Mexico is the northernmost country of Latin America. It lies just south of the United States. The Rio Grande forms about two-thirds of the boundary between Mexico and the United States. Among all the countries of the Western Hemisphere, only the United States and Brazil have more people than Mexico. Mexico City is the capital and largest city of Mexico. It also is one of the world's largest metropolitan areas in population.
To understand Mexico, it is necessary to view the nation's long early history. Hundreds of years ago, the Indians of Mexico built large cities, developed a calendar, invented a counting system, and used a form of writing. The last Indian empire in Mexico—that of the Aztec—fell to Spanish invaders in 1521. For the next 300 years, Mexico was a Spanish colony. The Spaniards took Mexico's riches, but they also introduced many changes in farming, government, industry, and religion. The descendants of the Spaniards became Mexico's ruling class. The Indians remained poor and uneducated.
During the Spanish colonial period, a third group of people developed in Mexico. These people, who had both Indian and white ancestors, became known as mestizos. Today, the great majority of Mexicans are mestizos, and they generally take great pride in their Indian ancestry. A number of government programs stress the Indian role in Mexican culture. In 1949, the government made an Indian the symbol of Mexican nationality. The Indian was Cuauhtemoc, the last Aztec emperor. Cuauhtemoc's bravery under torture by the Spanish made him a Mexican hero.
Few other countries have so wide a variety of landscapes and climates within such short distances of one another. Towering mountains and high, rolling plateaus cover more than two-thirds of Mexico. The climate, land formation, and plant life in these rugged highlands may vary greatly within a short distance. Mexico also has tropical forests, dry deserts, and fertile valleys.
Manufacturing, agriculture, mining, and tourism are all important to Mexico's economy. The country's leading manufactured products include automobiles, chemicals, processed foods, and steel. Crops are grown on only about an eighth of Mexico's land. The rest of the land is too dry, mountainous, or otherwise unsuitable for crops. However, Mexico is one of the world's leading producers of cacao beans, coffee, corn, oranges, and sugar cane.
Mexico is rich in minerals. It is the leading producer of silver in the world. The country also has large deposits of copper, gold, lead, salt, and sulfur. Mexico has produced oil since the early 1900's. But changes in the price of oil during the 1970's and the discovery of vast new deposits made Mexico a major exporter of petroleum products. Millions of tourists visit Mexico each year. The money they spend contributes to the nation's economy.
The Mexicans gained independence from Spain in 1821. A social revolution began in 1910, when the people of Mexico started a long struggle for social justice and economic progress. During this struggle, the government took over huge, privately owned farmlands and divided them among millions of landless farmers. The government established a national school system to promote education, and it has built many hospitals and housing projects.
Since the 1940's, the government has especially encouraged the development of manufacturing and petroleum production. But all these changes have not kept up with Mexico's rapid population growth, and the country faces increasingly difficult economic and social problems. A large number of people still live in poverty.
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