📰 Mexico · page 3

In the 1980s the first cracks emerged in the PRI's political dominance.187 In Baja California, the PAN candidate was elected governor.188 When De la Madrid chose Carlos Salinas de Gortari as the candidate for the PRI, and therefore a foregone presidential victor, Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, son of former President Lázaro Cárdenas, broke with the PRI and challenged Salinas in the 1988 elections.189 In 1988 there was electoral fraud, with results showing that Salinas had won the election by the narrowest percentage ever.190 There were protests in Mexico City over the stolen election.191 Salinas took the oath of office in December 1988.[92]192 In 1990 the PRI was described by Mario Vargas Llosa as the "perfect dictatorship", but there had been major challenges to the PRI's hegemony.[93][94][95]193

Salinas embarked on a program of neoliberal reforms that fixed the exchange rate, controlled inflation, opened Mexico to foreign investment, and began talks with the US and Canada to join their free-trade agreement, which culminated in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on 1 January 1994; the same day, the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) in Chiapas began armed rebellion against the federal government, which captured towns and brought world attention.194 The armed conflict was short-lived and continues as a non-violent opposition movement against neoliberalism and globalization.195 In 1994, following the assassination of the PRI's presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio, Salinas was succeeded by victorious PRI candidate Ernesto Zedillo.196 Salinas left Zedillo's government to deal with the Mexican peso crisis, requiring a $50 billion IMF bailout.197 Macroeconomic reforms were started by Zedillo, and the economy recovered and growth peaked at 7% by 1999.[96]198

Contemporary Mexico

See also: Mexican drug war

After 71 years of rule, the incumbent PRI lost the 2000 presidential election to Vicente Fox of the opposing conservative National Action Party (PAN).199 In the 2006 presidential election, Felipe Calderón from the PAN was declared the winner, with a narrow margin (0.6%) over leftist politician Andrés Manuel López Obrador of the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD).[97]200 López Obrador, however, contested the election and pledged to create an "alternative government".[98]201 In the 2012 presidential election, the PRI again won the presidency with the election of Enrique Peña Nieto.202 However, he won with a plurality of around 38% and did not have a legislative majority.[99]203

During the 21st century, Mexico has contended with high crime rates, bureaucratic corruption, narcotrafficking, and a stagnant economy.204 Many state-owned enterprises were privatized starting in the 1990s with neoliberal reforms.205 Pemex, the state-owned petroleum company is being privatized, with exploration licenses being issued.[100]206 In a push against corruption, the ex-CEO of Pemex, Emilio Lozoya Austin, was arrested in 2020.[101]207

After founding the new political party MORENA, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (known as AMLO) won the 2018 election with over 50%.208 His coalition, led by his left-wing party founded after the 2012 elections, included parties from across the spectrum.209 The coalition won a majority in the upper and lower Congress chambers.210 His success is attributed to opposing political forces exhausting their chances, as well as AMLO's adoption of moderate discourse focused on reconciliation.[102]211 The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Mexico occurred in February 2020, and COVID-19 vaccination in Mexico began in December.212 Claudia Sheinbaum, AMLO's successor, won the 2024 presidential election in a landslide and became the first woman to lead Mexico.[103]213 She was sworn in on 1 October 2024.[104]214

Geography

Main article: Geography of Mexico

Mexico is located between latitudes 14° and 33°N, and longitudes 86° and 119°W in the southern portion of North America, with a total area of 1972550 km2, is the 13th largest country by total area.215 It has coastlines on the Pacific Ocean and Gulf of California, as well as the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea, the latter two forming part of the Atlantic Ocean.[105]216 Within these seas are about 6000 km2 of islands.217 Almost all of Mexico lies in the North American plate, with small parts of the Baja California peninsula on the Pacific and Cocos plates.218 Geophysically, some geographers include the territory east of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (around 12% of the total) within Central America.[106]219 Geopolitically, Mexico is entirely considered part of North America.[107]220

The majority of Mexican central and northern territories are located at high altitudes, and as such the highest elevations are found at the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt which crosses Mexico east to west: Pico de Orizaba (5700 m), Popocatépetl (5462 m) and Iztaccihuatl (5286 m) and the Nevado de Toluca (4577 m).221 Two mountain ranges known as Sierra Madre Oriental and Sierra Madre Occidental, which are the extension of the Rocky Mountains from northern North America crossed the country from north to south and a fourth mountain range, the Sierra Madre del Sur, runs from Michoacán to Oaxaca.222 The Mexican territory is prone to volcanism.[108]223

Mexico has nine distinct regions: Baja California, the Pacific Coastal Lowlands, the Mexican Plateau, the Sierra Madre Oriental, the Sierra Madre Occidental, the Cordillera Neovolcánica, the Gulf Coastal Plain, the Southern Highlands, and the Yucatán Peninsula.[109]224 An important geologic feature of the Yucatán peninsula is the Chicxulub crater, the scientific consensus is that the Chicxulub impactor was responsible for the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event.225 Although Mexico is large (a little over 2000 mi in length from its farthest land points), much of its land mass is incompatible with agriculture due to aridity, soil, or terrain.[108]226

In 2018, an estimated 54.9% of land was agricultural; 11.8% was arable; 1.4% was in permanent crops; 41.7% was permanent pasture; and 33.3% was forest.[108]227 Mexico is irrigated by several rivers, with the longest being the Rio Grande, which serves as a natural eastern border with the United States.[110]228 The Usumacinta River serves as a natural southern border between Mexico and Guatemala.[111]229

Climate

Main article: Climate of Mexico

The climate of Mexico is varied due to the country's size and topography.230 The Tropic of Cancer effectively divides the country into temperate and tropical zones.231 Land north of the Tropic of Cancer experiences cooler temperatures during the winter months.232 South of the Tropic of Cancer, temperatures are fairly constant year-round and vary solely as a function of elevation.233 This gives Mexico one of the world's most diverse weather systems.[112]234

Maritime air masses bring seasonal precipitation from May until August.235 Many parts of Mexico, particularly the north, have a dry climate with only sporadic rainfall, while parts of the tropical lowlands in the south average more than 2000 mm of annual precipitation.236 For example, many cities in the north like Monterrey, Hermosillo, and Mexicali experience temperatures of 40 C or more in summer.237 In the Sonoran Desert temperatures reach 50 C or more.[112]238

There are seven major climate types in Mexico[113] with warm sub-humid climate being coastal up to 900 meters found mostly in the southern region of Mexico; dry and desertic climates being found in the northern half of the country; temperate humid and sub-humid being found mostly on pastures at an elevation of 1,800 meters and higher in central Mexico and cold climate usually found at an elevation of 3,500 meters and beyond.239 Most of the country's territory has a temperate to dry climate.[113]240

Areas south of the Tropic of Cancer with elevations up to 1000 m, the southern parts of both coastal plains as well as the Yucatán Peninsula, have a yearly median temperature between 24 and 28 C. Temperatures here remain high throughout the year, with only a 5 C-change difference between winter and summer median temperatures.241 The Pacific coast is subject to natural hazards such as tsunamis and both Mexican coasts with the exception of the south coast of the Bay of Campeche and northern Baja California are vulnerable to serious hurricanes during the summer and fall.242 Although low-lying areas north of the Tropic of Cancer are hot and humid during the summer, they generally have lower yearly temperature averages (from 20 to 24 C) because of more moderate conditions during the winter.[112]243

Climate change in Mexico is causing widespread impacts including rising temperatures, altered precipitation patterns, intensified hurricanes, and sea-level rise in coastal regions.[114]244 These changes pose threats to water resources and agriculture (particularly for rural and smallholder farmers),[115][116] and affect crops including maize and coffee, contributing to economic insecurity.[117][116]245 Climate change is impacting Mexicans' health,[118] exacerbating human migration,[119][120][121] and increasing extinction risk for Mexico's biodiversity, as protected areas are expected to face warming temperatures and decreased precipitation.[122]246

Biodiversity

See also: Wildlife of Mexico

Mexico ranks fourth[123] in the world in biodiversity and is one of the 17 megadiverse countries.247 With over 200,000 species, Mexico is home of 10–12% of the world's biodiversity.[124]248 Mexico ranks first in biodiversity in reptiles with 707 known species, second in mammals with 438 species, fourth in amphibians with 290 species, and fourth in flora, with 26,000 species.[125]249 Mexico is also considered the second country in the world in ecosystems and fourth in overall species.[126]250 About 2,500 species are protected by Mexican legislation.[126]251

In 2002, Mexico had the second fastest rate of deforestation in the world, second only to Brazil.[127]252 It had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 6.82/10, ranking it 63rd globally out of 172 countries.[128]253 According to SGI there is Deforestation and soil erosion especially in rural areas of Mexico.254 In the 2022 report it was noted environmental protection laws have improved in major cities but remain unenforced or unregulated in rural regions.[129]255

In Mexico, 170000 km2 are considered "Protected Natural Areas".256 These include 34 biosphere reserves, 67 national parks, 4 natural monuments, 26 areas of protected flora and fauna, 4 areas for natural resource protection and 17 sanctuaries (zones rich in diverse species).[124]257 Some of Mexico's native culinary ingredients include maize, tomato, beans, squash, chocolate, vanilla, avocado, guava, chayote, epazote, camote, jícama, nopal, zucchini, tejocote, huitlacoche, sapote, mamey sapote, and a great variety of chiles, such as the habanero and the jalapeño.258 Tequila, the distilled alcoholic drink made from cultivated agave cacti is a major industry.259 Because of its high biodiversity Mexico has also been a frequent site of bioprospecting by international research bodies.[130]260

Government and politics

Main article: Politics of Mexico, Federal government of Mexico

The United Mexican States is a federation whose government is representative, democratic, and republican based on a presidential system according to the 1917 Constitution.261 The Constitution establishes three levels of government: the federal Union, the state governments, and the municipal governments.262

The federal legislature is the bicameral Congress of the Union, composed of the Senate of the Republic and the Chamber of Deputies.263 The Congress makes federal law, declares war, imposes taxes, approves the national budget and international treaties, and ratifies diplomatic appointments.[131]264 The federal Congress, as well as the state legislatures, are elected by a system of parallel voting that includes plurality and proportional representation.[132]265 The Chamber of Deputies has 500 deputies.266 Of these, 300 are elected by plurality vote in single-member districts (the federal electoral districts) and 200 are elected by proportional representation with closed party lists[132] for which the country is divided into five electoral constituencies.[132]267 The Senate comprises 128 senators: 64 (two for each state and two for Mexico City) are elected by plurality vote in pairs, 32 are the first minority or first-runner-up (one for each state and one for Mexico City), and 32 are elected by proportional representation from national closed party lists.[132]268

The executive is the President of the United Mexican States, who is the head of state and government, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Mexican military forces.269 The President also appoints the Cabinet and other officers.270 The President is responsible for executing and enforcing the law and has the power to veto bills.[131]271

The highest organ of the judicial branch of government is the Supreme Court of Justice, the national supreme court.272 Judges, pre-selected by Congress, are elected by popular vote.273 The nine members of the Supreme Court are elected for a single twelve-year term.274 The first judicial election occurred in 2025.275 The Supreme Court of Justice interprets laws and judges cases of federal competency.276 Other institutions of the judiciary are the Federal Electoral Tribunal, collegiate, unitary, and district tribunals, and the Judicial Disciplinary Tribunal.[131][133][134]277

Three parties have historically been the dominant parties in Mexican politics: the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), a catch-all party[135] and member of the Socialist International[136] that was founded in 1929 to unite all the factions of the Mexican Revolution and held an almost hegemonic power in Mexican politics since then; the National Action Party (PAN), a conservative party founded in 1939 and belonging to the Christian Democrat Organization of America;[137] and the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), a left-wing party[138] founded in 1989 as the successor of the coalition of socialists and liberal parties.278 The National Regeneration Movement (Morena), a left-wing populist party, has been the ruling party since 2018, and it won a second term in the 2024 general election.[139]279

Democratic backsliding starting around 2019 was found by the V-Dem Democracy Report.[140]280

Administrative divisions

Main article: Administrative divisions of Mexico

Further information: States of Mexico, Municipalities of Mexico