Mexico and Central America

Mexico

• Official Name: United Mexican States

• Federal Government-31 states plus Mexico City

• Capital: Mexico City

• Population: 112 Million

• Language: Spanish with some Native Language

Mexican People

• Mestizo (Mixed European/Indian) 60%

• American Indian 30%

• Caucasian 9%; Other 1%

• Largest number of Spanish speakers of any country (about 97% of population speaks Spanish)

• Independent from Spain since 1821

Government

• President: Felipe Calderon

• Elected to 1 six year term; cannot be re-elected

• Legislature: National Congress (Senate & Chamber of Deputies)

• Meets only 1 month per year. Deputies cannot serve consecutive terms.

• Judicial: Supreme Court of Justice

Mexico Geographic

Mountain Ranges

• Major Ranges: Sierra Madre Occidental (Western); Sierra Madre Oriental (Eastern)

• Minor Range: Sierra Madre del Sur (Southern)

• In between mountains: Mexican Plain (high desert)

• Only about 13% of Mexico’s land is arable (suitable for farming)

Major Cities

• Mexico City: Capital. Pop. 21 million

• Guadalajara: 3.8 million

• Ecatepec: 1.6 million

• Tijuana: 1.5 million (border crossing-San Diego)

• Puebla: 1.5 million

• Monterrey: 1.3 million

• Juarez: 1.3 million (border crossing-El Paso)

Economy

• GDP: $1.56 Trillion (12th largest in the world)

• Natural Resources: Oil/Gas; Precious Metals

• Tourism: Mexico City, Cancun, Acapulco, Cabo san Lucas

• NAFTA: Free trade with US and Canada; low tariffs btw these 3 countries

Central America

Central America

• 7 Countries:• Guatemala• Belize• El Salvador• Honduras• Nicaragua• Costa Rica• Panama

Capital Cities

• Guatemala, Guatemala

• Belmopan, Belize

• San Salvador, El Salvador

• Tegucigalpa, Honduras

• Managua, Nicaragua

• San Jose, Costa Rica

• Panama, Panama

Geography

• Is an isthmus

• Varies every few miles

• Central-mountains

• Caribbean coast-lowlands. Hot and wet year round. Rain forests. “Mosquito Coast”

• Pacific Coast-plain. Wet and dry seasons. Savannah-grasslands.

• Volcanically active

Physical Features

• Mts. Dominate middle of area creating two climate zones

• Lower zone good for farming

• Caribbean lowlands have massive rainfall & dense rainforest

• Pacific coast better climate, weather, and soil good for planting

People

• Spanish-majority language everywhere but Belize (English)

• Mix of Indian, European, Mestizo, and Africans.

• Much of the population is poor. • Farm economy-tropical fruits (banana,

coffee plantations)• Poverty causes political unrest;

dictatorships are not uncommon.

People• Indians – lived longest in Central America;

largest # live in Guatemala

• Europeans – arrived in 1500s when Spaniards conquered; largest settlement today is in Costa Rica (90% are European – mostly Spaniards)

• Mestizo – mixed European and Indian background; largest populations in El Salvador and Nicaragua

• African – along Caribbean coast; came to work banana plantations and Panama C

People• 2/3 of Central Americans are poor, with

little political power

• Poor include – millions of farmers with little to no land, and laborers

• Middle Class – include farmers who own small, non-commercial land and some are employees of urban industries.– Middle class is steadily growing, but remains

small

Political Unrest

• Causes:1. Shortage of available farmland to meet

needs of growing population

2. Unequal distribution of usable land

3. Governments only serving the needs of the wealthy• Opponents of those governments are guerrillas –

armed forces outside the regular army, who often fight in small bands