MEXICO GEOGRAPHY Total area: 1,972,550 km2; land area: 1,923,040 km2 Comparative area: slightly less than three times the size of Texas Land boundaries: 4,538 km total; Belize 250 km, Guatemala 962 km, US 3,326 km Coastline: 9,330 km Maritime claims: Contiguous zone: 24 nm; Continental shelf: natural prolongation of continental margin or 200 nm; Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm; Territorial sea: 12 nm 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: crude oil, 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%; includes irrigated 3% Environment: subject to tsunamis along the Pacific coast and destructive earthquakes in the center and south; natural water resources scarce and polluted in north, inaccessible and poor quality in center and extreme southeast; deforestation; erosion widespread; desertification; serious air pollution in Mexico City and urban centers along US-Mexico border Note: strategic location on southern border of US PEOPLE Population: 90,007,304 (July 1991), growth rate 2.2% (1991) Birth rate: 29 births/1,000 population (1991) Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1991) Net migration rate: - 1 migrants/1,000 population (1991) Infant mortality rate: 29 deaths/1,000 live births (1991) Life expectancy at birth: 68 years male, 76 years female (1991) Total fertility rate: 3.4 children born/woman (1991) Nationality: noun--Mexican(s); adjective--Mexican Ethnic divisions: mestizo (Indian-Spanish) 60%, Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian 30%, white or predominantly white 9%, other 1% Religion: nominally Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant 3% Language: Spanish Literacy: 87% (male 90%, female 85%) age 15 and over can read and write (1985 est.) Labor force: 26,100,000 (1988); services 31.4%, agriculture, forestry, hunting, and fishing 26%, commerce 13.9%, manufacturing 12.8%, construction 9.5%, transportation 4.8%, mining and quarrying 1.3%, electricity 0.3% (1986) Organized labor: 35% of labor force GOVERNMENT Long-form name: United Mexican States Type: federal republic operating under a centralized government Capital: Mexico 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) 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 National holiday: Independence Day, 16 September (1810) Executive branch: president, Cabinet Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress (Congreso de la Union) consists of an upper chamber or Senate (Camara de Senadores) and a lower chamber or Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados) Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice (Suprema Corte de Justicia) Leaders: Chief of State and Head of Government--President Carlos SALINAS de Gortari (since 1 December 1988) Political parties and leaders: (recognized parties) Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), Luis Donaldo COLOSIO Murrieta; National Action Party (PAN), Luis ALVAREZ; Popular Socialist Party (PPS), Indalecio SAYAGO Herrera; Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), Cuauhtemoc CARDENAS Solorzano; Cardenist Front for the National Reconstruction Party (PFCRN), Rafael AGUILAR Talamantes; Authentic Party of the Mexican Revolution (PARM), Carlos Enrique CANTU Rosas Suffrage: universal and compulsory (but not enforced) at age 18 Elections: President--last held on 6 July 1988 (next to be held September 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); Senate--last held on 6 July 1988 (next to be held mid-year 1991); results--PRI 94%, FDN (now PRD) 6%; seats--(64 total) number of seats by party NA; Chamber of Deputies--last held on 6 July 1988 (next to be held mid-year 1991); results--PRI 53%, PAN 20%, PFCRN 10%, PPS 6%, PARM 7%, PMS (now part of PRD) 4%; seats--(500 total) number of seats by party NA 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), UNE (no expansion), Revolutionary Workers Party (PRT), Mexican Democratic Party (PDM), 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), Business Coordination Council (CCE) Member of: AG (observer), CCC, CDB, CG, EBRD, ECLAC, FAO, G-3, G-6, G-11, G-19, G-24, G-77, 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, OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Gustavo PETRICIOLI Iturbide; Chancery at 1911 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington DC 20006; telephone (202) 728-1600; there are Mexican Consulates General in Chicago, Dallas, Denver, El Paso, Houston, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, San Antonio, San Diego, and Consulates in Albuquerque, Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Brownsville (Texas), Calexico (California), Corpus Christi, Del Rio (Texas), Detroit, Douglas (Arizona), Eagle Pass (Texas), Fresno (California), Kansas City (Missouri), Laredo, McAllen (Texas), Miami, Nogales (Arizona), Oxnard (California), Philadelphia, Phoenix, Presidio (Texas), Sacramento, St. Louis, St. Paul (Minneapolis), Salt Lake City, San Bernardino, San Jose, San Juan (Puerto Rico), and Seattle; US--Ambassador John D. NEGROPONTE, Jr.; Embassy at Paseo de la Reforma 305, 06500 Mexico, D.F. (mailing address is P. O. Box 3087, Laredo, TX 78044-3087); telephone 52 (5) 211-0042; there are US Consulates General in Ciudad Juarez, Guadalajara, Monterrey, and Tijuana, and Consulates in Hermosillo, Matamoros, Mazatlan, Merida, and 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 is its beak) is centered in the white band ECONOMY 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, appears to be recovering, rising from 1.4% in 1988 to 3.9% in 1990. 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 also plans to begin negotiations with the US and Canada on a free trade agreement. GDP: $236 billion, per capita $2,680; real growth rate 3.9% (1990) Inflation rate (consumer prices): 30% (1990) Unemployment rate: 15-18% (1990 est.) Budget: revenues $44.3 billion; expenditures $55.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $7.8 billion (1989) Exports: $26.8 billion (f.o.b., 1990); commodities--crude oil, oil products, coffee, shrimp, engines, cotton; partners--US 66%, EC 16%, Japan 11% Imports: $29.8 billion (c.i.f., 1990); commodities--grain, metal manufactures, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment; partners--US 62%, EC 18%, Japan 10% External debt: $96.0 billion (1990) Industrial production: growth rate 5.3% (1989); accounts for 27% of GDP Electricity: 27,600,000 kW capacity; 108,976 million kWh produced, 1,240 kWh per capita (1990) 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 government eradication efforts; major link in chain of countries used to smuggle cocaine from South American dealers to US markets Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $3.1 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $7.1 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $110 million Currency: Mexican peso (plural--pesos); 1 Mexican peso (Mex$) = 100 centavos Exchange rates: market rate of Mexican pesos (Mex$) per US$1--2,940.9 (January 1991), 2,812.6 (1990), 2,461.3 (1989), 2,273.1 (1988), 1,378.2 (1987), 611.8 (1986), 256.9 (1985) Fiscal year: calendar year COMMUNICATIONS Railroads: 20,680 km total; 19,950 km 1.435-meter standard gauge; 730 km 0.914-meter narrow gauge Highways: 210,000 km total; 65,000 km paved, 30,000 km semipaved or cobblestone, 60,000 km rural roads (improved earth) or roads under construction, 55,000 km unimproved earth roads Inland waterways: 2,900 km navigable rivers and coastal canals Pipelines: crude oil, 28,200 km; refined products, 10,150 km; natural gas, 13,254 km; petrochemical, 1,400 km Ports: Acapulco, Coatzacoalcos, Ensenada, Guaymas, Manzanillo, Mazatlan, Progreso, Puerto Vallarta, Salina Cruz, Tampico, Veracruz Merchant marine: 64 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 999,423 GRT/1,509,939 DWT; includes 4 short-sea passenger, 9 cargo, 2 refrigerated cargo, 2 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 31 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 3 chemical tanker, 7 liquefied gas, 3 bulk, 3 combination bulk Civil air: 174 major transport aircraft Airports: 1,815 total, 1,537 usable; 195 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways over 3,659 m; 33 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 276 with runways 1,220-2,439 m Telecommunications: highly developed system with extensive radio relay links; connection into Central American Microwave System; 6.41 million telephones; stations--679 AM, no FM, 238 TV, 22 shortwave; 120 domestic satellite terminals; earth stations--4 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT DEFENSE FORCES Branches: National Defense (includes Army and Air Force), Navy (includes Marines) Manpower availability: males 15-49, 22,340,628; 16,360,596 fit for military service; 1,107,163 reach military age (18) annually Defense expenditures: $1 billion, 0.6% of GDP (1988)