Economy (Mexico)
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     Overview:
         Mexico's economy is a mixture of state-owned industrial plants (notably
         oil), private manufacturing and services, and both large-scale and
         traditional agriculture. In the 1980s, Mexico experienced severe economic
         difficulties: the nation accumulated large external debts as world petroleum
         prices fell; rapid population growth outstripped the domestic food supply;
         and inflation, unemployment, and pressures to emigrate became more acute.
         Growth in national output, however, is recovering, rising from 1.4% in 1988
         to 4% in 1990 and again in 1991. The US is Mexico's major trading partner,
         accounting for two-thirds of its exports and imports. After petroleum,
         border assembly plants and tourism are the largest earners of foreign
         exchange. The government, in consultation with international economic
         agencies, is implementing programs to stabilize the economy and foster
         growth. In 1991 the government began negotiations with the US and Canada on
         a free trade agreement.
     GDP:
         exchange rate conversion - $289 billion, per capita $3,200; real growth rate
         4% (1991 est.)
     Inflation rate (consumer prices):
         18.8% (1991 est.)
     Unemployment rate:
         14-17% (1991 est.)
     Budget:
         revenues $41.0 billion; expenditures $47.9 billion, including capital
         expenditures of $6.3 billion (1990)
     Exports:
         $27.4 billion (f.o.b., 1991 est.)
       commodities:
         crude oil, oil products, coffee, shrimp, engines, motor vehicles, cotton,
         consumer electronics
       partners:
         US 68%, EC 14%, Japan 6% (1990 est.)
     Imports:
         $36.7 billion (c.i.f., 1991)
       commodities:
         grain, metal manufactures, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment
       partners:
         US 69%, EC 13%, Japan 6% (1990)
     External debt:
         $98.4 billion (1991)
     Industrial production:
         growth rate 5.5% (1991 est.); accounts for 28% of GDP
     Electricity:
         26,150,000 kW capacity; 114,277 million kWh produced, 1,270 kWh per capita
         (1991)
     Industries:
         food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining,
         textiles, clothing, transportation equipment, 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; fish catch of 1.4 million
         metric tons among top 20 nations (1987)
     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 from South America