Mexico
hideThe United Mexican States (Spanish: Estados Unidos Mexicanos (help·info)), commonly known as Mexico (English: /ˈmɛksɪkoʊ/) (Spanish: México (help·info) [ˈmexiko]), is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico. Covering almost 2 million square kilometres, Mexico is the fifth-largest country in the Americas by total area and the 14th largest independent nation in the world. With an estimated population of 109 million, it is the 11th most populous country. Mexico is a federation comprising thirty-one states and a Federal District, the capital city.
In Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica many cultures matured into advanced civilizations such as the Olmec, the Toltec, the Teotihuacan, the Maya and the Aztec before the first contact with Europeans. In 1521, Spain created the New Spain which would eventually become Mexico as the colony gained independence in 1821. The post-independence period was characterized by economic instability, territorial secession and civil war, including foreign intervention, two empires and two long domestic dictatorships. The latter led to the Mexican Revolution in 1910, which culminated with the promulgation of the 1917 Constitution and the emergence of the country's current political system. Elections held in July 2000 marked the first time that an opposition party won the presidency from the Institutional Revolutionary Party (Spanish: Partido Revolucionario Institucional, PRI).
As a regional power and the only Latin American member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) since 1994, Mexico is firmly established as an upper middle-income country, considered as a newly industrialized country and has the 11th largest economy in the world by GDP by purchasing power parity, and also the largest GDP per capita in Latin America according to the International Monetary Fund. The economy is strongly linked to those of its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners. Despite being considered an emerging power, the uneven income distribution and the increase in drug-related violence are issues of concern.
For more information about Mexico, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with mexico
Geoscientist offers new evidence that meteorite did not wipe out dinosaurs
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
May 04, 2009 |
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A Princeton University geoscientist who has stirred controversy with her studies challenging a popular theory that an asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs has compiled powerful new evidence asserting her position.
Canada confirms 4 swine flu cases among students
Apr 26, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Canada became the third country to confirm human cases of swine flu Sunday as global health officials considered whether to raise the global pandemic alert level.
Female monarch butterflies on 30-year decline in eastern North America
Sep 23, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Female monarch butterflies in eastern North America have significantly declined over the past 30 years, a new study by a University of Georgia researcher reveals.
Tornado threat increases as Gulf hurricanes get larger (w/ Video)
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Sep 08, 2009 |
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Tornadoes that occur from hurricanes moving inland from the Gulf Coast are increasing in frequency, according to researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology. This increase seems to reflect the increase ...
Study: Newspapers located closer to the Mexican border slant news coverage of immigration
Other Sciences / Social Sciences
Jul 28, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
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A new study released by Rice University in Houston finds that California newspapers located closer to the border of Mexico routinely provide a more negative slant on immigration in general news reporting and on their opinion ...
Gulf's 'dead zone' much smaller than predicted (w/ Video)
Jul 25, 2009 |
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NOAA-supported scientists, led by Nancy Rabalais, Ph.D., from the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON), found the size of this year's Gulf of Mexico dead zone to be smaller than forecasted, measuring 3,000 square ...
Mexico swine flu 'patient zero' was baby girl in February
Jul 24, 2009 |
4 / 5 (3) |
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Mexico's first known swine flu case was a six-month-old baby girl in a northern part of the country who had no known contact with pig farms, the head of a laboratory studying the virus told AFP Thursday.
Domestication of Capsicum annuum chile pepper provides insights into crop origin and evolution
Jun 19, 2009 |
3 / 5 (1) |
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Without the process of domestication, humans would still be hunters and gatherers, and modern civilization would look very different. Fortunately, for all of us who do not relish the thought of spending our ...
Researchers predict large 2009 Gulf of Mexico 'dead zone'
Jun 18, 2009 |
3.8 / 5 (5) |
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University of Michigan aquatic ecologist Donald Scavia and his colleagues say this year's Gulf of Mexico "dead zone" could be one of the largest on record, continuing a decades-long trend that threatens the health of a half-billion-dollar ...
Ocean current experts warn of risks if eastern Gulf is opened to drilling
Jun 17, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (39) |
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While Congress considers opening the eastern Gulf of Mexico to oil-and-gas drilling, experts on ocean currents warn of a potential environmental nightmare that could reach the coast of South Florida.
Swine flu could protect against deadly mutation: experts
May 07, 2009 |
3.3 / 5 (3) |
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The global outbreak of swine flu hovering just below the pandemic threshold could provide immunity for those already infected if the virus mutates into a more deadly form, scientists have told AFP.
Google mines online searches to map flu in Mexico
Apr 29, 2009 |
2.2 / 5 (6) |
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Google.org on Wednesday began using flu-related Internet search traffic in Mexico to create an online map that might provide clues to how influenza is spreading in that country.
Swine flu joins list of animal diseases that affect people
Apr 29, 2009 |
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The swine flu virus that is smoldering in this country and triggering a full-blown outbreak in Mexico is one of a growing number of animal pathogens to jump the species barrier -- and may be the microbe that jumpstarts the ...
WHO raises its pandemic alert level on swine flu
Apr 27, 2009 |
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(AP) -- The World Health Organization raised its global alert level on the spreading swine flu virus Monday, but stopped short of declaring a global emergency - even as the U.S. said it was acting as if the ...
Mexico may isolate flu patients, inspect homes
Apr 25, 2009 |
5 / 5 (2) |
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(AP) -- As Mexico struggled against the odds Saturday to contain a strange new flu that has killed 68 and perhaps sickened more than 1,000, it was becoming clearer that the government hasn't moved quickly ...
