Essay on mexico

Mexico

Mexico is located to the south of North America. It borders USA to the North, Pacific Ocean to the west, and Guatemala to the Southeast and Belize to the East. The country measures 1, 972, 550 in square kilometers, making it the 15th country in the world in terms of size. Its main ethnic groups are Indian-Spanish, Indians and Caucasians. The Spanish colonized Mexico for three centuries, starting from the sixteenth century to the nineteenth century. A catholic priest, father Hidalgo first proclaimed Independence on 1810, but was later executed in July 1811 by the Spanish officials (Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, 2010). Jose Maria Morelos, who on Nov. 6, 1812 declared the second independence but was also executed by a firing squad in 1815, replaced him (Reilly, & Jermyn, 2002).

Mexico became officially independent on 1824, with its first president being Guadalupe Victoria. Mexico is a federal republic. It has three arms of governance, the executive that has the chief of state and leader of government business. The legislative arm is bicameral while the judiciary consists of the Supreme Court and other federal legal branches (Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, 2010). Under economics, Mexican currency is the Mexican pesos and its current exchange rate against the dollar is at 11. 5975. In addition, the GDP of the country is at $ 1 trillion with a growth rate of 5 %.

On the side of religion, The Roman Catholic holds the largest population of 76. 5% of the entire population followed by Protestants at 6. 3% (Vatican, 2000). The rest consist of unspecified religions. Mexico is widely known for its diversity in arts. These range from woodcarvings, pottery, and weaving among others. In addition, there are many notable authors and poets in Mexico; for example, Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz is a renowned poet of the seventeenth century who used her work to advocate for women rights. Mexico is also rich in food diversity at which there are numerous available cuisines present around the country (Reilly, & Jermyn, 2002).

The richness in culture, arts and traditions makes Mexico a very special country. In addition, the strong economy has enabled the country to rise above other major competitors in its bid to increase revenues and GDP from the citizens.

References

Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs. (2010). Background Note: Mexico. Retrieved from http://www. state. gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/35749. htm
Reilly, M., & Jermyn, L. (2002). Mexico. Tarrytown, NY: Marshall Cavendish.
Vatican. (2000). Homily Of His Holiness Pope John Paul Ii : Canonization Of 27 New Saints. Retrieved from http://www. vatican. va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/homilies/documents/hf_jp-ii_hom_20000521_canonizations_en. html#top