About Mexico
Mexico is a nation where affluence, poverty, natural splendor 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.
Overview
Facts
Media
Leaders
Overview Mexico 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.
The Mexican economy is heavily dependent on the money sent home by
the millions of migrant workers in the US, and so it has been hit hard by
the downturn in its neighbor’s economy.
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.
facts
Full name: United Mexican States
Population: 109.6 million (UN, 2009)
Capital: Mexico City
Area: 1.96 million sq km (758,449 sq miles)
Major language: Spanish
Major religion: Christianity
Life expectancy: 74 years (men), 79 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 $9,980 (World Bank, 2008)
Internet domain: .mx
International dialling code: +52
Media
Excelsior - established daily
La Jornada - daily
Reforma - influential daily
El Universal - established Mexico City daily
El Sol de Mexico - daily
El Financiero - business daily
Siempre! - political weekly
Proceso - political weekly
Television
Televisa - Mexico's TV giant, operates four networks and has
many local affiliates
TV Azteca - main competitor of Televisa, operates two networks
and local stations
Once TV - Canal 11 - public, educational, cultural
Television Metropolitana - Canal 22 - government-owned cultural
network
Radio
Grupo ACIR - has stations in Mexico City and across the country
MVS Radio - operates in the capital and elsewhere
Nucleo Radio Mil - operates several medium wave (AM) and FM
stations in Mexico City
Grupo Radio Centro - operates large network of stations
W Radio - news, talk network; part of Televise group
Instituto Mexicano de la Radio (IMER) - state-run, operates
domestic services and external service
News agencies
Notimex - state-run
El Universal - private
International relations
Mexico has good relations with the US and Canada, its partners in the
North American Free Trade Agreement Mexico has an active presence
in the main international organizations where the UK has been an
important actor. As a founding member of the United Nations, Mexico
has remained a strong advocate of multilateralism. It served on the UN
Security Council in 1946, 1980-81, and 2002-03, and is currently on the
UNSC for the term, 2009-10. Mexico provided the first Chairman of the
new Human Rights Council, is the only Latin American member of the
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD),
and is playing an important role in the current WTO’s Doha
Development Agenda negotiations (NAFTA) (1994) –which created the
world’s largest free trade area, linking 439 million people producing
$15.3 trillion worth of goods and services annually. Mexico and UK
enjoy very good relations. President Calderón and Senora Zavala
accepted an invitation from HM The Queen for an official State Visit to
the UK in March 2009. Previously, Calderon and five of his Cabinet
Ministers visited the UK in January 2007, meeting the Prime Minister,
the Chancellor and the Foreign Secretary.
TRADE AND INVESTMENT
Trade and Investment with the UK
Mexico is the UK’s second largest export market in Latin America. UK
exports of goods to Mexico amounted to around £720 million in 2009.
Principal exports include automotive components, pharmaceuticals,
power generating machinery and equipment. Goods imports from
Mexico in 2009 amounted to approximately £700 million.
A Double Taxation Agreement (DTA) between UK and Mexico was
signed in 1994. A UK/Mexico Investment Promotion and Protection
Agreement (IPPA) were ratified in 2007. The EU/Mexico Free Trade
Association Agreement has eliminated all tariffs on EU-origin industrial
goods.
UK Trade and Investment is the Government organization that helps UK
based companies succeed in international markets and assists overseas
companies to bring high quality investment to the UK economy.
