As you see yourself, I once saw myself; as you see me now, you will be seen.
      Mexican Proverb

MEXICO WORLD'S MOST POPULOUS SPANISH COUNTRY

 México is the most populous Spanish-
speaking country in the world. According to the latest statistics, México's total population is over 99 million. Mestizos, of Indian and Spanish blood), make up 60% of the population, followed by indigenous peoples  (30%), whites (9%), and other ethnic minorities  (1%).
Carnaval in Mazatlan

Visitors and locals scream, sing, shout and dance amid confetti and ribbons. Bands of all kinds play the infectious rhythms of the State of Sinaloa. And the food–oh, the food–camarones (shrimp) prepared in every way possible, washed down with ice cold Pacifico beer, for it’s Carnaval Time, Mazatlán’s biggest pachanga (fiesta). 
                     Read more

Updated
March 12, 2006
 
THE ROLLERCOASTER RIDE OF MEXICAN POLITICS
by Bob Brooke

Continued...

Government talks with the EZLN to end the armed uprising brought both groups together to sign the Agreement of San Andreas Larraonzar, although the partial accords that were reached haven’t been implemented. Following the massacre of 45 indigenous people in Acteal, Chiapas in December 1997, tensions in the state increased and pressures for a negotiated settlement were renewed. Draft legislation to change the Mexican Constitution's provisions on indigenous rights has been introduced in the Mexican Congress.

Mexican Politics Today
 A flurry of public scandals followed in 1995 regarding supposed attempts at obstruction of justice and allegations of major corruption in police, judicial, military, and other authorities, as well as big business, including allegations of ties to narcotics trafficking. The atmosphere of scandal around former President Carlos Salinas has turned him into something of an arch-villain in the popular mind.

A new group of uncertain origin and size, the Popular Revolutionary Army (EPR), made its appearance in southern Mexico on June 28, 1996. The government considers the EPR a terrorist organization and has vowed to bring the group to justice. After a period of inactivity following mid-term elections in July 1997, the EPR has, in the summer of 1998, again begun engaging in small-scale actions in the southern state of Guerrero.

Vicente Fox Quesada, PAN’s presidential candidate, and the current president of Mexico, is a 58-year-old entrepreneur who worked for the Coca-Cola Company and was a federal deputy and governor of his native state of Guanajuato, in the heartland of Mexico.

In addition to the two major political parties, Mexico also has the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), Mexican Green Ecologist Party (PVEM), and the Social Democratic Party (PDS). In addition, the country has some very influential pressure groups, including the Roman Catholic Church, Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM), Confederation of Industrial Chambers (CONCAMIN), Confederation of National Chambers of Commerce (CONCANACO), National Peasant Confederation (CNC), Revolutionary Confederation of Workers and Peasants (CROC), Regional Confederation of Mexican Workers (CROM), Confederation of Employers of the Mexican Republic (COPARMEX), and the National Chamber of Transformation Industries (CANACINTRA).

All of these political parties and groups in their own way have helped to shape the politics of Mexico’s relatively recent past and will continue to do so into the future.

To read more articles by Bob Brooke, please visit his Web site.

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