MEXICO

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MEXICO
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Mexico

• There are 31 states in Mexico

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Geography of Mexico

• Sierra Madre Occidental - large mt. range on the
  west coast of Mexico
• Sierra Madre Oriental - large mt. range on the
  east coast of Mexico
• Sierra Madre Del Sur -- mother range of the
  south where the 2 ranges meet in the south

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5 Regions of Mexico

• 1. Central Plateau
• 2. Northern Pacific Coast
• 3. Southern Pacific Coast
• 4. Gulf Coastal Plain
• 5. Yucatan Peninsula

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Central Plateau

• Largest region, largest population
• Best farmland in the south
• Most geologically unstable - located on 4 plates
• 1. North American
• 2. Caribbean
• 3. Pacific
• 4. Cocos
• Elevation is the key to climate - Mexico city
  avg. temp (74 in July and 70 in January)

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Northern Pacific Coast

• Dry, hot and thinly populated
• Despite arid climate - farming is prevalent
  because of irrigation
• wheat, cotton and other crops
• Baja California - mostly mountainous

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Last 3 Regions of Mexico

• 3. Southern Pacific Coast -- smaller Mt. range,
  Sierra Madre del Sur
• Little farmland but great scenery and tropical
  climate -- tourism
• 4. Gulf Coastal plain -- vast deposits of
  petroleum and nat. gas
• 5. Yucatan Peninsula -- flat, and bedrock made
  of limestone. This dissolves and creates vast
  underground caverns. Sinkholes -- when these
  caverns collapse
• Tourism -- resorts and Mayan ruins

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Mexico
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CULTURE OF MEXICO

• Section 2
• Mexico is made up of three main cultures 1.
  Indigenous (Aztec) 2. Spanish 3. Mixed
  population (today)
• Tenochtitlan -- capital city of the Aztecs
• present day Mexico City
• Hernan Cortes -- 1519 Spanish explorer who was
  held responsible for the downfall of the Aztec
  Empire ( 2 years)
• Conquistador - conqueror

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Aztec Empire
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4 Social Classes in Mexico

• 1. Peninsular -- Spanish person born in Spain
• 2. Creoles -- Spanish ancestry living in America
• 3. Mestizo -- mixed Spanish and Indigenous
  ancestry
• 4. Indigenous

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Sect. 2 cont.

• Hacienda -- large estates owned by Spanish people
• Encomienda -- system of low wages and constant
  debt for lower ethnic groups
• 1821 - Mexico becomes an independent nation
• 1920 - Mexico has a new democratic government and
  constitution
• Institutional Revolutionary Party -- political
  party in Mexico
• Spanish -- official language
• Ejido -- farmland owned collectively by members
• of a rural community
• Latifundios -- large commercial farms (1/3 of
  farms)
• 90 of Mexicans live with extended family

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Other facts about Mexico

• 5 of Mexicos GDP is agriculture , but 24 work
  in ag
• U.Sgt gets 87 of all of Mexicos exports
• Average salary in parts of Mexico - 4.35 a day
• 10 Pesos to 1 American dollar
• Illegal immigration is an on-going problem, 350
  million illegal immigrants a year
• Border is 1951 miles long

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Salaries in Mexico per yearAVERAGE SALARY IN
THE U.S IS 36,764

• Guadalajara, Jal. -- Lake Chapala/Ajijic
  16,300
• Polanco, Ciudad de Mexico, D.F. 11,900
• Monterrey, N.L. -- Valle region 11,300
• Monterrey, N.L -- Inner city 8,700
• Matamoros 8,300
• Cancun, Q.R. 7,000
• Guadalajara, Jal. -- inner city 6,000
• Nuevo Laredo, Tamps. 5,700
• Cuernavaca 5,400
• Guanajuato 3,000
• San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas 2,400
• Nezahualcoyotl, near Ciudad de Mexico
  1,500
• Cintalapa, Chiapas 1,300

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Mexico Today

• Presidents are elected to a 6 year term.
• Vicente Fox -- term is up Dec. 1 , 2006
• Felipe Calderon -- will take office in December
• Both members of the National Action Party