Sarah Woodard Mexico

Economy (4) Inflation Rate: 4% Unemployment Rate: 4.9% Debt: $354.9 million (2013) Exchange Rate: pesos per US dollar GDP: trillion Growth Rate: 1.2%

(4) Imports Metal working machines Steel mill products Agriculture machinery Cars Aircrafts Exports Manufactured goods Oil Silver Fruits Vegetables Coffee Cotton

(4) Industries Chemicals Iron Steel Petroleum Mining Textiles Clothing Tourism Agriculture Tobacco Corn Wheat Soybeans Rice Beans Cotton Coffee Tomatoes

(4) Import Partners: United States, China, Japan Export Partners: United States Labor Force 13.4% Agriculture 24.1% Industry 61.9% Services

Population US Census Bureau Fertility is projected to stay the same and health care will increase

Social Classes (3) Wide gap between wealthy and poor Widespread poverty Squatter Settlements lack basic needs Majority of rural population is landless and depends on less than minimum wage Middle and Upper Classes control social, economic, and political activity

Physical Geography

(3) Earthquakes Mountains Southern Highlands: mountain ranges and plateaus Volcanoes Ring of Fire Plateaus Mexican Plateau: most populated area

Challenges

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Baja California Peninsula (3) Highways, Harbors, Airport improvements began in 1960s Agriculture, Mining, and Tourism have expanded

Cathedrals 89% Roman Catholic 6% Protestant 5% Other

Culture (5) Official Language: Spanish Indigenous Languages Family is center of lives Many children Father holds authority

Flag (6) Green: hope and victory White: purity of Mexican ideas Red: represents the blood shed by nation’s hero

Social Customs (5) Women pat on the shoulder when meeting rather than shaking hands Men shake hands when first meeting then hug after knowing each other Don’t use first names until invited to do so Arrive 30 minutes late for dinner

Machismo (5) “masculine” or “male supremacy” Male centered society Women care for children, take care of home, cook, weave

Education (6) Primary and Secondary Education 91% of population is literate Fall short of education in science, math, and technology High inequality from rich and poor

Art (1) Clay Pottery Cotton Garments Wool Shawls, Rugs, Bags Baskets

Food (1) Middle and Upper income: Wide variety of foods (American and European) Corn or Wheat Tortillas, beans, rice, tomatoes, chili peppers Empanadas, Fajitas, Tacos Tequila: Made from agave cactus

Holidays Feast of Our Lady Guadalupe (December 12) Celebrates appearance of Virgin Mary to an Indian man during Spanish rule Day of the Dead (November 1-2) Rituals to honor the deceased Independence Day (September 16) Separation from Spain

Day of Dead Started by Aztecs who didn’t believe in grief (2) Celebrate lives and welcome spirits return (2) Festivals, Dances, Food (2) Place meaningful objects on alter (2) Favorite Food Photographs Skulls: personality Alcohol Papel Picado: fragility of life

Recreation (3) Soccer Hosted World Cup in 1970 & th century Bull Fighting to Baseball National and State Parks Government budjet Pollution, Illegal Logging, Tourism

Work Cited 1) Zimmermann, Kim A. "Mexican Culture: Customs & Traditions." Livescience. Purch, 2 Aug Web. 13 May ) Farfan, Karen C. "Day of the Dead, Decoded." The Salt. NPR, 1 Nov Web. 13 May ) "Mexico." Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., Web. 19 May ) "The World Fact Book North America: Mexico." Central Intelligence Agency. Central Intelligence Agency, Web. 26 May ) "Mexico - Language, Culture, Customs and Etiquette." The Translation Agency For A Complete Professional Translation Service. Kwintessential, Web. 26 May ) "History of Mexico." History.com. A&E Television Networks, Web. 26 May ) "World Savvy Monitor." History. World Savvy Monitor, Web. 27 May 2014.