MEXICO

Altar

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The U.S.-Mexico border stretches 2,000 miles and is composed of ten border states (six on the Mexican side and four on the U.S. side) (CA, TX, AZ, NM) twenty-three U.S. counties and thirty-nine Mexican municipalities. This U.S.-Mexico border region presents a rapid population growth characterized by important migration movements, growing job opportunities on the Mexican side of the border, and the dream to cross the border in search of better living opportunities in the United States.

Location:

Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, between Belize and the US and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and the US.

The site of advanced Amerindian civilizations, Mexico came under Spanish rule for three centuries before achieving independence early in the 19th century. A devaluation of the peso in late 1994 threw Mexico into economic turmoil, triggering the worst recession in over half a century. The nation continues to make an impressive recovery. Ongoing economic and social concerns include low real wages, underemployment for a large segment of the population, inequitable income distribution, and few advancement opportunities for the largely Amerindian population in the impoverished southern states. Elections held in July 2000 marked the first time since the 1910 Mexican Revolution that the opposition defeated the party in government, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). Vicente FOX of the National Action Party (PAN) was sworn in on 1 December 2000 as the first chief executive elected in free and fair elections.

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

Mexican pesos per US dollar - 9.656 (2002), 9.3423 (2001), 9.4556 (2000), 9.5604 (1999), 9.136 (1998) Find the rate of exchange for today.

chief of state: President Vicente FOX Quesada (since 1 December 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
election results: Vicente FOX Quesada elected president; percent of vote - Vicente FOX Quesada (PAN) 42.52%, Francisco LABASTIDA Ochoa (PRI) 36.1%, Cuauhtémoc CARDENAS Solórzano (PRD) 16.64%, other 4.74%
elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 2 July 2000 (next to be held NA July 2006)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president; note - appointment of attorney general requires consent of the Senate
head of government: President Vicente FOX Quesada (since 1 December 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government .

Archaeology of Teotihuacán, Mexico
The Avenue of the Dead

The Sun Pyramid

The Moon Pyramid

Ciudadela

Feathered Serpent Pyramid

 

Aztecs

Olmecs

 

Ancient Sites in Mexico
Mexico is a country with a rich history. It was once the home of two ancient empires: those of the Mayas and the Aztecs. Divide students into four groups to study these sites of Mesoamerican civilizations: Chichén Itzá, Teotihuacán, Tenochtitlán, and Palenque. Ask each group to draw a map or a picture of the site and to answer the following questions: The following Web sites may be helpful:

Chichén Itzá
One Day, in Chichén Itzá
Welcome to Chichén Itzá
Mesoamerican Encyclopedia: Chichén Itzá

Teotihuacán
Teotihuacan: The City of the Gods
Mesoamerican Encyclopedia: Teotihuacan
Our Trip to Teotihucan

Tenochtitlán
Mesoamerican Encyclopedia: Tenochtitlan
Model of the Ceremonial Precinct of Mexico-Tenochtitlan
Mexico-Tenochtitlan: Ancient City
Tenochtitlán

Palenque
Mesoamerican Encyclopedia: Palenque
Virtual Palenque