1993 Edition

Area

total area: 1,972,550 km2 land area: 1,923,040 km2 comparative area: slightly less than three times the size of Texas

Climate

varies from tropical to desert

Coastline

9,330 km

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

International disputes

claims Clipperton Island (French possession)

Irrigated land

51,500 km2 (1989 est.)

Land boundaries

total 4,538 km, Belize 250 km, Guatemala 962 km, US 3,326 km

Land use

arable land: 12% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 39% forest and woodland: 24% other: 24%

Location

Central America, between Guatemala and the US

Map references

North America, Standard Time Zones of the World

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

Natural resources

petroleum, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber

Note

strategic location on southern border of US

Terrain

high, rugged mountains, low coastal plains, high plateaus, and desert

Birth rate

27.67 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Death rate

4.82 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Ethnic divisions

mestizo (Indian-Spanish) 60%, Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian 30%, Caucasian or predominantly Caucasian 9%, other 1%

Infant mortality rate

28.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)

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%

Languages

Spanish, various Mayan dialects

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 72.55 years male: 68.99 years female: 76.3 years (1993 est.)

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write (1990) total population: 87% male: 90% female: 85%

Nationality

noun: Mexican(s) adjective: Mexican

Net migration rate

-3.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Population

90,419,606 (July 1993 est.)

Population growth rate

1.97% (1993 est.)

Religions

nominally Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 6%

Total fertility rate

3.25 children born/woman (1993 est.)

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

Capital

Mexico

Chamber of Deputies

last held on 18 August 1991 (next to be held midyear 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

Chief of State and Head of Government

President Carlos SALINAS de Gortari (since 1 December 1988)

Constitution

5 February 1917

Digraph

MX

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission: Ambassador Jorge MONTANO Martinez chancery: 1911 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20006 telephone: (202) 728-1600 consulates general: Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, San Juan (Puerto Rico) consulates: Albuquerque, Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Brownsville (Texas), Calexico (California), Corpus Christi, Detroit, Fresno (California), Miami, Nogales (Arizona), Philadelphia, Phoenix, St. Louis, Salt Lake City, Seattle

Executive branch

president, Cabinet

FAX

[52] (5) 511-9980, 208-3373 consulates general: Ciudad Juarez, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Tijuana consulates: Hermosillo, Matamoros, Mazatlan, 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

Independence

16 September 1810 (from Spain)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justicia)

Legal system

mixture of US constitutional theory and civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

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)

Member of

AG (observer), CARICOM (observer), CCC, CDB, CG, EBRD, ECLAC, FAO, G-3, G-6, G-11, G-15, 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

Names

conventional long form: United Mexican States conventional short form: Mexico local long form: Estados Unidos Mexicanos local short form: Mexico

National holiday

Independence Day, 16 September (1810)

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 Provding Goods and Services (FESEBES)

Political parties and leaders

(recognized parties) Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), Fernando Ortiz Arana; National Action Party (PAN), Carlos CASTILLO; Popular Socialist Party (PPS), Indalecio SAYAGO Herrera; Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), Roberto ROBLES Garnica; Cardenist Front for the National Reconstruction Party (PFCRN), Rafael AGUILAR Talamantes; Authentic Party of the Mexican Revolution (PARM), Carlos Enrique CANTU Rosas; Democratic Forum Party (PFD), Pablo Emilio MADERO; Mexican Ecologist Party (PEM), Jorge GONZALEZ Torres

President

last held on 6 July 1988 (next to be held 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)

Senate

last held on 18 August 1991 (next to be held midyear 1994); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats in full Senate - (64 total) PRI 62, PRD 1, PAN 1

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal and compulsory (but not enforced)

Type

federal republic operating under a centralized government

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission: Ambassador John D. NEGROPONTE, Jr. embassy: Paseo de la Reforma 305, 06500 Mexico, D.F. mailing address: P. O. Box 3087, Laredo, TX 78044-3087 telephone: [52] (5) 211-0042

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)

Budget

revenues $58.9 billion; expenditures $48.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $6.5 billion (1991); figures do not include state-owned companies

Currency

1 New Mexican peso (Mex$) = 100 centavos

Economic aid

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

Electricity

27,000,000 kW capacity; 120,725 million kWh produced, 1,300 kWh per capita (1992)

Exchange rates

market rate of Mexican pesos (Mex$) per US$1 - 3.100 (January 1993), 3,198 (November 1992), 3,018.4 (1991), 2,812.6 (1990), 2,461.3 (1989), 2,273.1 (1988); note - the new pesos replaced the old pesos on 1 January 1993; 1 new pesos = 1,000 old pesos

Exports

$27.5 billion (f.o.b., 1992 est.) commodities: crude oil, oil products, coffee, shrimp, engines, motor vehicles, cotton, consumer electronics partners: US 74%, Japan 8%, EC 4% (1992 est.)

External debt

$104 billion (1992 est.)

Fiscal year

calendar year

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

Imports

$48.1 billion (c.i.f., 1992 est.) 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)

Industrial production

growth rate 5.5% (1991 est.); accounts for 28% of GDP

Industries

food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, tourism

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

11.9% (1992)

National product

GDP - exchange rate conversion - $328 billion (1992 est.)

National product per capita

$3,600 (1992 est.)

National product real growth rate

2.6% (1992)

Overview

Mexico's economy is a mixture of state-owned industrial facilities (notably oil), private manufacturing and services, and both large-scale and traditional agriculture. In the 1980s, Mexico experienced severe economic

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, has recovered, rising from 1.4% in 1988 to 4% in 1990 and 3.6% in 1991 and coming in at 2.6% in 1992. The US is Mexico's major trading partner, accounting for almost three-quarters 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, has been implementing programs to stabilize the economy and foster growth. For example, it has privatized more than two-thirds of its state-owned companies (parastatals), including banks. In 1991-92 the government conducted negotiations with the US and Canada on a North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which was still being discussed by the three countries in early 1993. In January 1993, Mexico replaced its old peso with a new peso, at the rate of 1,000 old to 1 new peso. Notwithstanding the palpable improvements in economic performance in the early 1990s, Mexico faces substantial problems for the remainder of the decade - e.g., rapid population growth, unemployment, and serious pollution, particularly in Mexico City.

difficulties

the nation accumulated large external debts as world petroleum

Unemployment rate

14%-17% (1991 est.)

Airports

total: 1,841 usable: 1,478 with permanent-surface runways: 200 with runways over 3,659 m: 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 35 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 273

Highways

212,000 km total; 65,000 km paved, 30,000 km semipaved or cobblestone, 62,000 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

Merchant marine

58 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 858,162 GRT/1,278,488 DWT; includes 4 short-sea passenger, 2 cargo, 2 refrigerated cargo, 2 roll-on/roll-off, 31 oil tanker, 4 chemical tanker, 7 liquefied gas, 1 bulk, 5 container

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

Railroads

24,500 km total

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

Branches

National Defense (including Army and Air Force), Navy (including Marines)

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $NA, NA% of GDP

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 22,201,567; fit for military service 16,205,926; reach military age (18) annually 1,049,729 (1993 est.)