M EXICO MexicoMexico City
L OCATION Northern border: United States South border Guatemala and Belize Mexico’s east coast borders the Gulf of Mexico The west coast of Mexico touches the Pacific Ocean
M OUNTAINS The Mexican Plateau is 3,000 feet high and much is dry The Mexican Plateau has a mountainous surface Mountains border the plateau on each side Western range: Sierra Madre Occidental Eastern range: Sierra Madre Oriental
V OLCANOES The southern part of the Mexican Plateau ends in a range of volcanoes
C LIMATE 2/3 of Mexico lies north of the tropic of cancer and has a temperate climate Much of Mexico has a high elevation so even parts that lie in the tropics have a temperate climate Mexico has a semiarid climate meaning it is dry but not as dry as a desert The dries part of Mexico is Baja California
A ZTECS
M EXICAN F LAG
A GRICULTURE Subsistence Farming- family grows food for themselves Main crop: maize Commercial Farming- raise crops for sale
P OPULATION G ROWTH Mexico is one of the most rapidly growing countries in the world This causes many problems
P OPULATION G ROWTH Many people live in the middle of the country The northern part of Mexico is the least populated because it is so dry
P OPULATION Over half of the people in Mexico live in urban areas Urban means having to do with the city
C OUNTRYSIDE TO C ITY People who leave one place to live in another place within their country are called migrants People do this because cities are more populated to find work, or for better opportunities
C OUNTRYSIDE TO C ITY Poor migrants live on unused land and build houses from scraps of lumber, tin, or cardboard. This is called squatter settlements. Mexican cities also have neighborhoods for the middle class and rich.
O UR L ADY OF G UADALUPE Patroness of the Americas
D AY OF THE D EAD November 1 & 2 Remember those who have died Viewed as a continuation of life
I NDEPENDENCE D AY September 16 Freedom from Spain Father Hidalgo- gathered people to fight for freedom
C INCO DE M AYO Mexico borrowed $ from France Mexico couldn’t pay France back to France invades Mexico Mexico defeated the French on May 5
T HE R EPUBLIC OF M EXICO Mexico is a republic- it has an elected leader, the president who serves a 6 year term Current President: Enrique Peña Nieto
T HE R EPUBLIC OF M EXICO Each state elects 2 senators and deputies or representatives The # of deputies is determined by population There are currently 500 deputies
PRI Mexico has one major political party, Institutional Revolutionary Party or the PRI. However, there are other political parties * The current president is a member of the PRI
T ROUBLED E CONOMY Mexico has many debts. Mexico discovered oil so the government began many costly projects. It borrowed billions of dollars from other countries
T ROUBLED E CONOMY They were going to repay the money from the oil they would sell. When banks lend money to they charge interest a % of the amount borrowed In 1981 the price of oil fell. Mexico had a hard time paying back the debts so the economy suffered.
N EW O PPOSITION By 1988 a new political party, National Action Party (PAN) established itself The last president was a member of PAN