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| Sample Syllabus | ||||||||||||||||||||
Culture and Community in Central Mexico Lydia Hartman, M.Ed. Course Description: This is a hands-on two week course in the city of Tapalpa , Mexico . Tapalpa is a town of 5,000 people at about 2,700 feet altitude. Since it is a small town it is extremely safe and students can get to know the layout of the town easily. Students may register for 3 credits at the University of North Texas . This is a multi-disciplinary course providing students with a supervised cross-cultural field experience in Mexico . There will be required readings on topics to complement class lectures and discussions. The course objective is to provide students with knowledge and relevant experience in a foreign culture, to understand Mexican culture and community issues and to bridge language and cultural gaps. The course will also provide a meaningful service learning experience working on local community projects coordinated by the instructor and local city officials. This experience provides 60 hours of supervised volunteer experience with a local service agency or agencies. Text Material: Distant Neighbors: A Portrait of the Mexicans. Author: Alan Riding. New York : Vintage, 1989. Selections The US and Mexico. Author: Jeffery Davidow. Princeton , Markus Weiner Publishers, 2004. Selections Vest Pocket Spanish, Institute for Language Study or a Spanish/English dictionary. Requirements: Participation in all classes and group activities; completion of individual and group projects as assigned (may include: micro-analysis of a neighborhood problem, notes from interviews with local residents, etc.); development of a paper based on your experience in Tapalpa. This paper will be based on your classroom and community experiences in Tapalpa. A daily journal of field notes from the service-learning experience that includes observations (what did you see); analysis (what does it mean); and personal reflections (how does it feel as it is bounced off your lifetime experiences and world view). These notes can be used in the paper that is developed for the course. Topic Outline: Areas will have more depth then 2 week version 1. Cross-cultural Issues and the Ethics and Problems of Living and Working in Another Culture 2. Multi-disciplinary Perspectives on Understanding Contemporary Central Mexico
3. Understanding family, politics, environmental issues, and health issues in a Mexican context 4. Non-Profit Agencies 5. Spanish conversation TYPICAL FOUR WEEK AGENDA
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| Contact Information |
For information call (940) 891-6814 (leave a message) or send an e-mail to: LHartman@scs.unt.edu |
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| Guadalajara - Universities |
In 1585, the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) received authorization to establish itself in Guadalajara . Five years later the Jesuits founded the Colegio de Santo Tomas Aquino, but it was not until 1688 that they had a permanent building for their school. From here, generations of missionaries departed, proselytizing up and down the Pacific coast until 1767, when the King expelled the Jesuits from all Spanish dominions and the school was closed. On November 18, 1791 , in place of the Jesuit school, King Charles IV ordered the Real y Literaria Universidad de Guadalajara founded. During the War of Independence and the Revolution, the school was dissolved and reopened several times, and it was not until 1937 that the school took its present name the Universidad de Guadalajara. During the same period, characterized by ideological clashes and sometimes intense street fighting, a group of students and teachers separated themselves from the U de G and created the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara. The latter institution remains a separate, private university, supported by student tuition and institutional grants. The U de G is a state and federally supported institution. From 1914-1918, David Alfaro Siqueiros and a group of other young Tapatío artists formed an artistic circle that became the Centro Bohemio. Later the group turned its attention toward public and monumental art with a popular base, focussed on supporting class struggle. The group dissolved in the very revolution that it supported, but in 1924, Siqueiros returned to Guadalajara along with Amado de la Cueva to paint the main hall of the University. On the walls that were once the Church of Santo Tomás Aquino , the artists painted murals in honor of workers, campesinos, miners, and proletarians, with red stars and intoning an Aztec ascendence. The building later fell into possession of Telégrafos Nacionales. In 1936, José Clemente Orozco executed a mural in the central hall of the university rectory. Representations of a humanist and a technician perhaps allude to professional choices for university students. A five faced man represents the plurality of university life. In the background, a proletarian mob surrounded by fire confronts its leaders. |
| Guadalajara - The Industrial Area |
The Industrial Area of Guadalajara is located to the south of the city based around easy railroad access and sufficient water and power to sustain industry. The area has developed only since the 1950s. Earlier, the city's economy was based predominantly on primary sector, and light artisan work. Advances in agriculture in the 1930s generated more demand for finished consumer goods, and at the same time, brought down the cost of raw materials for industry. Some of the leading manufacturers in Guadalajara are Cervecería Moctezuma, Industria Mexicana Borroughs, Conductores Guadalajara, Swecomex, Mexalit, Concreto y Precolados, Almidones mexicanos, Válvulas Senkowski, and Sánchez and Martín. |
| Guadalajara - The Church of Jesús María |
The Church of Jesús María , which belonged to the convent of the same name, was also initially a Jesuit project. The Jesuit Feliciano Pimentel, who also founded Santa Mónica, began its construction planning a girls school. However in 1754, it was converted into a convent. Do Z a Isabel de Espinosa originally financed its construction for Carmelites who had arrived from Europe forty years earlier, but by the time construction finally ended, only one of the original sisters was still alive. Like other churches of its period and style, it features two lateral entrances (doric in this case), with triple reliefs above the entablature. Over one entrance the Holy Family appears in relief; above the other, Saint Dominic and Saint Francis stand on either sides of the Virgen. |
| Guadalajara - The Temple of San Felipe Neri |
The Temple of San Felipe Neri a block away from the Church of Santa Mónica , marks an abrupt break with the traditional style represented in Santa Mónica, and a rejection of traditional buttressing. Begun in 1766 by Pedro Ciprés, the church adopted the churrigueresque form of support, but returned, as construction continued, to more classical, tripartite columns, with carved bases--characteristic of the early baroque style in Jalisco. |
| Guadalajara - The Church of Santa Mónica |
The Church of Santa Mónica is a stylistic bridge between the facade of San Francisco --where simplicity and clarity typify the Salmanca style--and the exuberance of the popular baroque in Jalisco. Finished in 1733, it has a twin portico divided vertically by a wide entablature. Here, builders engraved symbols of the Agustinian order, to whose rules the convent was subject by orders of King Philip V. The lower half of the decorative space features helicoid columns with vines and bunches of grapes, representing the blood of Christ. The doorjambs, spandrels, and open spaces are covered in floral reliefs. The second level exterior features more relieved floral work, with “grecas” (a stepfret design), and ribbons that wrap around the corner of the building. In one corner, Saint Christopher serves as a caryatid--typical of Tapatío architecture. |
| Guadalajara - Alcalde Park |
Since 1960 this park--a triumph of urban renewal--has rivaled Agua Azul as a favorite recreational spot for Tapatios. In the late 1950s, the architect Alberto Arousety took charge of the 150,000 square meter space, installing a fountain, an amphitheater, a lake and recreational areas. Five blocks from the park stands a statue of Antonio Alcalde in front of one of his most important works as Mayor: the Santuario of Guadalupe (Sanctuary of Guadalupe). Constructed in 1777, the church is similar architecturally to the cathedral with the thick, molded buttresses that gird the facade and a tile surfaced dome. At the beginning of the 17th century, the Jesuit Feliciano Pimentel moved to Guadalajara to form a convent, bringing some of his spiritual daughters with him. At first they lived in a private house to which prospective sisters gradually gathered from the south. In 1718, they finally received permission to found a convent and construction began almost at once on their sumptuous retreat. |
| Guadalajara - The Cemetery of Santa Paula |
Annexed to Hospital Civil--one of the oldest, and historically most important institutions in the city--rests the cemetery of Santa Paula . The cemetery occupies a square half-block which Manuel Gomez Ibarra designed between 1848 and 1850, laying out long arcades. An ionic colonnade with garlands and volutes adorns the facade where the dead are laid to rest in mausoleums. Trees dominate the open space featuring monuments carved by Jacogo Gálvez and Manuel Gómez Ibarra. |
| Guadalajara - The Area of San Juan de Dios |
The Mercado Libertad opened in 1958, and is now one of the principal commercial centers in the city. In its galleries, patios and plazas, vendors peddle almost everything imaginable: prepared food, groceries, clothes, footwear, fabric, leather, flowers, pets and even medicinal herbs. The market connects via footbridge to what remains of the monastery of San Juan de Dios: an arcade that belonged to the cloister and church, the church facade, and a sculpture of Saint Eduwiges, carved by Agustín Espinosa in 1928. Nearby, the plaza de toros (bullring) El Progreso--built in the middle of the 19th century--and the plaza de Los Aariachis--famed for mariachi music and drinks--are favorite nightlife spots for Tapatios (the people of Guadalajara). |
| Guadalajara - The Area of San Francisco |
In 1542, brother Francisco de Segovia moved with his fellow brothers to Analco, on the bank of the San Juan de Dios river. However, it was not until the end of the 17th century that the brotherhood built a substantial church including a single nave, a spire, vaulting, a dome, buttresses and a relieved facade. Over centuries, modifications gradually destroyed the original design until a fire consumed it in 1936. Reconstruction continued for many years after the blaze until in 1970 an original arcade was rediscovered and added to the structure. The refurbished structure now houses the only surviving gilded altar pieces in the city. |
| Guadalajara - The Plaza Juárez |
The Plaza Juárez completes the area formed by Agua Azul park, the Casa de Cultura Jalisciense and the Pabellón de Arqueología. The Casa de Cultura Jalisciense--the first of its kind in the country--features galleries, exhibition rooms, an auditorium, and offices housing ten scientific and literary societies. The state library, annexed to the Casa de Cultura, features a painting interpreting “Prometheus” by José Servín, and a Gabriel Flores mural dealing with the printing industry and canon of poetry of Jalisco. The Pabellón de Arqueología completes the plaza, housing and exhibiting works rescued from illegal trafficking in prehispanic relics. It specializes in ceramic works from Western Mexico --Nayarit, Jalisco and Colima--but it also contains some noteworthy exceptions: Rodin's The Thinker, and the only prehispanic gold and silver pieces discovered in Jalisco. In the pavilion's garden, the remains of a colonnade replaced in the Hospicio Caba Z as in 1958 rest among tabachines, poinsettia and jacaranda.
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| Guadalajara - The Government Palace |
The Government Palace is today the seat of the State Government and houses the State Governor's personal offices. Construction began on The Government Palace--formerly Casas Reales--in 1643 according to plans by Juan Francisco Espino and finished in 1790. The purely formal baroque work--although symbolic of the false appearances and trappings of civil authority--is ridiculed by José Clemente Orozco in a mural on the dome of the Hospicio Caba Z as. Apart from the Latin inscription that runs the length of the facade, only the canons --serving as water spouts--and military breastplate reliefs invoke civil authority. Above the principal staircase in the palace, Orozco also executed a mural of Hidalgo in monumental form. The patriot stands waving a torch, inspired and threatening, above a mass of people victim to injustice and violence. Juxtaposed with the spirit of liberty dominating the work, Orozco depicts on one side sinister forces--militarism and clericalism--and on the other the political circus, or carnival of the ideologies. In what was the old dome, repaired in 1872 by Governor Vallarta and converted into the meeting place for Congress, the same artist executed “El Cura de Dolores,” (The Priest from Dolores) this time represented as a legislator and liberator of slaves. |
| Guadalajara - Santa María de Gracia Convent |
Santa María de Gracia was the first convent established in Guadalajara , settling in 1590 in its present day location. Of the original structures, which at one point occupied six square blocks, only the church and what is today the Palace of Justice remain. The temple has no spires, but has a dome, twin doric porticos, and a sacristy with ribbed vaulting. Inside hang four canvases by Antonio Enríquez from the second half of the 18th century, with scenes from the life of Saint Dominic. |
| Guadalajara - The Museum of Guadalajara |
The Museum opened in its present site in 1918. Since 1701 the building had lodged successively, the Seminary of Saint Joseph, barracks, and a boys' high school. The museum's painting collection is the prize of the institution, featuring works by many of Mexico 's greatest painters. A section of the building also contains a public library, founded in 1861 to house the books of the recently abolished convents and monasteries. The library opened to the public in 1874 with 20 thousand volumes; today it has over 300,000. Among the most valuable works in the library are the Latin Comedies of Plauto, printed in Venice in 1518, instructions by S. M., written in Mexico City in the House of Pedro Ocharte in 1563, and a eulogy to Faterh Antonion Alcalde, edited by Mariano Valdes Tellez Girón in 1793. |
| Guadalajara - The City Center (Downtown) |
The city center is most noted for its plazas radiating in four directions from the cathedral. The Plaza del Ayuntamiento (west side of the cathedral)--also called the Plaza of the Laurels for the reliefs that adorn it--contains a fountain commemorating the founding of the city. Here, the municipal coat of arms, executed in bronze, rests on a marble pillar bordered by scallop shells. The Plaza de Armas (south side of the cathedral), pays homage to the seats of spiritual and temporal power. In the middle of the Plaza stands a kiosk/bandstand constructed towards the end of the 19th century and supported by wrought iron caryatids. On Thursdays and Sundays at sunset, the state band takes the stage for free, open air concerts under the direction of Arturo Xavier González. The Plaza de Lieración (east side of the cathedral) remembers Miguel Hidalgo; there present in bronze and represented in the two acts for which he is most famous: initiating the revolution and abolishing slavery. This, the largest of the four plazas, with two fountains, grassy areas and flowering trees, also serves to unify the surrounding buildings architecturally with its neutral color sandstone. The Plaza de Hombres Ilustres (north side of the cathedral) pays tribute to Jalisco's most distinguished sons. In the middle lies a rotunda constructed eighteen years ago to hold the remains of Jalisco's great. Before that time, the plaza exhibited statues and sculptures sponsored by the Governor Agustín Ya Z ez. Thus, the four plazas invoke the city itself, the powers that govern it, the heroic deeds of its past and the spirit of its dead. |
| Guadalajara - Geographic Position |
Early attempts to locate the city geographically were crude. In 1741, the historian Matías Angel de la Mota Padilla determined the city's longitude at 267 degrees, which--equivalent to 93 degrees by the Greenwich standard--places the city in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico . Towards the end of the 18th century, upon publication of the works of Francisco Díaz Covarrubias, more precise methods for fixing geographical coordinates became more widely circulated. In December 1880, Angel Anguiano set up his instruments (on the roof of what is today the State Museum ) and obtained an average measure of 20 degrees 40'45" latitude, which, at 16'15" difference from Mexico City , gives a corresponding longitude of 103 degrees 20'15". These figures are very close to those used today. |
| Guadalajara - Introduction |
Guadalajara (from Arabic wad-al-hidjara, river of the stones), is the capital of the State of Jalisco and seat of the greater municipality of Guadalajara . According to projections from the 1990 census, it has just over 5 million inhabitants, which represents about 40% of the total population of Jalisco. It is also the commercial hub of Western Mexico . |
| Jalisco State | ||
| Information | Lake Chapala | Ajijic |
| Tapalpa | Tequila | Guadalajara |
| Tapalpa |
Click here to see a map of Tapalpa Though there is a village-like feel around the plaza, with its 18th-century wooden portales and two impressive churches, this is actually a fair-sized place, and messy development on the outskirts reflects rapid growth. The best walks are out on the road towards Chiquilistlán (signed as you enter Tapalpa). Here you rapidly escape into a pine forest, passing a romantically ruined fabrica--an old water-driven paper mill--and climbing towards a gorgeous valley of upland pasture, studded with wild flowers and with huge boulders that look as if they've been dropped from the sky. There's good walking in almost any direction from Tapalpa, in fact, and plenty of wildlife, especially birds, to spot; you can also hire horses--popular ride is to the local waterfall. Be warned that it is very cold in winter, and even the summer nights can get decidedly chilly. They brew their own tequila in the village; it is sold from the barrel in some of the older shops. |
| Ajijic |
Though just 6km west of Chapala , Ajijic has a completely different atmosphere. Undeniably picturesque, it's a smaller, quieter and more self-consciously arty place, with numerous little crafts shops--you get the distinct feeling that the ex-pats here resent the intrusion of outsiders, regarding themselves as writers or artists manqués, hoping to pick up some of the inspiration left behind by D. H. Lawrence and more recent residents like Ken Kesey. In truth, there's little evidence that Lawrence liked the place at all (though he may have disliked it less than he did the rest of the country), but then he can't have had much time to appreciate it, since in just eight weeks here he turned out an almost complete 100,000-word first draft of The Plumed Serpent (or Quetzalcoatl as it was then titled). |
| Information |
Separated from the country's colonial heartland by the peaks of the sierra madre, the semitropical state of Jalisco has an unhurried ease. Cursed by a complex landscape--now lofty plain, now rugged sierra--the area is, nevertheless, blessed with supreme fertility and is as beautiful and varied as any in Mexico , ranging from fresh pine woods and cool pastures to lush tropical forest. Jalisco stretches all the way to the coast, with resorts and beaches that vary from the sophistication of Puerto Vallarta to the simplicity of Playa Azúl: the coastal strip is covered elsewhere. Something of a backwater until well into the 18th century, the high valleys of Michoacán and Jalisco were left to develop their own strong regional traditions and solid agricultural economy: there's a wealth of local produce, both agricultural and traditionally manufactured, from avocados to tequila, and glassware to guitars. Relative isolation also made the region a bastion of conservatism--in the years following the Revolution the Catholic Cristero counter-revolutionary guerrilla movement enjoyed its strongest support here. Easy-going Guadalajara -- Mexico 's second largest city--is the area's best-known destination, packed with elegant buildings and surrounded by scenic country. Further afield the land spreads spectacularly green and mountainous, studded with volcanoes and lakes, including Lake Chapala , where D. H. Lawrence wrote The Plumed Serpent. Fiestas around here--and there are many--are among the most vital in Mexico , and there's a legacy of village handicrafts that survives from the earliest days of the Conquest. Jalisco is among the most serene states in the country--relaxing, easy to get about, and free of urban hassle. Add to this the fact that Jalisco is the home of mariachi and of tequila and you've got a region where you could easily spend a couple of weeks exploring without even beginning to see it all. |
| International Disputes |
Prolonged drought, population growth, and outmoded practices and infrastructure in the border region have strained water-sharing arrangements with the US Nationals from Central America slip into Mexico seeking work or transit into the US Undocumented Mexican nationals continue to enter the United States |
| Illicit Drugs |
Illicit cultivation of opium poppy (cultivation in 2001 - 4,400 hectares; potential heroin production - 7 metric tons) and of cannabis (in 2001 - 4,100 hectares) Government eradication efforts have been key in keeping illicit crop levels low Major supplier of heroin and largest foreign supplier of marijuana and methamphetamine to the US market Continues as the primary transshipment country for US-bound cocaine from South America, accounting for about 70 percent of estimated annual cocaine movement to the US Major drug syndicates control majority of drug trafficking throughout the country Producer and distributor of ecstasy; significant money-laundering center |
| Currency |
Mexican peso (MXN) Currency code: MXN Exchange rates: Mexican pesos per US dollar - 10.79 (2003), 9.66 (2002), 9.34 (2001), 9.46 (2000), 9.56 (1999) |
| Mexico - Transnational Issues click on a link and scroll down for information | |
| Illicit Drugs | |
| Imports |
$168.9 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.) Commodities: Metalworking machines, steel mill products, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment, car parts for assembly, repair parts for motor vehicles, aircraft, and aircraft parts Partners: US 63.2%, Japan 5.5%, China 3.7% (2002) |
| Industries |
Food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, tourism |
| Budget |
Revenues: $174 billion Expenditures: $176 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2004 est.) |
| Unemployment Rate |
3.3% plus underemployment of perhaps 25% (2003) |
| Labor Force |
41.5 million (2003) Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 18%, industry 24%, services 58% (2003) |
| Inflation Rate (Consumer Prices) |
4% (2003 est.) |
| Overview |
Mexico has a free market economy with a mixture of modern and outmoded industry and agriculture, increasingly dominated by the private sector. Recent administrations have expanded competition in seaports, railroads, telecommunications, electricity generation, natural gas distribution, and airports. Per capita income is one-fourth that of the US ; income distribution remains highly unequal. Trade with the US and Canada has tripled since the implementation of NAFTA in 1994. Real GDP growth was a weak -0.3% in 2001, 0.9% in 2002, and 1.2% in 2003, with the US slowdown the principal cause. Mexico implemented free trade agreements with Guatemala , Honduras , El Salvador , and the European Free Trade Area in 2001, putting more than 90% of trade under free trade agreements. The government is cognizant of the need to upgrade infrastructure, modernize the tax system and labor laws, and provide incentives to invest. |
| Political parties and Leaders |
Convergence for Democracy or CD [Dante DELGADO Ranauro]; Institutional Revolutionary Party or PRI [Roberto MADRAZO Pintado]; Mexican Green Ecological Party or PVEM [Jorge Emilio GONZALEZ Martinez ]; National Action Party or PAN [Luis Felipe BRAVO Mena]; Party of the Democratic Revolution or PRD [Leonel GODOY]; Workers Party or PT [Alberto ANAYA Gutierrez] |
| Mexico - Economy click on a link and scroll down for information | |||
| Inflation Rate | Labor Force | Unemployment | |
| Budget | Industries | Imports | Currency |
| Judicial Branch |
Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges are appointed by the president with consent of the Senate) |
| Legislative Branch |
Bicameral National Congress or Congreso de la Union consists of the Senate or Camara de Senadores (128 seats; 96 are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms, and 32 are allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote) and the Federal Chamber of Deputies or Camara Federal de Diputados (500 seats; 300 members are directly elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; remaining 200 members are allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote, also for three-year terms) Election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRI 60, PAN 46, PRD 16, PVEM 5, unassigned 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRI 222, PAN 151, PRD 95, PVEM 17, PT 6, CD 5, unassigned 4; note - special elections were held in December 2003; the PRI and the PRD each won one seat and were each assigned one additional proportional representation seat Elections: Senate - last held 2 July 2000 for all of the seats (next to be held NA 2006); Chamber of Deputies - last held 6 July 2003 (next to be held NA 2006) |
| Executive Branch |
Chief of state: President Vicente FOX Quesada (since 1 December 2000 ); Note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government Election results: Vicente FOX Quesada elected president; percent of vote - Vicente FOX Quesada (PAN) 42.52%, Francisco LABASTIDA Ochoa (PRI) 36.1%, Cuauhtemoc CARDENAS Solorzano (PRD) 16.64%, other 4.74% Elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 2 July 2000 (next to be held NA July 2006) Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president; note - appointment of attorney general requires consent of the Senate Head of Government: President Vicente FOX Quesada (since 1 December 2000 ); Note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government |
| Suffrage |
18 years of age; universal and compulsory (but not enforced) |
| Legal System |
Mixture of US constitutional theory and civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
| Constitution |
5 February 1917 |
| National Holiday |
Independence Day, 16 September (1810) |
| Independence |
16 September 1810 (from Spain ) |
| Administrative Divisions |
31 states (estados, singular - estado) and 1 federal district* (distrito federal); Aguascalientes, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Colima, Distrito Federal*, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Mexico, Michoacan de Ocampo, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro de Arteaga, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz-Llave, Yucatan, Zacatecas |
| Capital |
Mexico (Distrito Federal) |
| Government Type |
Federal Republic |
| Country Name |
Conventional long form: United Mexican States Conventional short form: Mexico Local short form: Mexico Local long form: Estados Unidos Mexicanos |
| Literacy |
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write Total population: 92.2% Male: 94% Female: 90.5% (2003 est.) |
| Mexico - Government click on a link and scroll down for information | |||
| Govt. Type | Capital | Independence | |
| Admin. Divisions | Constitution | National Holiday | Legal System |
| Suffrage | Executive Branch | Legislative Branch | Judicial Branch |
| Political Parties and Leaders | |||
| Languages |
Spanish, various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional indigenous languages |
| Religions |
Nominally Roman Catholic: 89% Protestant: 6% Other: 5% |
| Ethnic Groups |
Mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish): 60%, Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian: 30%, White: 9% Other: 1% |
| Nationality |
noun: Mexican(s) adjective: Mexican |
| HIV / AIDS |
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.3% (2001 est.) HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 150,000 (2001 est.) HIV/AIDS - deaths: 4,200 (2001 est.) |
| Total Fertility Rate |
2.49 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
| Life Expectancy at Birth |
Total population: 74.94 years Male: 72.18 years Female: 77.83 years (2004 est.) |
| Infant Mortality Rate |
Total: 21.69 deaths/1,000 live births Female: 19.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) Male: 23.63 deaths/1,000 live birth
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| Sex Ratio |
At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female Under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female Total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
| Net Migration Rate |
-4.87 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Birth / Death Rate |
Birth rate: 21.44 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) Death rate: 4.73 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Population Growth Rate |
1.18% (2004 est.) |
| Median Age |
Total: 24.6 years Male: 23.7 years Female: 25.5 years (2004 est.) |
| Age Structure |
0-14 years: 31.6% (male 16,913,290; female 16,228,552) 15-64 years: 62.9% (male 31,975,391; female 34,090,440) 65 years and over: 5.5% (male 2,618,713; female 3,133,208) (2004 est.) |
| Population |
104,959,594 (July 2004 est.) |
| Mexico - People click on a link and scroll down for information | |||
| Age Structure | Median Age | ||
| Population Growth | Net Migration | Birth / Death Rate | |
| Infant Mortality | Total Fertility | Sex Ratio | |
| Life Expectancy | HIV / AIDS | Nationality | |
| Religions | Languages | Literacy | |
| Environment - current issues |
Scarcity of hazardous waste disposal facilities; rural to urban migration; natural fresh water resources scarce and polluted in north, inaccessible and poor quality in center and extreme southeast; raw sewage and industrial effluents polluting rivers in urban areas; deforestation; widespread erosion; desertification; deteriorating agricultural lands; serious air and water pollution in the national capital and urban centers along US-Mexico border; land subsidence in Valley of Mexico caused by groundwater depletion Note: the government considers the lack of clean water and deforestation national security issues |
| Natural Hazards |
Tsunamis along the Pacific coast, volcanoes and destructive earthquakes in the center and south, and hurricanes on the Pacific, Gulf of Mexico , and Caribbean coasts |
| Irrigated Land |
65,000 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Land Use |
Arable land: 13.2% Permanent crops: 1.1% Other: 85.7% (1998 est.) |
| Natural Resources |
Petroleum, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber |
| Terrain |
High, rugged mountains; low coastal plains; high plateaus; desert |
| Land Boundaries |
Total: 4,353 km Border countries: Belize 250 km, Guatemala 962 km, US 3,141 km |
| Area |
Total: 1,972,550 sq km Land: 1,923,040 sq km Water: 49,510 sq km Area - comparative: slightly less than three times the size of Texas |
| Mexico - Information click on a link and scroll down for information | ||
| Area | Land Boundaries | |
| Terrain | Natural Resources | Land Use |
| Environment - Current Issues | Natural Hazards | |
| Background |
The site of advanced Amerindian civilizations, Mexico came under Spanish rule for three centuries before achieving independence early in the 19th century. A devaluation of the peso in late 1994 threw Mexico into economic turmoil, triggering the worst recession in over half a century. The nation continues to make an impressive recovery. Ongoing economic and social concerns include low real wages, underemployment for a large segment of the population, inequitable income distribution, and few advancement opportunities for the largely Amerindian population in the impoverished southern states. Elections held in July 2000 marked the first time since the 1910 Mexican Revolution that the opposition defeated the party in government, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). Vicente FOX of the National Action Party (PAN) was sworn in on 1 December 2000 as the first chief executive elected in free and fair elections. |
| Links |
The following links provide general and interesting information about Mexico. http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/north_america/mexico/ http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/mexico.html |
| Activities Available |
| Overnight camping trip in the mountains Overnight trip to Barra Navidad on the Pacific Ocean Day trips to Salto el Nogal (local waterfall and hiking) and Piedrotas (Gigantic geological formations near Tapalpa) Trip to Michochan Trip to Colima Rappelling, mountain climbing, horseback riding, tree canopy adventure, 4 wheel cycling |
| Field School Programs |
Culture and Community in Central Mexico -- Honors. May 17 -- May 25, $700 (plus tuition and transportation). 3 credits. For students in Honors College and students with a 3.5 GPA. For Program description see Sample Syllabus. Culture and Community in Central Mexico. July 2 --July 29, $1,100 (plus tuition and transportation). 3 credits. For Program description see Sample Syllabus. Special Semester long Internships available by request. |
| Field School Video |
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Please click on the above link to view a video introduction to Tapalpa, Mexico. You may also right-click on the link and save the video to your computer. Depending on the settings of your computer, you may need one of the below software to be installed in the computer in order to be able to view the video. The buttons below may be clicked to go to websites where you can obtain free downloads for the required software. |