DOCUMENT RESUME ED 109 021 SO 008 450 AUTHOR Ryan, John Morris; And Others TITLE Area Handbook for Mexico. First Edition. INSTITUTION American Univ., Washington, D.C. Foreign Area Studies.; Johnson Research Associates, Inc., Santa Barbara, Calif. REPORT NO DA-Pam-550-79 PUB DATE 70 NOTE 546p. AVAILABLE FROM Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402 ($6.85) EDRS PRICE. MF-$0.92 !IC- $27.29 PLUS POSTAGE DESCRIPTORS American History; *Area Studies; Comparative Education; Cultural Background; Demography; Economics; Ethnic Groups; *Foreign\CTure; ForeIgn Relations; Geography; Governmental St -ucture; *L8tin American Culture; *Mexicans; Military Olanizations; National Defense; Politics; Religion; Social Structure; Sociocultural Patterns; Values IDENTIFIERS *Mexico ABSTRACT This' volume on Mexico is one of a series of handbooks prepared by the Foreign Area Studies (FAS) of the American University. It is designed to be useful to military and other personnel who need a convenient compilation of basic facts about the social, econqmic, political, and military institutions and practices of Mexico. The emphasis is on objective description of the nation's present society and the kinds of possible or probable changes that might be expected in the future. The 'book is organized into four sections covering social, political, economic, and national security aspects of Mexico. An extensive---/bibliography and a glossary of Mexican terms are included. (Author/ND) C *********************************************************************** DoCuments acquired by ERIC include &any informal unpublished * materials not available from other sources. ERIC makes every effort * * to obtain the best copy available. nevertheless, items of marginal * * reproducibility are often encountered and this affects the quality * * of the microfiche and hardcopy reproductions ERIC makes available * * via the ERIC Document Reproduction Service (EDRS). EDRS ,is not * responsible for the quality of the original document. Reproductions * * supplied by EDR are the best that can be made from the original. *********************************************************************** U S DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH. EDUCATION & WELFARE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN REPRO DUCED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED FROM THE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIGIN ATING IT POINTS OF VIEW OR OPINIONS STATED DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRE SENT OFFICIAL NAT ONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION POSITION OR POLICY 00002 6 AREA HANDBOOK for MEXICO Coauthors John Morris Ryan Donald A. Allison, Jr. Thomas G. Squire Gary D. Suttle Kay B. Warren Harry R. Bradley Robert B. Johnson Gerald F. Croteau Cathy C. Council 'Prepared for The American University by Johnson Research Associates Research completed March 1969 First Edition Published 1970 ( DA Pam 550-79 00003 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 74-600000 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents. 1-.S. Gmernment Printing Office Washington. D.C. 20102Price $6.85 00004 FOREWORD This %ohmic is one of a series of handbooks prepared under the auspices of Foreign Area Studies (FAS) of The American Univer- sity, designed to be useful to military and other personnel who need a convenient compilation of basic facts 1,bout the social, economic, political and military institutions and practices of various countries. The emphasis is on objective description of the nation's present society and the kinds of possible or probable changes that might be expected in the future. The handbook seeks to present as full and as balanced an integrated exposition as limitations on space and research time permit. It was compiled from information available in openly pub- lished material. Extensive bibliographies are provided to permit re- course to other published sources for more detailed information. There has been no attempt to express any specific point of view or to make policy recommendations. The contents of the handbook represent the work of the authors and FAS and do not represent the official view of the United States 11mernment. An effort has been made to make .the handbook as comprehensive. as possible. It can he expected, hov,eer, that the material, interpreta- tions, and conclusions are subject to modification in the light of new information and (le% elopments. Such corrections, additions, and sugz_ gestions for factual, interpretive, or other charge as readers may Iffie. %%ill be welcomed for use in future revisions. Comments may be_ addressed to- The I )i rector Foreign Area Studies The American University 5010 'Wisconsin .kver.ffe, N.W. Washington, D.C.20016 iii 00005 PREFACE Continuous civil war during the second decade of the present century and t \\ 0 decades of political unrest and drastic social and eco- nomic change contrast \\ ith the Mexico of 1969 which has had, for a full generation, an unbroken record of social stability and constitu- tional govt rnment, has maintained one of the world's highest and most constant rates of economic growth, and has become an industrialized cosmopolitan country. This book is an attempt to provide, in compact, convenient, balanced and object k e form, an integrated exposition and analysis of the domi- nant social, political, and economic aspects of the society. It is designed to gke readers an understanding of the (I.\ namics of the component elements of tie society and an insight into the ideas and feelings, the goals, and the hopes and fears of its people. In preparing this it has been possible to draw on a large and increas- ing literature in both Spanish and English. The principal difficulty in research has been statistical : figures on important social and economic aspects of the country are either lacking or published late and in fragmentary form. Where statistics of e \ ident reliability have been available, they have been presented. Any study of a country as com- plex and apparently paradoxical as Mexico is unavoidably interpreta- ae. Where, interpretation has beennecessary, it has been offered tintat k el and has drlmnon the experience of thoseautlu who lived ii Mexi,o for vonnber of years. pallisli usage is based onThe New Appleton-011 m Dirthmary: EngliNh-Spanish and Spanish-EngUsh(New York : Doubleday, 1964). Spanish \\ ords and phrases ha \ e keen employed in the text only where satisfactory English (Ink :dents are wanting; they are defined at first appearance or, if frequently used, are found in the Glossary appended to the book. k 00006 COUNTRY SUMMARY 1. COUNTRY: Official name is EstadosUnidos de Mexico (United States of Mexico) ; unofficial name is Mkico. Underthe Spanish it was Nueva Espana (New Spain) ;under the Aztecs, Ankhuac. 2. GOVERNMENT: A federal republic with a strongexecutive, a bicameral congress (consisting of a chamber of deputies and asenate), and a judiciary. 3. CONSTITIMON: Promulgatedin1917, and subsequently amended. 4. POPULATION: About 47.600,000 in 1968; 65-75 percentmixed Indian and European; 15-25 percent Indian; 10 percentCaucasian; 1 percent Negro. Growth rate: about 3.5 percent per year. 5. SIZE: 761,602 square miles. 6. TOPOGRAPHY: Two major mountain ranges runroughly north and south. Between them lies the elevated Mexicanplateau extend- ing from southern Puebla northward into thesouthwestern part of the United States. The southern portion of the plateau,the Mesa ,Central, contains the Valley of Mexico. There arefew other areas of plains; the most extensive are found in the northerndeserts. The Pacific coastal plain is narrow, the only extensive areasoccurring in the desert and the semi - tropical areas of Sonoraand Sinaloa adjacent to the Sea of Cortes. Veget ttion is sparsein the desert and semi-arid regions of northern and central Mexico but grades intotropical forest in the southern portions of the country and temperateforests in the interior plateaus. 7. LANGUAGES: Official and predominantlanguage is Spanish; there remain about 50 indigenous languages anddialects. 8. RELIGIONS: Roman Catholic, 90 percent or more;Protestant, 2-3 percent ; ,Jewish, about 0.3 percent. 9. EDUCATION: Literacy rate in 1968 was72 percent. There are 275 institutions of higher learning withabout 133,400 full-time students. 10. HEALTH: Major causes of death in1961 were influenza and pneumonia: gastritis, enteritis, and relateddiseases; accidents; and heart disease. vii 11. CLIMATE: Three basic climatic regions: the arid north; the tropical lowlands of the east, south, and west coasts; the temperate and cool tropical uplands of the central zone and parts of the interior south. 12. JUSTICE : The principal legal origins are in the Roman civil law, with some other influences; embodied in Constitution of 1917 and Penal Code of 1931. Federal judiciary consists of supreme court, circuit courts, and district courts; there are state supreme courts and municipal courts as well. 13. ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS: 29 states, 2 territories, and the Federal District. 14. ECONOMY: Mixed industrial-commercial and agricultural. In 1967, industry comprised 36.6 percent of gross domestic.product (GDP) ; commerce and finance, 26 percent ; sm.% ices, 17.5 percent ; agri- culture, 15.8 percent; transportation and communication, 4.1 percent. About half of the work focce was engaged in agriculture, 22.3 percent in industry, 13.6 percent in services, 10.6 percent in commerce and finance, and 4.1 percent in transportation and communication. 15. EXPO RTS : Accomiid for 9.1 percent of 1967 GDP. 'Agricul- tural products (principy cotton, corn, sugar, coffee) comprised 40.0 percent of total exports;