Welcome to Mexico
Background
Mexico is the birthplace of many great civilizations. In the years before Columbus came to the Americas, the Olmec, Maya, and Aztec all called Mexico home. These civilizations had several accomplishments before the first Europeans arrived. Mayas and Aztecs had highly centralized governments. They built great pyramids for their religious ceremonies, and they were very knowledgeable about astronomy. In fact, they developed accurate calendars, and they knew exactly when certain astronomical events would happen each year. Much of Mexican culture today is influenced by Aztec languages and traditions. Beginning in 1517, Spanish conquistadores like Hernando Cortes launched a series of invasions against the Aztecs. Although the Aztecs fought fiercely, the Spanish had more advanced weaponry and brought diseases like smallpox to the native people, and the Aztec Empire fell in 1521. For 300 years, the Spanish ruled Mexico, spreading their language and religion and subjugating the Mexican people under the encomienda system. Mexican nationalists took advantage of Napoleon’s war with Spain and began a war for independence, which was achieved on September 16, 1821. Territorial disputes with the United States led to the Mexican-American War from 1846 to 1848. In the end, Mexico ceded land that it is now the American southwest. Soon after, Mexico experienced a civil war between liberals who wanted reform and conservatives who wanted to maintain the status quo. In 1860 France took advantage of this conflict and occupied Mexico. On May 5, 1862, Mexican forces defeated the French and forced them to leave. This is the day that Mexicans now celebrate as Cinco de Mayo. From 1910 to 1921 Mexico fought another civil war in which nearly 900,000 people died. After a series of military leaders, Lazaro Cardena became president in 1934 and began to modernize Mexico. He expanded public education, started land reform, and nationalized Mexico’s natural resources like minerals and oil.
Mexico Today
Today Mexico is the largest Spanish-speaking country in the world. Although Mexico had a big economic recession in 1994, the economy has improved in recent years. NAFTA has helped Mexico’s economy grow to over a trillion dollars. However, farmers haven't benefitted much from this economic growth. Globalization has brought many jobs to Mexico, but just as in other parts of the world it has also brought controversies. Often these jobs come with little benefits and workers must work long hours for pay that is much lower than U.S. standards. There is also not a lot of regulation of foreign businesses, so pollution, erosion, and deforestation are problems. Mexicans also face an unequal distribution of wealth. There are 107 million people in Mexico, and more than half of them make less than four dollars a day. Currently the price of corn, which is a staple of the Mexican diet, has skyrocketed, probably due to the rising demand for corn to make ethanol in the U.S. In addition, many of Mexico’s 12 million indigenous people feel disenfranchised from Mexico’s economic and political progress. Mexico has also been affected by several natural disasters, including the 1985 earthquake in Mexico City which killed up to 30,000 people and annual hurricanes, which destroy lives and damage infrastructure.
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