets, rompope, cajeta, jericaya and the wide repertoire of delights created in the convents of nuns in all parts of the country.

In 2005, Mexico presented the candidature of its gastronomy for World Heritage Site of UNESCO, the first time a country had presented its gastronomic tradition for this purpose.{{cite web|author=La Crónica de Hoy|date=20 September 2005|title=Presentan en París candidatura de gastronomía mexicana|url=http://www.cronica.com.mx/nota.php?id_nota=203109|access-date=19 January 2018|archive-date=23 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023074402/http://www.cronica.com.mx/nota.php?id_nota=203109|url-status=dead}} The result was negative, because the committee did not place the proper emphasis on the importance of corn in Mexican cuisine.{{cite web|author=esmas.com|date=25 November 2005|title=Cocina mexicana, fuera de la UNESCO|url=http://www.esmas.com/noticierostelevisa/mexico/492975.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023074402/http://www.esmas.com/noticierostelevisa/mexico/492975.html|archive-date=23 October 2012}} On 16 November 2010 Mexican gastronomy was recognized as Intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO.{{citation|title=Cocina, fiesta y cantos mexicanos reconocidos por UNESCO|date=16 November 2010|url=http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/723787.html|publisher=El Universal (Mexico City) (newspaper)|access-date=19 January 2018|archive-date=24 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131024140247/http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/723787.html|url-status=dead}} In addition, Daniela Soto-Innes was named the best female chef in the world by The World's Best 50 Restaurants in April 2019 and Elena Reygadas in 2023.{{citation|title=Latina chef Daniela Soto-Innes is youngest to be named 'World's Best Female Chef'|date=26 April 2019|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/latina-chef-daniela-soto-innes-youngest-be-named-world-s-n998946|website=NBC News|access-date=12 July 2019}}

{{Main|Mexican literature}}

File:Octavio_Paz_-_1988_Malmö.jpg, the only Mexican awarded with the Nobel Prize in Literature]]

Mexican literature has its antecedents in the literature of the indigenous settlements of Mesoamerica. Poetry had a rich cultural tradition in pre-Columbian Mexico, being divided into two broad categories—secular and religious. Aztec poetry was sung, chanted, or spoken, often to the accompaniment of a drum or a harp. While Tenochtitlan was the political capital, Texcoco was the cultural center; the Texcocan language was considered the most melodious and refined. The best well-known pre-Columbian poet is Nezahualcoyotl.{{cite web|website=Aztecs at Mexicolore|first=John|last=Curl|access-date=14 July 2019|date=20 August 2009 |title=Aztec Poetry (1): Introduction |url=https://www.mexicolore.co.uk/aztecs/home/aztec-poetry-1-intro}}

There are historical chronicles of the conquest of the Aztec Empire by participants, and, later, by historians. Bernal Díaz del Castillo's True History of the Conquest of the New Spain is still widely read today. Spanish-born poet Bernardo de Balbuena extolled the virtues of Mexico in Grandeza mexicana (Mexican Grandeur) (1604). Baroque literature flourished in the 17th century; the most notable writers of this period were Juan Ruiz de Alarcón and Juana Inés de la Cruz. Sor Juana was famous in her own time, called the "Ten Muse".{{citation|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Britannica|title=Latin American literature|last1=González Echevarría|first1=Roberto|first2=Ruth |last2=Hill|url=https://www.britannica.com/art/Latin-American-literature|access-date=14 July 2019}}

Nineteenth-century liberal of Nahua origin Ignacio Manuel Altamirano is an important writer of the era, along with Vicente Riva Palacio, the grandson of Mexican hero of independence Vicente Guerrero, who authored a series of historical novels as well as poetry, the late colonial-era novel by José Joaquín Fernández de Lizardi, The Mangy Parrot ("El Periquillo Sarniento"), is said to be the first Latin American novel. In the modern era, the novel of the Mexican Revolution by Mariano Azuela (Los de abajo, translated to English as The Underdogs) is noteworthy. Poet and Nobel Laureate Octavio Paz, novelist Carlos Fuentes, Alfonso Reyes, Renato Leduc, essayist Carlos Monsiváis, journalist and public intellectual Elena Poniatowska, and Juan Rulfo (Pedro Páramo), Martín Luis Guzmán, Nellie Campobello, (Cartucho).

{{Main|Cinema of Mexico}}

File:Alfonso_Cuarón,_President_jury_Venezia_72_(25805089406)_(cropped).jpg, the first Mexican filmmaker to win the Academy Award for Best Director]]

Mexican films from the Golden Age in the 1940s and 1950s are the greatest examples of Latin American cinema, with a huge industry comparable to the Hollywood of those years. Mexican films were exported and exhibited in all of Latin America and Europe. María Candelaria (1943) by Emilio Fernández, was one of the first films awarded a {{lang|fr|Palme d'Or|italic=no}} at the Cannes Film Festival in 1946, the first time the event was held after World War II. The famous Spanish-born director Luis Buñuel realized in Mexico between 1947 and 1965 some of his masterpieces like Los Olvidados (1949) and Viridiana (1961). Famous actors and actresses from this period include María Félix, Pedro Infante, Dolores del Río, Jorge Negrete and the comedian Cantinflas.

More recently, films such as Como agua para chocolate (1992), Sex, Shame, and Tears (1999), Y tu mamá también (2001), and The Crime of Father Amaro (2002) have been successful in creating universal stories about contemporary subjects, and were internationally recognized. Mexican directors Alejandro González Iñárritu (Babel, Birdman, The Revenant, Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths), Alfonso Cuarón (A Little Princess, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Gravity, Roma), Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth, Crimson Peak, The Shape of Water, Nightmare Alley), screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga and photographer Emmanuel Lubezki are some of the most known present-day film makers.

{{Main|Music of Mexico|Folk dance of Mexico}}

File:Pedro Infante in Habana, Cuba, c.1950s.jpg was one of the best ranchera singers.]]

Mexico has a long tradition of music from the prehispanic era to the present. Much of the music from the colonial era was composed for religious purposes.Stevenson, Robert M. Music in Mexico: A Historical Survey. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell 1952Russell, Craig. "Music: Mesoamerica through Seventeenth Century", Encyclopedia of Mexico, 976–980

Although the traditions of European opera and especially Italian opera had initially dominated the Mexican music conservatories and strongly influenced native opera composers (in both style and subject matter), elements of Mexican nationalism had already appeared by the latter part of the 19th century with operas such as Aniceto Ortega del Villar's 1871 Guatimotzin, a romanticized account of the defense of Mexico by its last Aztec ruler, Cuauhtémoc. The most well-known Mexican composer of the twentieth century is Carlos Chávez (1899–1978), who composed six symphonies with indigenous themes, and rejuvenated Mexican music, founding the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional.Hess, Carol A. "Carlos Antonio de Padua Chávez y Ramírez", Encyclopedia of Mexico, 242–43

Traditional Mexican music includes mariachi, banda, norteño, ranchera, and corridos. Corridos were particularly popular during the Mexican Revolution (1910–20) and in the present era include narcocorridos. The embrace of rock and roll by young Mexicans in the 1960s and 1970s brought Mexico into the transnational, counterculture movement of the era. In Mexico, the native rock culture merged into the larger countercultural and political movement of the late 1960s, culminating in the 1968 protests and redirected into counterculture rebellion, La Onda (the wave).Zolov, Eric. "Counterculture", Encyclopedia of Mexico, 363–368Zolov, Eric. Refried Elvis: The Rise of Mexican Counterculture. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press 1999.

On an everyday basis most Mexicans listen to contemporary music such as pop, rock, and others in both English and Spanish. Folk dance of Mexico along with its music is both deeply regional and traditional. Founded in 1952, the Ballet Folklórico de México performs music and dance of the prehispanic period through the Mexican Revolution in regional attire in the Palacio de Bellas Artes."An Introduction to the Ballet Folklórico de México" ([https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/mexico/articles/an-introduction-to-the-ballet-folklorico-de-mexico/]). Accessed 15 May 2022.

Some example of international success from Mexico Los Lobos, Maná, and Carlos Santana where is it in Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

{{Further|Mexican television|List of newspapers in Mexico|List of Mexican magazines}}

File:TELEVISA_CHAPULTEPEC.jpg headquarters in Mexico City]]

Telenovelas, or soap operas, are very traditional in Mexico and are translated to many languages and seen all over the world. Mexico was a pioneer in edutainment, with TV producer Miguel Sabido creating in 1970s "soap operas for social change". The "Sabido method" has been adopted in many other countries subsequently, including India, Peru, Kenya, and China.Hanna Rosin, "Life Lessons: How Soap Operas Can Change the World", The New Yorker, 5 June 2006, pp. 40–45. The Mexican government successfully used a telenovela to promote family planning in the 1970s to curb the country's high birth rate.Soto Laveaga, Gabriela, "'Let's become fewer': Soap operas, contraception, and nationalizing the Mexican family in an overpopulated world." Sexuality Research and Social Policy. September 2007, vol. 4, no. 3 pp. 19–33.

Bilingual government radio stations broadcasting in Spanish and indigenous languages were a tool for indigenous education (1958–65) and since 1979 the Instituto Nacional Indigenista has established a national network of bilingual radio stations.Dillingham, A.S. Oaxaca Resurgent: Indigeneity, Development, and Inequality in Twentieth-Century Mexico. Stanford: Stanford University Press 2021, 47–49, 69–70. {{ISBN|9781503627840}}

There was a major reform of the telecommunications industry in 2013, with the creation of new broadcast television channels. There had been a longstanding limitation on the number of networks, with Televisa, with a virtual monopoly; TV Azteca, and Imagen Television. New technology has allowed the entry of foreign satellite and cable companies. Mexico became the first Latin American country to transition from analog to all digital transmissions.[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/mexico/] World Fact Book, Mexico. accessed 4 May 2022

{{Main|Sport in Mexico}}

File:Sobrevuelos_CDMX_IMG_5971_(25513748117).jpg, Mexico City]]

Organized sport in Mexico largely dates from the late nineteenth century, with only bullfighting having a long history dating to the early colonial era. Once the political turmoil of the early republic was replaced by the stability of the Porfiriato did organized sport become public diversions, with structured and ordered play governed by rules and authorities. Baseball was introduced from the United States and also via Cuba in the 1880s and organized teams were created. After the Mexican Revolution, the government sponsored sports to counter the international image of political turmoil and violence. Mexico's most popular sport is association football.

The bid to host the 1968 Summer Olympics was to burnish Mexico's stature internationally, with it being the first Latin American country to host the games. The government spent abundantly on sporting facilities and other infrastructure to make the games a success, but those expenditures helped fuel public discontent with the government's lack of spending on social programs.Baker, Shannon L. and William H. Beezley, "Sports", Encyclopedia of Mexico, 1370-1372 Mexico City hosted the XIX Olympic Games in 1968, making it the first Latin American city to do so.{{cite web|title=2016 Binational Olympics|date=December 2003|publisher=San Diego Metropolitan|url=http://www.sandiegometro.com/2003/dec/coverstory2.html|access-date=7 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930043448/http://www.sandiegometro.com/2003/dec/coverstory2.html |archive-date=30 September 2007}} Mexico hosted the 1970 FIFA World Cup and the 1986 FIFA World Cup{{cite web|title=About CONCACAF|publisher=The Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF)|url=http://www.concacaf.com/about.asp|access-date=7 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071006070253/http://www.concacaf.com/about.asp |archive-date=6 October 2007}} and will co-host, along with Canada and the United States, the 2026 FIFA World Cup. With its past hosting of the 1970 and 1986 tournaments, Mexico will become the first country to host or co-host the men's World Cup three times.{{cite news |last=Wamsley |first=Laurel |date=June 16, 2022 |title=The U.S. cities hosting the 2026 World Cup are announced |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/06/16/1105562734/us-cities-hosting-2026-world-cup-announcement |publisher=NPR |access-date=April 16, 2023}}

Image:100_años_del_natalicio_del_Santo_-i---i-_(36184746106).jpg, one of the most iconic Mexican luchadores]]

Mexico is an international power in professional boxing.{{citation|website=Marca Claro |url=https://www.marca.com/claro-mx/otros-deportes/2018/10/12/5bc012eb46163f49598b45b1.html|title=Los mejores deportistas mexicanos de la historia|date=12 October 2018|access-date=11 July 2019|language=es|trans-title=The best Mexican athletes in history}} Fourteen Olympic boxing medals have been won by Mexico.{{citation|website=Caliente.mx|url=https://mexico.as.com/mexico/2016/08/16/album/1471303609_523251.html|title=Los medallistas que ha tenido el Box Olímpico mexicano|language=es|trans-title=The Mexican Olympic boxing medal winners|access-date=11 July 2019|date=15 August 2016}} The Mexican professional baseball league is named the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol. While usually not as strong as the United States, the Caribbean countries and Japan, Mexico has nonetheless achieved several international baseball titles.{{citation|website=Medio Tiempo|url=https://www.mediotiempo.com/beisbol/mexico-historia-exito-serie-mundial-ligas-menores|title=México, una historia de éxito en la Serie Mundial de Ligas Menores|language=es|trans-title=Mexico, a history of success in the Minor League World Series|date=25 August 2010|access-date=12 July 2019}}{{citation|website=Medio Tiempo|url=https://www.mediotiempo.com/beisbol/mexico-es-campeon-en-el-mundial-sub-23-de-beisbol|title=México es Campeón en el Mundial Sub-23 de beisbol|language=es|trans-title=Mexico is the World Baseball Champion in the Under-23 bracket|date=29 October 2018|access-date=12 July 2019}} Lucha Libre (freestyle professional wrestling) is also major crowd draw with national promotions such as AAA, CMLL and others.

Despite efforts by animal rights activists to outlaw bullfighting, it remains a popular sport in the country, and almost all large cities have bullrings. Plaza México in Mexico City, which seats 45,000 people, is the largest bullring in the world.{{citation|website=Don Quijote|title=LOS TOROS EN MÉXICO|language=es|trans-title=Bullfighting in Mexico|access-date=11 July 2019|url=https://www.donquijote.org/es/cultura-mexicana/tradiciones/toros/}}

{{portal |Mexico}}

• Index of Mexico-related articles
• Outline of Mexico
• Mexican War of Independence
• Mexican Culture

{{Notelist}}

{{reflist}}

{{Refbegin|30em}}

• Anna, Timothy. Forging Mexico, 1821-1835. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press 1998.
• Adams, Richard E.W. Prehispanic Mesoamerica. 3rd. ed. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press 2005.
• Beezley, William H., ed. A Companion to Mexican History and Culture. Blackwell 2011. {{ISBN|9781405190572}}
• Bulmer-Thomas, Victor, John H. Coatsworth, and Roberto Cortés Conde, eds. The Cambridge Economic History of Latin America. Vol. 1, The Colonial Era and the Short Nineteenth Century. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2006.
• Camp, Roderic Ai. Politics in Mexico: Democratic Consolidation or Decline? (Oxford University Press, 2014)
• Coerver, Don M., Suzanne B. Pasztor, and Robert M. Buffington. Mexico: An Encyclopedia of Contemporary Culture and History. Santa Barbara: ABCClio 2004. {{ISBN|1-57607-132-4}}
• Davis, Diane. Urban Leviathan: Mexico City in the Twentieth Century (Temple University Press, 2010)
• Hale, Charles A. The Transformation of Mexican Liberalism in Late Nineteenth-Century Mexico. Princeton: Princeton University Press 1989.
• Hamnett, Brian R. Roots of Insurgency: Mexican Regions 1750-1824. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1985.
• Kirkwood, Burton. The History of Mexico (Greenwood, 2000) [https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=15456726 online edition] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091224124206/http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=15456726 |date=24 December 2009 }}
• Knight, Alan. The Mexican Revolution. 2 vols. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1986.
• {{cite book|first=Enrique|last=Krauze|author-link=Enrique Krauze|title=Mexico: Biography of Power: A history of Modern Mexico 1810–1996|publisher=Harper Perennial|location=New York|year=1998|isbn=978-0-06-092917-6|page=896|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZuuPAAZcKtYC}}
• Levy, Santiago. Good intentions, bad outcomes: Social policy, informality, and economic growth in Mexico (Brookings Institution Press, 2010).
• Merrill, Tim and Ramón Miró. Mexico: a country study (Library of Congress. Federal Research Division, 1996) US government document; not copyright [https://archive.org/details/mexicocountrystu00merr_0 online free]
• {{cite book|editor1-first=Michael C.|editor1-last=Meyer|editor2-first=William H.|editor2-last=Beezley|title=The Oxford History of Mexico|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2000|isbn=978-0-19-511228-3|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780195112283/page/n149 736]|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780195112283|url-access=registration}}
• Meyer, Michael C., William L. Sherman, and Susan M. Deeds. The Course of Mexican History (7th ed.) (Oxford University Press, 2002) [https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=113260662 online edition] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110202103530/http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=113260662 |date=2 February 2011 }}
• Rugeley, Terry. Epic Mexico: A History from Earliest Times. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press 2020. {{ISBN|9780806167077}}
• Van Young, Eric. Stormy Passage: Mexico from Colony to Republic, 1750-1850. Lanham MD: Rowman and Littlefield 2022. {{ISBN|9781442209015}}
• Vinson, Ben, III. Before Mestizaje: The Frontiers of Race and Caste in Colonial Mexico. New York: Cambridge University Press 2018.
• Werner, Michael S. ed. Encyclopedia of Mexico: History, Society & Culture (2 vol 1997) 1440pp [https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=98882479 online edition] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100124111608/http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=98882479 |date=24 January 2010 }}
• {{cite book |last=Werner |first=Michael S. |title=Concise Encyclopedia of Mexico |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qxp-GWiDPioC&pg=PA386 |date=January 2001 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-57958-337-8 }}

{{Refend}}

{{Sister project links|voy=Mexico}}

Government

• {{Official website|https://www.gob.mx/|name=The Government of Mexico}}
• [https://www.visitmexico.com/en VisitMexico.com] – Official tourism website ({{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220803185940/https://www.visitmexico.com/en/ |date=3 August 2022 }})

General information

• The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. [https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/mexico/ Mexico].
• U.S. Agency for International Development. [https://www.usaid/mexico/ Mexico].{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
• U.S.-Mexico foreign trade balance. [https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c2010.html/ Mexico].
• [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/country_profiles/1205074.stm Mexico] from BBC News
• [https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/379167/Mexico Mexico] at Encyclopædia Britannica
• {{Wikiatlas|Mexico}}
• [http://www.ifs.du.edu/ifs/frm_CountryProfile.aspx?Country=MX Key Development Forecasts for Mexico] from International Futures

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Category:Countries in North America

Category:Federal constitutional republics

Category:Former Spanish colonies

Category:G15 nations

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Category:Spanish-speaking countries and territories

Category:States and territories established in 1810

Category:1810 establishments in New Spain