Mexico

Mexico is a nation where affluence, poverty, natural splendour and urban blight rub shoulders.

Its politics were dominated for 70 years by the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI. But elections in 1997 saw a resurgent opposition break what was in effect a one-party system with a democratic facade.

Elections in 2000 confirmed the trend when Vicente Fox became the first president to come from the opposition.

Mexico has the second-largest economy in Latin America and is a major oil producer and exporter. Though production has fallen in the last few years, about one-third of government revenue still comes from the industry. Much of the crude is bought by the US.

But prosperity remains a dream for many Mexicans, and the socio-economic gap remains wide. Rural areas are often neglected and huge shanty towns ring the cities.

Many poor Mexicans try to cross the 3,000-km border with the US in search of a job, and more than a million are arrested every year.

Mexico was home to numerous ancient American civilisations

Economic recovery

The Mexican economy is heavily dependent on the money sent home by the millions of migrant workers in the US, and was hit hard by the downturn in its neighbour's economy in the wake of the credit crunch of 2008.

On a more positive note, Mexico has recently been emerging from its deepest economic slump since the 1930s, with foreign companies pouring billions of dollars of fresh investment into the country. Foreign direct investment climbed nearly 30 per cent in the first six months of 2010 from a year earlier.

Violent crime though remains a major concern; Mexico has one of the highest rates of kidnappings in the world, and some 28,000 people have died in drugs-related violence since 2006.

Powerful cartels control the trafficking of drugs from South America to the US, a business that is worth an estimated $13bn (?9bn) a year.

Mexico's northern border towns are experiencing the worst of the violence. Ciudad Juarez (just across from El Paso in Texas) is the city suffering the most. There are also high levels of violence in Michoacan and Guerrero states.

However, Mexico is a large country, and there are still many areas which do not experience high levels of serious crime. The overall murder rate is lower than several other countries in the region, including El Salvador and Honduras.

Native rights

Another persistent issue has been the pressure for greater rights for Mexico's indigenous people. A law passed in 2001 fell short of giving Mexico's Indians political autonomy.

However, demands for indigenous rights have been largely peaceful since 1994, when at least 150 people died during an uprising in the southern state of Chiapas, led by the Zapatista rebel movement.

Writers such as Octavio Paz and Carlos Fuentes, the mural-painter Diego Rivera, and popular ranchero and mariachi music mean that Mexican culture is known throughout the Spanish-speaking world and beyond.

Full name: United Mexican States Population: 110.6 million (UN, 2010) Capital: Mexico City Area: 1.96 million sq km (758,449 sq miles) Major language: Spanish Major religion: Christianity Life expectancy: 75 years (men), 80 years (women) (UN) Monetary unit: 1 peso = 100 centavos Main exports: Machinery and transport equipment, mineral fuels and lubricants, food and live animals GNI per capita: US $8,920 (World Bank, 2009) Internet domain: .mx International dialling code: +52

President: Felipe Calderon

Felipe Calderon, from the governing, conservative National Action Party, was declared winner of the bitterly-fought July 2006 presidential election with a lead of less than a percentage point over his left-wing rival, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

Mr Calderon's term has been marked by a rise in drug-related violence

His win was confirmed after weeks of legal wrangling and street protests.

One of the defining features of his presidency has been his war on drugs.

More than 28,000 people died in drug violence in the four years after he began his campaign, which involved launching an army assault on drug gangs.

He insists his fight against drug cartels is working.

Mr Calderon has also pledged to tackle tax evasion, corruption and poverty. He has promised to create jobs, in an effort to stem outward migration, and to pursue major infrastructure projects, including roads, airports, bridges and dams.

However, Mexico's economy was hard hit by the 2008 downturn in global demand, pushing down the president's approval ratings.

In the 2009 mid-term elections, voters punished Mr Calderon and his National Action Party by making the formerly all-powerful Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) the biggest force in the Chamber of Deputies.

Born in 1962, in Morelia in Michoacan state, he is married and has three children. A lawyer and an economist by profession, he resigned as energy minister in 2004 to pursue his presidential ambitions.

His predecessor, Vicente Fox, took office in December 2000 and was unable by law to run in the 2006 poll.

Mexico's media were traditionally dominated by the Televisa group, which had firm links with the PRI. But the loosening of the PRI's hold led to greater editorial independence and the emergence of competitors.

Televisa once had a virtual monopoly in Mexican TV and it is still a major global supplier of programmes in Spanish. New players - such as the Azteca group and foreign satellite and cable operators - have mounted an assault on Televisa's dominance.

The radio market is very large, with around 1,400 local and regional stations and several major station-owning groups. Some high-powered stations on Mexico's northern border beam their signals into lucrative US markets.

Mexican newspapers reflect different political views; sensationalism characterises the biggest-selling dailies.

The media watchdog Reporters Without Borders said in 2008 that Mexico was the most deadly country in the Americas for journalists.

The press

Television

Radio

News agencies

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