Mexico, a country rich in history, culture and natural beauty is today a microcosm of the interplay of the forces of Globalization. While one face of the country exhibits newfound affluence and prosperity another face reflects continued rural poverty and urban squalor. While on one hand, the country's rich oil deposits bring in a third of the country's revenue but on the other, prosperity and well being still remain a distant dream for most Mexicans. It is a country of socio-economic contrasts but for the lay outsider, Mexico, as its national tourist board puts it, is a country like no other. From teeming wildlife to bustling cities; from isolated beaches to chic resorts; from arid desert landscapes to silvery beaches; and from ancient Mayan ruins to sleepy Colonial towns, Mexico is a traveler's delight.
Brief History of Mexico
Mexico's earliest inhabitants were Amerindian Peoples, popularly known as American Indians. Later stages in Mexico's history, especially since 1200 BC, saw the rise of advanced Amerindian civilizations of which the most notable were the Mayas, the Toltecs and the Aztecs. Of these the Aztecs established a huge empire in Mexico, which was one of the largest empires to be found in the so-called New World. In the beginning of the Sixteenth Century the Aztec Empire began to decline with the start of the Spanish Conquest led by Hernan Cortez and others, which opened up Mexico to Spanish occupation for more than 300 years. In the early part of the Nineteenth Century Mexico gained freedom from Spanish rule and an independent Mexican Republic was established.
Mexico: Geography and People
Geographically considered a part of the continent of North America, Mexico is the third largest of the Latin American countries, smaller in size only to Brazil and Argentina. To its north Mexico shares a long land border with the United States and to its southeast it is linked to Central America and the rest of Latin America by its borders with Guatemala and Belize. Mexico's western and southern coast lies on the Pacific Ocean while on its eastern side the country is bounded by the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.
Geologically speaking, Mexico is one of the most earthquake-prone regions of the earth with the country already experiencing a number of devastating earthquakes being located on the famous circum Pacific seismic belt popularly called the “Ring of Fire”. The country may be broadly divided into the following physiographic regions: the Baja California peninsula, the Pacific Coastal Lowlands, the Mexican Plateau, the Sierra Madre Oriental, the Sierra Madre Occidental, the Cordillera Neo-Volcanica, the Coastal Plain, the Southern Highlands, and the Yucatan Peninsula. Given its diverse landforms Mexico enjoys a number of different climate types. For instance, while the climate is hot and humid along Mexico's coastal plains it becomes drier and temperate as one goes up and further inland.
Mexico's Pre-Colombian history and its European Colonization is reflected in the racial mix of its people which includes a diversity of communities including indigenous Amerindian peoples and White Mexicans of European origin. However, the majority of Mexico's population are the Mestizos who are a mix of the indigenous and European peoples. The majority of Mexicans speak Spanish, which is also the official language although there are still many Indian communities who speak native indigenous languages, especially in the southeast of the country.For more information, click on following links :
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