Mexico




                                 Geography


Location:
     Middle America, between Guatemala and the US
Map references:
     North America, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
     1,972,550 sq km
land area:
     1,923,040 sq km
comparative area:
     slightly less than three times the size of Texas
Land boundaries:
     total 4,538 km, Belize 250 km, Guatemala 962 km, US 3,326 km
Coastline:
     9,330 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone:
     24 nm
continental shelf:
     200 nm or the natural prolongation of continental margin
exclusive economic zone:
     200 nm
territorial sea:
     12 nm
International disputes:
     claims Clipperton Island (French possession)
Climate:
     varies from tropical to desert
Terrain:
     high, rugged mountains, low coastal plains, high plateaus, and desert
Natural resources:
     petroleum, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber
Land use:
arable land:
     12%
permanent crops:
     1%
meadows and pastures:
     39%
forest and woodland:
     24%
other:
     24%
Irrigated land:
     51,500 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues:
     natural water resources scarce and polluted in north, inaccessible and
     poor quality in center and extreme southeast; untreated 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:
     subject to 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, Endangered Species, Hazardous
     Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation,
     Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands,
     Whaling
Note:
     strategic location on southern border of US


                                  People


Population:
     92,202,199 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
     1.94% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
     27.17 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
     4.73 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
     -3.09 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
     27.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
     72.94 years
male:
     69.36 years
female:
     76.7 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
     3.17 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
     Mexican(s)
adjective:
     Mexican
Ethnic divisions:
     mestizo (Indian-Spanish) 60%, Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian
     30%, Caucasian or predominantly Caucasian 9%, other 1%
Religions:
     nominally Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 6%
Languages:
     Spanish, various Mayan dialects
Literacy:
     age 15 and over can read and write (1990)
total population:
     87%
male:
     90%
female:
     85%




Labor force:
     26.2 million (1990)
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%


                                Government


Names:
conventional long form:
     United Mexican States
conventional short form:
local long form:
     Estados Unidos Mexicanos
local short form:
Digraph:
     MX
Type:
     federal republic operating under a centralized government
Capital:
Administrative divisions:
     31 states (estados, singular - estado) and 1 federal district*
     (distrito federal); Aguascalientes, Baja California, Baja California
     Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Colima, Distrito
     Federal*, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Mexico,
     Michoacan, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro,
     Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas,
     Tlaxcala, Veracruz, Yucatan, Zacatecas
Independence:
     16 September 1810 (from Spain)
National holiday:
     Independence Day, 16 September (1810)
Constitution:
     5 February 1917
Legal system:
     mixture of US constitutional theory and civil law system; judicial
     review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with
     reservations
Suffrage:
     18 years of age; universal and compulsory (but not enforced)
Executive branch:
chief of state and head of government:
     President Carlos SALINAS de Gortari (since 1 December 1988); election
     last held on 6 July 1988 (next to be held 21 August 1994); results -
     Carlos SALINAS de Gortari (PRI) 50.74%, Cuauhtemoc CARDENAS Solorzano
     (FDN) 31.06%, Manuel CLOUTHIER (PAN) 16.81%; other 1.39%; note -
     several of the smaller parties ran a common candidate under a
     coalition called the National Democratic Front (FDN)
cabinet:
     Cabinet; appointed by the president




Legislative branch:
     bicameral National Congress (Congreso de la Union)
Senate (Camara de Senadores):
     elections last held on 18 August 1991 (next to be held 21 August
     1994); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats in full Senate -
     (64 total; Senate will expand to 128 seats following next election)
     PRI 62, PRD 1, PAN 1
Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados):
     elections last held on 18 August 1991 (next to be held 21 August
     1994); results - PRI 53%, PAN 20%, PFCRN 10%, PPS 6%, PARM 7%, PMS
     (now part of PRD) 4%; seats - (500 total) PRI 320, PAN 89, PRD 41,
     PFCRN 23, PARM 15, PPS 12
Judicial branch:
     Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justicia)
Political parties and leaders:
     (recognized parties) Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), Ignacio
     Pichardo PAGAZA; 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;
     Authentic Party of the Mexican Revolution (PARM), Rosa Maria MARTINEZ
     Denagri; Democratic Forum Party (PFD), Pablo Emilio MADERO; Mexican
     Green Ecologist Party (PVEM), Jorge GONZALEZ Torres
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)
Member of:
     AG (observer), BCIE, CARICOM (observer), CCC, CDB, CG, EBRD, ECLAC,
     FAO, G-3, G-6, G-11, G-15, G-19, G-24, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
     ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC,
     IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, LORCS, NAM (observer), OAS,
     OECD, ONUSAL, OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL,
     WFTI, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
     Ambassador Jorge MONTANO Martinez
chancery:
     1911 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20006
telephone:
     (202) 728-1600
consulate(s) general:
     Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, El Paso, Houston, Los Angeles,
     Miami, New Orleans, New York, 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, Mc Allen (Texas), Midland
     (Texas), Nogales (Arizona), Oxnard (California), Philadelphia
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
     Ambassador James JONES
embassy:
     Paseo de la Reforma 305, Colonia Cuauhtemoc, 06500 Mexico, D.F.
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


Overview:
     Mexico's economy, made up predominantly of private manufacturing and
     services and both large-scale and traditional agriculture, is
     beginning to rebound from the economic difficulties of the 1980s but
     still faces key challenges. During the 1980s, the accumulation of
     large external debts, falling world petroleum prices, rapid population
     growth, and mounting inflation and unemployment plagued the economy.
     In recent years, the government has responded by implementing sweeping
     economic reforms. Strict fiscal and monetary discipline have brought
     inflation under control, reduced the internal debt, and produced
     budgetary surpluses in 1992 and 1993. The tight money policies,
     however, have restricted growth: barely 0.4% in 1993 after a rise of
     2.6% in 1992 and 3.6% in 1991. Another aspect of the reform has been
     the privatization of more than 80% of Mexico's businesses, including
     all of the commercial banks. Seeking out increased trade and
     investment opportunities, the government negotiated the North American
     Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with the United States and Canada, which
     entered into force on 1 January 1994. Within Latin America, Mexico has
     completed bilateral free trade agreements with Chile and Costa Rica,
     and is continuing negotiations with Colombia and Venezuela for a
     trilateral deal in addition to holding trade discussions with various
     other nations. In January of 1993, Mexico replaced its old peso at the
     rate of 1,000 old to 1 new peso. Despite its hard-won economic
     progress and the prospects of long-term gains under NAFTA, Mexico
     still faces difficult problems, including sluggish growth,
     unemployment, continuing social inequalities, serious pollution, and
     the prospect of increased competition with the opening of trade.




National product:
     GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $740 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate:
     0.4% (1993)
National product per capita:
     $8,200 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
     8% (1993 est.)
Unemployment rate:
     10.7% (1992 est.)
Budget:
revenues:
     $58.1 billion
expenditures:
     $53 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.4 billion (1992
     est.)
Exports:
     $50.5 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.), includes in-bond industries
commodities:
     crude oil, oil products, coffee, silver, engines, motor vehicles,
     cotton, consumer electronics
partners:
     US 74%, Japan 8%, EC 4% (1992 est.)
Imports:
     $65.5 billion (f.o.b., 1993 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 74%, Japan, 11%, EC 6% (1992)
External debt:
     $125 billion (1993 est.)
Industrial production:
     growth rate 2.8% (1992 est.); accounts for 28% of GDP
Electricity:
capacity:
     27,000,000 kW
production:
     120.725 billion kWh
consumption per capita:
     1,300 kWh (1992)
Industries:
     food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum,
     mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, tourism
Agriculture:
     accounts for 9% of GDP and over 25% of work force; large number of
     small farms at subsistence level; major food crops - corn, wheat,
     rice, beans; cash crops - cotton, coffee, fruit, tomatoes
Illicit drugs:
     illicit cultivation of opium poppy and cannabis continues in spite of
     active government eradication program; major supplier to the US
     market; continues as the primary transshipment country for US-bound
     cocaine and marijuana from South America




Economic aid:
recipient:
     US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $3.1 billion; Western
     (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $7.7
     billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $110 million
Currency:
     1 New Mexican peso (Mex$) = 100 centavos
Exchange rates:
     market rate of Mexican pesos (Mex$) per US$1 - 3.3556 (March 1994),
     3,094.9 (1992), 3,018.4 (1991), 2,812.6 (1990), 2,461.3 (1989)
note:
     the new peso replaced the old peso on 1 January 1993; 1 new peso =
     1,000 old pesos
Fiscal year:
     calendar year


                              Communications


Railroads:
     24,500 km total
Highways:
total:
     242,300 km
paved:
     84,800 km (including 3,166 km of expressways)
unpaved:
     gravel and earth 157,500 km
Inland waterways:
     2,900 km navigable rivers and coastal canals
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, Manzanillo,
     Mazatlan, Progreso, Puerto Vallarta, Salina Cruz, Tampico, Tuxpan,
     Veracruz
Merchant marine:
     58 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 853,161 GRT/1,269,018 DWT, cargo
     3, chemical tanker 4, container 4, liquefied gas 7, oil tanker 32,
     refrigerated cargo 2, roll-on/roll-off cargo 2, short-sea passenger 4
Airports:
total:
     1,993
usable:
     1,585
with permanent-surface runways:
     202
with runways over 3,659 m:
     3
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
     35
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
     286




Telecommunications:
     highly developed system with extensive microwave radio relay links;
     privatized in December 1990; connected into Central America Microwave
     System; 6,410,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 679 AM, no FM, 238
     TV, 22 shortwave; 120 domestic satellite terminals; earth stations - 4
     Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT; launched
     Solidarity I satellite in November 1993


                              Defense Forces


Branches:
     National Defense (including Army and Air Force), Navy (including
     Marines)
Manpower availability:
     males age 15-49 22,779,635; fit for military service 16,619,809; reach
     military age (18) annually 1,053,025 (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures:
     $NA, NA% of GDP