MEXICO
2.1)
Geographic and Demographic of Mexico
2.2)
Economic Situation of Mexico
2.3)
Information Technology of Mexico
2.4) Social State of Mexico
2.1) Geographic and Demographic of Mexico
United Mexican States (Estados Unidos Mexicanos) is located in Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. Between Belize and the US and bordering the North Pacific Ocean. She is also between Guatemala and the US.
The country is mostly mountainous and no more than 15% of the land is considered fit for ploughing and growing crops. There is lowland in the southeast and along the coasts, but the heart of the country is the extensive Mexican plateau with elevations generally above 4,000 ft (1,220 m). Fringed by the ranges of the Sierra Madre, the plateau (except for the arid north) is a region of broad shallow lakes where more than half of the country's population is concentrated. To the south is a chain of extinct volcanoes which including Popocatépetl, Ixtacihuatl, and Orizaba which is at 18,406 ft (5,610m) is Mexico's highest point.
With
a population of 98,552,776 (July 1998 est.), it has a birth rate of
25.49-births/1,000 population (1998 est.) and death rate of 4.91-deaths/1,000
population (1998 est.) (Appendix). Ethnic groups in Mexico consist of mestizo
(Amerindian-Spanish) 60%, Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian 30%, white 9%
other 1%. For the languages used by the Mexicans are Spanish, various Mayan,
Nahuatl and other. (Sources
from: CIA-Fact book 99-Mexico)
Since World War II, Mexico has had considerable economic growth. In the mid-1980s, it suffered a severe depression due in part to a drop in world oil prices. By the early 1990s, with debt relief, privatization of many industries long owned by the Mexican government, more trade policies, diversification and restructuring of foreign debt had begun to produce an economic upturn. Now Mexico has a free market economy with a mixture of modern and outmoded industry and agriculture. With Mr. Zedillo elected as president in 1994, The ZEDILLO administration was started for privatizing and expanding competition in seaports, railroads, telecommunications, electricity, natural gas distribution and airports. The Mexican economy is in its third year of recovery from the recession of 1995, which was touched off by a financial crisis.
In Mexico, every year the State makes substantial financial expenditures operating and developing Information Technology (IT) systems and projects. Information technology encompasses computer and communications infrastructure which including hardware and software, communications (voice, data, and video) and databases. These applications and the data they provide are assets of the State that provide essential information management and communication capabilities. IT management and development provides a mechanism for evaluating the overall capability and direction of the State of New Mexico in its information technology development, as well as a format for determining the most cost effective allocation of scarce financial resources for information technology.
The population has grown rapidly in the 20th centuries, four times more from 1940 to 1990. In addition, it is expected to exceed a hundred million by the year 2000. However, Mexico's declining birthrate in the last few years promises some relief from the crushing pressure of its population. The great majority of the people are of mixed Spanish and indigenous (native) descent, but sizable minorities are of purely native descent. The official language is Spanish, but many Mexicans still speak only indigenous tongues. Most of the Mexican are nominally Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 6% and other. (Sources from: CIA-Fact book 99-Mexico)
In 1982, the unsteadily economy caused the government to devalue the peso and nationalize the banks. The country's enormous foreign debt hampered economic growth. In 1988, Carlos Salinas De Gortari was elected president in the middle of charges of widespread fraud. Salinas opened Mexico to foreign investment, signed the North American Free Trade Agreement with the U.S. and Canada and oversaw a general improvement in the economy. A Mayan-based uprising (1994) in the southern state of Chiapas, provided a reminder of the poverty in which many Mexicans still live. Ernesto Zedillo Ponce De León, the PRI candidate, succeeded Salinas as president in 1994. Zedillo's election was regarded by most observers as generally fair. Until today, Mr. Zedillo is still in position. Currently Mexico?s government system is federal republic operating under a centralized government and their legal system is mixture of US constitutional theory and civil law system.