Mexican+Culture

=Political Culture = =SENSE OF NATIONAL IDENTITY (EM and Xu) =

The importance of religion
media type="youtube" key="fKEGdZo9kaw" height="344" width="425"
 * Until the 1920s, the Catholic Church actively participated in the government. Though the church is not now not actively invovled in the government, a large percentage of Mexicans are devout Catholics, so their beliefs still have influence on their political values and actions.

[|Mexican bishops criticze drug war strategy] This article highlights the growing disconnect between the Catholic Church (a major source of legitimacy) and governmental policies.
 * Catholic bishops in Mexico disapprove of the government's actions against the drug trade which include soldiers on the streets and a corrupt judicial system, which may endanger human rights.
 * The soldiers have acted out of control and indiscriminately killed Mexican citizens.

Patron-clientelism
media type="youtube" key="8Qk-lvu6BWw" height="344" width="425" [|Mexican telecom monopoly]
 * Defined: A system of cliques based on personal connections and charismatic leadership. "You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours". VERY prone to corruption
 * **Camarillas** are patron-client networks.
 * Mexican authorities have greenlighted Carlos Slim's proposal to combine his massive wireline and wireless holdings.
 * Slim's company has also bought a 40% stake in wireless operator, Nextel Mexico.

Carlos Slim is one of the richest men in the world, made possible by his strangehold on the Mexican telecom industry. Because regulators have chosen not to break up his monopoly, Slim has had free reign over the Mexican people. This collusion between the monied elite and authority figures has come at the expense of the Mexican people. The unfair practices of Slim have drawn much criticsm from the Mexican people and from abroad.

Economic Dependency
media type="youtube" key="nxxefl5m4HA" height="344" width="425" Mexico Suffers as US Economy Struggles As the Mexican economy suffers, a concerned electorate will lose faith in its government and demand reforms that improve relations with the United States.
 * As a Spanish colony or a southern neighbor of the United States, Mexico has almost always been under the shadow o f a more powerful country. It has struggled recently to gain more economic independence.
 * Cash transfers from Mexicans working in the U.S. have decreased by 16 percent over the past year.
 * 90% of migrant workers from the state of Hidalgo are in the United States illegally.
 * In the city of Ixmiquilpan, around 30 to 40 percent of the population works in the U.S.

=GEOGRAPHIC INFLUENCE = Eric & Xu

Mountains and deserts

 * The terrain makes transportation, communication, and agriculture difficult.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">The natural geographic divides have made regionalism a major characteristic of Mexico's political system.

[|Travel review of Ixtapa-Zihuantanejo] Mexico's geography provides many locations for tourists hotspots to develop. This leads to an increase in the local economies, which helps the government stay in power.
 * This region lies between the Pacific Ocean and Sierra Madre del Sur mountains.
 * Attractions include the fishermen's wharf and scenic downtown shopping.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Varied climates

 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">The terrain and vast land mass that Mexico covers ensures rich climates from cold, dry mountains to tropical rain forests.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">[[image:http://mexicochannel.net/maps/mexico_maps_climates.gif]]
[|Mexico borrows money to fight climate change]


 * Mexico has agreed to borrow 250 million dollars from the French Agency for Development (AFD).
 * This money will go to the Special Climate Change Program in Mexico.
 * In 2010, Mexico will host the Conference of the Parties on climate change.

The Mexican people understand that its diverse environments will not be able to survive global warming. By funding climate change intiatives, the Mexican government is currying local support instead of making an appeal to business. This is an appeal to popular support instead of the elite way of consolidating power.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Natural resources

 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Abundance of oil silver and other resources.
 * Mexico as struggled to wisely manage them.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Natural resources enrich Mexico, but not necessarily the Mexican people.

[|Mexico oil crash]

The government's refusal to admit its energy woes is a frightening trend. While in the short run, this tactic may allay the fears of the Mexican people, the long term loss in productivity in the energy sector will lead to civil outbursts as people lose jobs and rail against the government's lack of transparency.
 * In the first quarter of 2009, Mexico's oil production fell by 7.8 percent.
 * However, the energy ministry remains optimistic about oil production, despite much evidence to the contrary.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">U.S. Border
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">What's this about a fence?
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Conflicts between Mexico and U.S. over migration and dependency issues are inevitable.


 * A 58 million dollar fence separating Mexico and the U.S. has been criticized for being costly, ineffective and harmful to the environment.
 * However, U.S. border patrol authorities remain in favor of the fence.

The need for a fence shows how unstable Mexico's government and economy is. The number of illegal immigrants in the United States shows the lack of faith in the Mexican government that the Mexican people have.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">100 million people
[|Illegal Immigrants in the U.S.] This drop in population is due more to lack of faith in the United States government than to faith in the Mexican governmnent. As long as Mexicans attempt to illegally cross the border, the Mexican government will seem weak in the eyes of many.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Most populous country with Spanish-speaking population.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">One of the top ten most populated countries.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Population growth at 1.8 percent.
 * From 2008 to 2010, the illegal immigrant population in the United States dropped by 800,000 people.
 * This decline has been attributed to a weak economy and more stringent measures in border protection between the United States and Mexico.

Urban population

 * Shift from rural areas to cities.
 * 3/4 of population lives in cities of interior or along coast.
 * 18 million people live in or close to Mexico City.

[|Pirated goods in Mexico City] Without tax revenues, the Mexican government loses much power. Also, the rise in organized crime undercuts the foundation of the legal system.
 * Vendors offer pirated CDs and knockoff clothing in downtown Mexico City.
 * Pirated goods cut into government tax revenues, discourage foreign investment and fund organized crime.


 * ~  ||~ Name ||~ Adm. ||~ C C 2005-10-17 ||
 * 1 || Ciudad de México || D-F || 8,463,906 ||
 * 2 || Ecatepec || MEX || 1,687,549 ||
 * 3 || Guadalajara || JAL || 1,600,894 ||
 * 4 || Puebla || PUE || 1,399,519 ||
 * 5 || Ciudad Juárez || CHI || 1,301,452 ||
 * 6 || Tijuana || BCN || 1,286,187 ||
 * 7 || León || GTO || 1,137,465 ||
 * 8 || Nezahualcóyotl || MEX || 1,136,300 ||
 * 9 || Monterrey || NLN || 1,133,070 ||
 * 10 || Zapopan || JAL || 1,026,492 ||
 * 11 || Naucalpan || MEX || 792,226 ||
 * 12 || Chihuahua || CHI || 748,518 ||
 * 13 || Mérida || YUC || 734,153 ||