Foster L.V. A Brief History of Mexico
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A BRIEF HISTORY OF MEXICO
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The boy’s murder sparked fear that no one was safe. And it sparked
outrage against the government, against its corruption and its incom-
petence. Although the government quickly arrested the police suspects
in the Martí kidnapping, it could not diminish worries that the war on
organized crime was failing. An estimated million Mexicans participated
in peaceful marches throughout Mexico, demanding the government
do its job of protecting the public—or resign. Calderón sidestepped the
immediate crisis with a national summit of every major political leader to
implement a plan for public safety. A flurry of arrests of corrupt officials
followed, including Calderón’s chief drug czar, who was accused of taking
bribes from the Sinaloa cartel. However, the kidnappings continued, as
did the drug violence.
Impunity
Impunity is destroying us.
Alejandro Martí, father of murdered kidnapping
victim (Televisa, August 12, 2008)
The problem was not just the government’s failure to control organized
crime, however. It was its willingness to permit an entrenched system
of political cronyism and corruption to operate with impunity. Only 16
percent of Mexicans believe the government works for their benefit,
and the government ranks among the institutions least trusted by the
people (Consulta Mitofsky, 2008 & 2009). Thanks to the freedom of
information act, the Mexican public has become increasingly informed
about government abuses, from embezzlement and environmental
destruction to bribery. Legislative committees might be appointed to
investigate such abuses but rarely issue reports, not on the renovations
to Fox’s ranch or the PEMEX contracts benefiting the family business
of Calderón’s closest adviser. Mandated audits of government agencies
reveal funds for new teachers going to politicians instead and govern-
ment windfalls from oil profits offsetting taxes for the largest private
corporations rather than social programs. Violations of human rights
are officially recognized by the Supreme Court, for example, yet not
prosecuted, even when they involve murder, such as the death of pro-
testers in Oaxaca. More is revealed but little is done. Most politicians
do not even feign embarrassment when exposed, much less offer to
resign. Those unfortunate enough to stand trial know they will not be
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A MORE DEMOCRATIC MEXICO
convicted or punished. A 2008 reform requiring public and oral tri-
als might reduce corruption in the judiciary, but the government has
resisted implementing the new law. For now, most crimes in Mexico
remain unsolved, and 98 percent result in no punishment whatsoever.
Mexico in the Twenty-first Century
The past isn’t past and the work remains to be done.
Lorenzo Meyer, historian (2008).
In 2010 Mexico will celebrate the bicentennial of its independence from
Spain. Despite its hard-won political autonomy and decades of stability,
Mexico approaches its bicentennial embattled by drug violence. While
charges of Mexico being a “failed state” are widely dismissed as exag-
gerated, the violence worsened in 2009 when 8,000 troops were sent to
impose martial law in the border city of Ciudad Juárez. Fear of violence
on both sides of the border brought together the new president of the
United States, Barack Obama, and Calderón to discuss joint efforts to
root out the problem in each country, curtailing drug consumption
and gun smuggling as well as drug transshipment. The collaboration
brought hope that a short-term solution could transform the war into a
more manageable law-enforcement problem.
Mexico will also celebrate the centennial of the 1910 revolution in
2010, even though many ideals of that civil war have been discarded by
recent governments. The protectionist economy that was the hallmark
of postrevolutionary Mexico has already been dismantled, with more
than 1,000 government companies privatized over the 25 years since
the presidency of Miguel de la Madrid. The economy now has been
transformed to compete in the global markets of the 21st century. Over
the same period, Mexico struggled against the PRI dictatorship, also
instituted after the revolution, and finally defeated it in 2000. The rejec-
tion of the old regime, both economically and politically, brought great
hope to Mexicans for a more developed nation and democratic govern-
ment. Unfortunately, Mexico has not yet demonstrated that it can fully
satisfy these expectations and, even before the global financial crisis
began in 2008, the vast majority of Mexicans expected the country to
be worse off by the end of Calderón’s presidency.
World events in 2009 will make it very hard for Mexico not to sink
into an economic crisis, much less improve on its past performance.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF MEXICO
270
Owing to the hardening of U.S. immigration policies, Mexicans are
returning home, and remittance money, so important for the subsistence
survival of poor families, is already decreasing. Global pressures also
have affected exports and foreign investment at a time when Mexico is
dependent upon them for economic growth. And, with oil prices fall-
ing, PEMEX, the government’s cash cow, must find the resources to drill
for new oil wells in order to sustain production levels. As this book is
being prepared, Mexico has been forced by the global financial crisis
to stabilize the peso with an IMF loan and has borrowed $1.5 billion
from the World Bank to pay for Oportunidades, its basic antipoverty
program. Mexicans can only hope that the country’s low foreign debt
and conservative fiscal management will help them survive this crisis
without a devastating crash.
There have been real political gains, resulting in a more open and
politically diverse government, yet the old political networks remain,
having been left in place by Fox and exploited for a legislative majority by
Calderón. Many believe that the PRI has been legitimized by this alliance.
In fact, the old party, by controlling most state treasuries, can still get out
the vote in its favor, especially when there is a low turnout. Although
the PRI suffered a terrible defeat in the 2006 presidential election, it has
gained in congressional and state elections in off-year elections and is
positioning itself for more wins in the 2009 midterm elections and even
for the presidency in 2012.
The PRI has not disappeared. Nor has its politics of impunity. The
militarized response to the war on drugs worries many human rights
organizations. However, Mexico could not easily return to the old
authoritarianism. It is now a more democratic nation, with checks and
balances among the branches of government and diverse political par-
ties—not just one—negotiating for control. The Mexicans themselves
are perhaps the most significant force for democracy. They have formed
hundreds of civic organizations to make the too often insular govern-
PRI Domination at the State Level 2006
PRI PAN PRD
State Governorships by Party 18 9 5
Percent of Population Governed 56 23 21
Source: Consulta Mitofsky, Spring 2008
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A MORE DEMOCRATIC MEXICO
ment hear their complaints—even when this involves a confrontation
with the federal police. These groups have pushed the government into
national summits and open legislative debates. It is hoped that their
efforts, in addition to free elections and greater transparency in govern-
ment, will result in the development of less corrupt and more respon-
sive government. The 21st-century democratic order is flawed, but it is
at least a beginning for a better Mexico.
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Appendix 1
Basic Facts About
Mexico
Official Name
Estados Unidos Mexicanos
Government
Under the Constitution of 1917, Mexico is a federal republic with a
centralized government dominated by the office of the presidency. The
presidential term is six years with no reelection. There is a bicameral
federal congress composed of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies;
legislators may serve only one term. The judiciary forms a third branch
of government; judges are appointed by the president.
There are many parties, but the PRI (Institutional Revolutionary
Party) governed Mexico during most of the 20th century. Recent
electoral reforms have strengthened opposition parties such as the
conservative PAN (National Action Party) and the progressive PRD
(Democratic Revolutionary Party). In the 2000 election the PRI presi-
dential candidate was defeated for the first time in more than 70 years,
and the opposition parties gained a majority of the congressional seats
in both houses. In the 2006 presidential elections PAN candidate Felipe
Calderón Hinojosa won a narrow victory over PRD candidate Andrés
Manuel López Obrador, by a margin of only .58 percent.
Political Divisions
States
Thirty-one, plus the federal district which includes the capital.
Capital
Mexico City
A BRIEF HISTORY OF MEXICO
274
Geography
Area
Covering 761,604 square miles, Mexico is four times the size of Spain.
Mexico is the 13th largest country in land area in the world and the
fifth largest in the Western Hemisphere, after Canada, the United States,
Brazil, and Argentina.
Boundaries
To the north, the United States and the Gulf of Mexico. To the east
and south, the Caribbean Sea, Belize, and Guatemala. To the west and
south, the Pacific Ocean.
Topography
Mountains (Sierra Madre Occidental) run from the northwest to the
southeast near the Pacific coast. Another chain (Sierra Madre Oriental)
runs near the Gulf coast. South of Mexico City the mountains become
the Sierra Madre Sur.
Arid plateaus lie between the mountain chains with altitudes ranging
from 6,500 to 8,000 feet. Coastal regions are tropical. One peninsula
marks the west (Baja California) and another in the east (Yucatán).
There are 5,785 miles of coastline
There are few navigable rivers. The most important riverine systems
are in the southeast with the Grijalva, Usumacinta, and Coatzacoalcos
rivers draining into the Gulf. The Balsas River, draining into the Pacific,
is the most important in the central plateau. The Río Bravo (Rio
Grande) defines the border with the United States.
Forty-five percent of the land is arid, and 26 percent is forest and
woodland.
Highest Elevation
Citlaltépetl (Pico de Orizaba), at 18,696 feet, is the third highest moun-
tain in North America.
Demographics
Population (2008 est.)
With 110 million people, Mexico is the 11th most populous country
in the world.
Largest City
Mexico City; the metropolitan area has a population of 19.2 million.
Language
Official language: Spanish, spoken by 95 percent of the population.
Indigenous languages: Sixty-six distinct languages and hundreds of
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dialects are spoken by approximately 10 percent of the population over
five years old. Nahuatl (in central Mexico), Yucatec Mayan, Zapotec (in
Oaxaca), and Mixtec (in Oaxaca) are among the most prevalent.
Ethnic Groups
Mestizo; 60 percent
Indian or predominantly Indian: 30 percent, divided among 62 offi-
cially recognized indigenous groups
White: 9 percent
Others: 1 percent
Education
Literacy: 91 percent of total population (male, 92 percent; female, 90
percent)
Compulsory schooling: 10 years
Primary completion rate: 99 percent
Health
Infant mortality: 19 deaths per 1,000 live births
Life expectancy: 76 years
Religion
Roman Catholic: 89 percent
Protestant: 6 percent
Other: 5 percent
Economy
GDP, 2007 est.
$1.35 trillion; the 12th largest in the world and the second-largest in
Latin America after Brazil.
Economic Sectors (2007)
Services: 70 percent of GDP
Industry: 26 percent of GDP
Agriculture: 4 percent of GDP
Most Important Sources of Foreign Revenues
Oil and petroleum export products
Remittances
Tourism
Agroexports
Manufactured export goods
Minerals
APPENDIX 1
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Appendix 2
Chronology
Pre-Columbian Mexico
pre-10,000 b.c.e. Peopling of the Americas from Asia.
ca. 5000 Extinction of mammoths.
ca. 3000 Farming.
ca. 2000 Sedentary villagers.
ca. 1200 Rise of Olmec civilization and other Early
Preclassic cultures.
ca. 400
Protoclassic cultures: the first cities. The rise of
Teotihuacán, Monte Albán, and Maya cities such
as El Mirador.
250–900
c.e. Classic period flourishing of Teotihuacán, Monte
Albán, and southern lowland Maya.
900–1200 T
erminal Classic and Early Postclassic horizon.
Trade routes and population centers shift to cit-
ies such as Chichén Itzá, El Tajín, and Tula.
1
2
00–1521 Aztecs gradually dominate much of Mesoamerica.
A few other regional cultures, such as the Mixtec,
flourish.
Spain in North America
April 22, 1519 Hernán Cortés anchors his ships off the Veracruz
coast.
June 30,
1520 The Noche Triste.
1521 Spanish conquistadores defeat Aztec at
Tenochtitlán.
Mexico becomes
the colony of New Spain and
governed by Spain until 1821.
1523 A
rrival of the first Franciscan missionaries.
Alvarado conquers Guatemala and El Salvador.