Mexico
United Mexican StatesEstados Unidos Mexicanos
federal republic operating under a centralizedIndependence 16 September 1810 (from Spain)
Mexico as the 1996 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 89 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.
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Geography
Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf | of Mexico, between Belize and the US and bordering the North Pacific | Ocean, between Guatemala and the US
15 fieldsLocation
Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, between Belize and the US and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and the US
Terrain
high, rugged mountains, low coastal plains, high plateaus, and desert
- lowest point:
- Laguna Salada -10 m
- highest point:
- Volcan Pico de Orizaba 5,700 m
Environment
- current issues:
- natural fresh water resources scarce and polluted in north, inaccessible and poor quality in center and extreme southeast;
- raw sewage and industrial effluents polluting rivers in urban areas;
- deforestation;
- widespread erosion;
- desertification;
- serious air pollution in the national capital and urban centers along US-Mexico border
- natural hazards:
- tsunamis along the Pacific coast, destructive earthquakes in the center and south, and hurricanes on the Gulf and Caribbean coasts
- international agreements:
- party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
People
15 fieldsPer 1,000 population(1996 est.)
Male · female(1996 est.)
Age structure
- 0-14 years:
- 36% (male 17,732,725; female 17,125,562)
- 15-64 years:
- 59% (male 27,562,285; female 29,165,138)
- 65 years and over:
- 5% (male 1,911,968; female 2,274,784) (July 1996 est.)
Sex ratio
- at birth:
- 1.05 male(s)/female
- under 15 years:
- 1.04 male(s)/female
- 15-64 years:
- 0.94 male(s)/female
- 65 years and over:
- 0.84 male(s)/female
- all ages:
- 0.97 male(s)/female (1996 est.)
Government
Federal republic operating under a centralized
22 fieldsPresidential electionpercent of vote
Legislature, 500 seatsseats by party
Name of country
- conventional long form:
- United Mexican States
- conventional short form:
- Mexico
- local long form:
- Estados Unidos Mexicanos
- local short form:
- Mexico
Administrative divisions
- 31 states (estados, singular - estado) and 1 federal district* (distrito federal);
- Aguascalientes, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Colima, Distrito Federal*, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Mexico, Michoacan de Ocampo, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro de Arteaga, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz-Llave, Yucatan, Zacatecas
Legal system
- mixture of US constitutional theory and civil law system;
- judicial review of legislative acts;
- accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Executive branch
- chief of state and head of government:
- President Ernesto ZEDILLO Ponce de Leon (since 1 December 1994) was elected for a six-year term by popular vote;
- election last held 21 August 1994 (next to be held NA 2000);
- results - Ernesto ZEDILLO Ponce de Leon (PRI) 50.18%, Cuauhtemoc CARDENAS Solorzano (PRD) 17.08%, Diego FERNANDEZ DE CEVALLOS (PAN) 26.69%;
- other 6.049%
- cabinet:
- Cabinet was appointed by the president
Senate (Camara de Senadores)
- elections last held 21 August 1994 (next to be held NA July 1997 for one-quarter of the seats);
- results - percent of vote by party NA;
- seats in full Senate - (128 total; Senate expanded from 64 seats at the last election) PRI 93, PRD 25, PAN 10
Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados)
- elections last held 24 August 1994 (next to be held NA July 1997);
- results - percent of vote by party NA;
- seats - (500 total) PRI 300, PAN 119, PRD 71, PT 10
Judicial branch
Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justicia), judges are appointed by the president with consent of the Senate
Political parties and leaders
- (recognized parties) Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), Santiago ONATE Laborde;
- National Action Party (PAN), Carlos CASTILLO;
- Popular Socialist Party (PPS), Indalecio SAYAGO Herrera;
- Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), Porfirio MUNOZ Ledo;
- Cardenist Front for the National Reconstruction Party (PFCRN), Rafael AGUILAR Talamantes;
- Democratic Forum Party (PFD), Pablo Emilio MADERO;
- Mexican Green Ecologist Party (PVEM), Jorge GONZALEZ Torres;
- Workers Party (PT), Alberto ANYA Gutierrez
Other political or pressure groups
- Roman Catholic Church;
- Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM);
- Confederation of Industrial Chambers (CONCAMIN);
- Confederation of National Chambers of Commerce (CONCANACO);
- National Peasant Confederation (CNC);
- Revolutionary Workers Party (PRT);
- Revolutionary Confederation of Workers and Peasants (CROC);
- Regional Confederation of Mexican Workers (CROM);
- Confederation of Employers of the Mexican Republic (COPARMEX);
- National Chamber of Transformation Industries (CANACINTRA);
- Coordinator for Foreign Trade Business Organizations (COECE);
- Federation of Unions Providing Goods and Services (FESEBES)
International organization participation
AG (observer), APEC, BCIE, Caricom (observer), CCC, CDB, EBRD, ECLAC, FAO, G- 6, G-11, G-15, G-19, G-24, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM (observer), OAS, OECD, OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador Jesus SILVA Herzog Flores
- chancery:
- 1911 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20006
- telephone:
- [1] (202) 728-1600
- consulate(s) general:
- Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, El Paso, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Phoenix, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico)
- consulate(s):
- Albuquerque, Austin, Boston, Brownsville (Texas), Calexico (California), Corpus Christi, Del Rio (Texas), Detroit, Eagle Pass (Texas), Fresno (California), Loredo, McAllen (Texas), Midland (Texas), Nogales (Arizona), Oxnard (California), Philadelphia, Sacramento, St. Louis, Salt Lake City, San Bernardino, San Jose, Santa Ana, Seattle
US diplomatic representation
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador James R. JONES
- embassy:
- Paseo de la Reforma 305, Colonia Cuauhtemoc, 06500 Mexico, Distrito Federal
- mailing address:
- P. O. Box 3087, Laredo, TX 78044-3087
- telephone:
- [52] (5) 211-0042
FAX
[52] (5) 511-9980, 208-3373
- consulate(s) general:
- Ciudad Juarez, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Tijuana
- consulate(s):
- Hermosillo, Matamoros, Merida, Nuevo Laredo
Flag
- three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and red;
- the coat of arms (an eagle perched on a cactus with a snake in its beak) is centered in the white band
Economy
Mexico has a free market economy with a mixture | of modern and outmoded industry and agriculture, increasingly | dominated by the private sector.
21 fieldsInstalled generating capacity, 28,780,000 kW
Economic overview
Mexico has a free market economy with a mixture of modern and outmoded industry and agriculture, increasingly dominated by the private sector. Mexico entered 1996 on the heels of its worst recession since the 1930s. Economic activity contracted about 7% in 1995 in the aftermath of the peso devaluation in late 1994.
Although Mexico City was able to correct imbalances in its external accounts, meet international payments obligations, and dramatically improve its trade balance in 1995, the domestic economy suffered harshly as the ZEDILLO administration stuck to a strict austerity program. The tight monetary and fiscal policies helped prevent spiraling inflation and kept government spending under control but drove interest rates to record heights, making it difficult for most Mexicans to service their debts.
At the same time, consumers' reduced purchasing power made buying even necessities difficult for some. Many small- and medium-sized firms were unable to survive under the twin burdens of high interest rates and depressed domestic demand for their goods. Business closures and cutbacks fueled unemployment;
more than 1 million Mexicans lost their jobs. According to the government and most private sector observers, the recession bottomed out in the third quarter of 1995, but the difficult year fed growing dissatisfaction with the ruling party, led to a crisis of confidence in President ZEDILLO'S ability to lead, and spurred increased tensions within the ruling party.
While the ZEDILLO administration is optimistic that 1996 will bring some recovery - the government is forecasting 3% growth and 21% inflation - Mexico will face several key vulnerabilities, including the financial health of the banking sector, shaky investor confidence that could be easily jarred by more political or economic shocks, and increasingly emboldened dissenters within the ruling party.
Labor force
33.6 million (1994); by occupation: services 31.7%, agriculture, forestry, hunting, and fishing 28%, commerce 14.6%, manufacturing 11.1%, construction 8.4%, transportation 4.7%, mining and quarrying 1.5%
Industries
food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, tourism
Agriculture
- corn, wheat, soybeans, rice, beans, cotton, coffee, fruit, tomatoes;
- beef, poultry, dairy products;
- wood products
Illicit drugs
- illicit cultivation of opium poppy and cannabis continues in spite of increasing government eradication;
- major supplier of heroin and marijuana to the US market;
- continues as the primary transshipment country for US-bound cocaine from South America;
- increasingly involved in the production and distribution of methamphetamine
Exports
$80 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.), includes in-bond industries
- commodities:
- crude oil, oil products, coffee, silver, engines, motor vehicles, cotton, consumer electronics
- partners:
- US 85%, Japan 1.6%, EU 4.6% (1994 est.)
Imports
$72 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.), includes in-bond industries
- commodities:
- metal-working machines, steel mill products, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment, car parts for assembly, repair parts for motor vehicles, aircraft, and aircraft parts
- partners:
- US 69%, Japan 6%, EU 12% (1994 est.)
Economic aid
recipient: ODA, $85 million (1993) note: US commitments, (Emergency Stabilization Fund), $13.5 billion; IMF, $13 billion (1995-96)
Exchange rates
market rate of Mexican pesos (Mex$) per US$1 - 7.6647 (December 1995), 6.4194 (1995), 3.3751 (1994), 3.1156 (1993), 3,094.9 (1992), 3,018.4 (1991) note: the new peso replaced the old peso on 1 January 1993; 1 new peso = 1,000 old pesos
Transportation
7 fieldsAirports by runway lengthpaved left, unpaved right · 1,411 in all
Networkskm
Railways
- total:
- 20,567 km
- standard gauge:
- 20,477 km 1.435-m gauge (246 km electrified)
- narrow gauge:
- 90 km 0.914-m gauge (1994)
Highways
- total:
- 245,433 km
- paved:
- 88,601 km (including 4,286 km of expressways)
- unpaved:
- 156,832 km (1993 est.)
Pipelines
- crude oil 28,200 km;
- petroleum products 10,150 km;
- natural gas 13,254 km;
- petrochemical 1,400 km
Ports
Acapulco, Altamira, Coatzacoalcos, Ensenada, Guaymas, La Paz, Lazaro Cardenas, Manzanillo, Mazatlan, Progreso, Salina Cruz, Tampico, Topolobampo, Tuxpan, Veracruz
Merchant marine
- total:
- 51 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 875,314 GRT/1,245,932 DWT
- ships by type:
- cargo 1, chemical tanker 4, container 4, liquefied gas tanker 7, oil tanker 29, refrigerated cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 2, short-sea passenger 3 (1995 est.)
Communications
National Defense (includes Army and Air Force), Navy | (includes Naval Air and Marines)
9 fieldsTelephone system
highly developed system with extensive microwave radio relay links; privatized in December 1990
- domestic:
- adequate telephone service for business and government, but the population is poorly served;
- domestic satellite system with 120 earth stations;
- extensive microwave radio relay network
- international:
- satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (4 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean);
- launched Solidaridad I satellite in November 1993 and Solidaridad II in October 1994, giving Mexico improved access to South America, Central America and much of the US as well as enhancing domestic communications;
- linked to Central American Microwave System of trunk connections
Manpower availability
- males age 15-49:
- 23,945,962
- males fit for military service:
- 17,451,706
- males reach military age (18) annually:
- 1,057,538 (1996 est.)
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Mexico.” The World Factbook 1996. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/mexico/1996.