MDAW 2013: DCH & MBK

 Population: 117+m  Land Area: 761K+ square miles  GDP: $1.8T / $1.2T  Capitol: Mexico City

 Mexico has been inhabited for at least 23,000 years  The Mayan peninsula and central Mexico was home to a long line of highly complex cultures—Olmec, Maya, Zapotec, Toltec, Mixtec, and finally the Aztec  Spanish conquest by Hernan Cortez occurred between 1519 and 1521  What we now call Mexico was colonized as “New Spain,” with its capitol, Mexico City, built over the ruins of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capitol

 Mexico shared the same economic / social / class structures we discussed in the context of Venezuela and Cuba  Independence from Spain was declared in 1810/1813, and was formalized by treaty in 1821  First decades of independence were characterized by political conflicts between liberals and autocrats  General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna was a central figure in these conflicts

 Several regions revolted—republics were declared in Texas, the Yucatan, and Rio Grande  Texas achieved independence and was annexed by the U.S.  Mexican-American war was fought between 1846 and 1848, ending in a resounding U.S. victory and Mexico’s ceding of territory that now makes up most of the western United States  The U.S. acquired parts of southern Arizona and New Mexico via the Gadsen purchase in 1854  Mexico was led by Porfirio Diaz from and

 Civil unrest sparked a revolution in 1910— violence continued until 1929  PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party) was founded in 1929—PRI leaders controlled the executive and legislative branches until 2000, and dominated state governments through the 1980s  The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was created by Canada, Mexico, and the United States, and went into effect in 1994, substantially lowering trade barriers between the three states

 Mexico’s economy collapsed in 1994, but quickly recovered  PRI lost the presidency to PAN (National Action Party) candidate Vicente Fox in Fox was succeeded by PAN’s Felipe Calderon in 2006  Enrique Pena Nieto of the PRI was elected president in 2012

 Much of the western U.S. was formerly territory of Mexico, and many residents in these states can trace their histories back to New Spain  The two countries share a massive land border that is straddled by shared economic and cultural areas  As many as 16% of living persons born in Mexico reside in the U.S.  Bilateral trade totals over $500B  Economic growth, political stability, and security concerns in one state significantly affect the other

 Agriculture  Production/distribution cooperation  Harmonize food safety standards  Labeling harmonization  Organic equivalency agreement  Remove barriers to market access  Drugs/Rule of Law/Security  Drug war 2.0  Judicial reform  Police training / reform

 Energy  Reduce investment restrictions  Joint energy distribution infrastructure  Joint renewable energy development (wind, solar, biofuels)  Nonconventional fuels  Oil—investment, THA  Financial Services  Financing access  Regulatory cooperation / transparency in regulation of cross-border transactions

 Immigration  Border opening  Legalization  Temporary worker programs  Innovation/Technology  Educational exchanges / collaboration  IPR reform / harmonization  STEM coordination

 Mining  Corporate social responsibility policies  Reclamation  Sustainable mining practices  Transportation/Border Logistics  Authorization / border crossing streamlining  Customs reform  Infrastructure expansion/upgrades  Regulatory harmonization  Staffing  Water

 Lots of GOOD solvency cards  Maximum advantage flexibility  Nightmarish link uniqueness for the neg

 Aff Groups (11a to noon)  Cuba—Sverdrup 202  Mexico—Sverdrup 201  Venezuela—Sverdrup 203  Skill Session / Neg Groups (1-4:30p)  Politics—Sverdrup 2  Performance—Foss 22B  Kritiks—Sverdrup 203  China—Sverdrup 202