Conventional Long Form Name of country-United Mexican States
Capital City(ies) (some have multiple)-Mexico City
Type of Government-federal republic
Date of Independence-16 September 1810 (declared); 27 September 1821 (recognized by Spain)
National Holiday(s): include date &event/celebration-Independence Day, 16 September (1810)
Chief of State (official public face of government)-President Enrique PENA NIETO
Head of Government (actual leader of government)-President Enrique PENA NIETO
Description of Executive Branch/Powers-president elected by popular vote for a single six-year term; election last held on 1 July 2012 (next to be held in July 2018)/Cabinet appointed by the president; note - appointment of attorney general, the head of the Bank of Mexico, and senior treasury officials require consent of the Senate
Description of Legislative Branch/Powers--bicameral National Congress or Congreso de la Union consists of the Senate or Camara de Senadores (128 seats; 96 members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms, and 32 seats allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (500 seats; 300 members are elected by popular vote; remaining 200 members are allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote; members to serve three-year terms)/Senate - last held on 1 July 2012 for all of the seats (next to be held on 1 July 2018); Chamber of Deputies - last held on 1 July 2012 (next to be held on 5 July 2015)
Description of Judicial Branch/Powers-Supreme Court of Justice or Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nacion (consists of the chief justice and 11 justices and organized into civil, criminal, administrative, and labor panels) and the Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary (organized into the superior court, with 7 judges including the court president and 5 regional courts, each with 3 judges)/Supreme Court justices nominated by the president of the republic and approved by two-thirds vote of the members present in the Senate; justices serve for life; Electoral Tribunal superior and regional court judges nominated by the Supreme Court and elected by two-thirds vote of members present in the Senate; superior court president elected from among its members to hold office for a single-renewable 4-year term; other judges of the superior and regional courts serve staggered, single-renewable 9-year terms/federal level includes circuit, collegiate, and unitary courts; state and district level courts
Suffrage (who is allowed to vote)-18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Name of THEIR Ambassador to the U.S.-Ambassador Eduardo MEDINA MORA Icaza
Location of THEIR embassy in the U.S.-1911 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20006
Location(s) of THEIR consulate(s) in the U.S.- Albuquerque, Boise (ID), Brownsville (TX), Calexico (CA), Del Rio (TX), Detroit, Douglas (AZ), Eagle Pass (TX), Fresno (CA), Indianapolis (IN), Kansas City (MO), Las Vegas (NV), Little Rock (AR), McAllen (TX), New Orleans, Omaha (NE), Orlando (FL), Oxnard (CA), Philadelphia, Portland (OR), Presidio (TX), Raleigh (NC), Salt Lake City, San Bernardino (CA), Santa Ana (CA), Seattle, Tucson (AZ), Yuma (AZ)
Name of U.S. Ambassador- Ambassador Earl Anthony WAYNE
Location of U.S. embassy- Paseo de la Reforma 305, Colonia Cuauhtemoc, 06500 Mexico, Distrito Federal
Location(s) of U.S. consulate(s)-Ciudad Juarez, Guadalajara, Hermosillo, Matamoros, Merida, Monterrey, Nogales, Nuevo Laredo, Tijuana
Name of THEIR representative to UN-Jorge MONTANO Martinez
Description of the Symbolism of flag-
three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and red; Mexico's coat of arms (an eagle with a snake in its beak perched on a cactus) is centered in the white band; green signifies hope, joy, and love; white represents peace and honesty; red stands for hardiness, bravery, strength, and valor; the coat of arms is derived from a legend that the wandering Aztec people were to settle at a location where they would see an eagle on a cactus eating a snake; the city they founded, Tenochtitlan, is now Mexico City
National Anthem-"Himno Nacional Mexicano" (National Anthem of Mexico)
National Symbol(s)-golden eagle
Descriptions of International Disputes-abundant rainfall in recent years along much of the Mexico-US border region has ameliorated periodically strained water-sharing arrangements; the US has intensified security measures to monitor and control legal and illegal personnel, transport, and commodities across its border with Mexico; Mexico must deal with thousands of impoverished Guatemalans and other Central Americans who cross the porous border looking for work in Mexico and the United States; Belize and Mexico are working to solve minor border demarcation discrepancies arising from inaccuracies in the 1898 border treaty
Quantity of refugees inside country and country(ies) of origin of refugees-N/A
Quantity of Internally Displaced Persons-160,000
Quantity of Stateless Persons- 7
Description of current human trafficking- N/A
issues related to this country- N/A
Description of Illicit Drug trafficking/use-major drug-producing and transit nation; world's second largest opium poppy cultivator; opium poppy cultivation in 2009 rose 31% over 2008 to 19,500 hectares yielding a potential production of 50 metric tons of pure heroin, or 125 metric tons of "black tar" heroin, the dominant form of Mexican heroin in the western United States; marijuana cultivation increased 45% to 17,500 hectares in 2009; government conducts the largest independent illicit-crop eradication program in the world; continues as the primary transshipment country for US-bound cocaine from South America, with an estimated 95% of annual cocaine movements toward the US stopping in Mexico; major drug syndicates control the majority of drug trafficking throughout the country; producer and distributor of ecstasy; significant money-laundering center; major supplier of heroin and largest foreign supplier of marijuana and methamphetamine to the US market (2007)
Capital City(ies) (some have multiple)-Mexico City
Type of Government-federal republic
Date of Independence-16 September 1810 (declared); 27 September 1821 (recognized by Spain)
National Holiday(s): include date &event/celebration-Independence Day, 16 September (1810)
Chief of State (official public face of government)-President Enrique PENA NIETO
Head of Government (actual leader of government)-President Enrique PENA NIETO
Description of Executive Branch/Powers-president elected by popular vote for a single six-year term; election last held on 1 July 2012 (next to be held in July 2018)/Cabinet appointed by the president; note - appointment of attorney general, the head of the Bank of Mexico, and senior treasury officials require consent of the Senate
Description of Legislative Branch/Powers--bicameral National Congress or Congreso de la Union consists of the Senate or Camara de Senadores (128 seats; 96 members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms, and 32 seats allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (500 seats; 300 members are elected by popular vote; remaining 200 members are allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote; members to serve three-year terms)/Senate - last held on 1 July 2012 for all of the seats (next to be held on 1 July 2018); Chamber of Deputies - last held on 1 July 2012 (next to be held on 5 July 2015)
Description of Judicial Branch/Powers-Supreme Court of Justice or Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nacion (consists of the chief justice and 11 justices and organized into civil, criminal, administrative, and labor panels) and the Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary (organized into the superior court, with 7 judges including the court president and 5 regional courts, each with 3 judges)/Supreme Court justices nominated by the president of the republic and approved by two-thirds vote of the members present in the Senate; justices serve for life; Electoral Tribunal superior and regional court judges nominated by the Supreme Court and elected by two-thirds vote of members present in the Senate; superior court president elected from among its members to hold office for a single-renewable 4-year term; other judges of the superior and regional courts serve staggered, single-renewable 9-year terms/federal level includes circuit, collegiate, and unitary courts; state and district level courts
Suffrage (who is allowed to vote)-18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Name of THEIR Ambassador to the U.S.-Ambassador Eduardo MEDINA MORA Icaza
Location of THEIR embassy in the U.S.-1911 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20006
Location(s) of THEIR consulate(s) in the U.S.- Albuquerque, Boise (ID), Brownsville (TX), Calexico (CA), Del Rio (TX), Detroit, Douglas (AZ), Eagle Pass (TX), Fresno (CA), Indianapolis (IN), Kansas City (MO), Las Vegas (NV), Little Rock (AR), McAllen (TX), New Orleans, Omaha (NE), Orlando (FL), Oxnard (CA), Philadelphia, Portland (OR), Presidio (TX), Raleigh (NC), Salt Lake City, San Bernardino (CA), Santa Ana (CA), Seattle, Tucson (AZ), Yuma (AZ)
Name of U.S. Ambassador- Ambassador Earl Anthony WAYNE
Location of U.S. embassy- Paseo de la Reforma 305, Colonia Cuauhtemoc, 06500 Mexico, Distrito Federal
Location(s) of U.S. consulate(s)-Ciudad Juarez, Guadalajara, Hermosillo, Matamoros, Merida, Monterrey, Nogales, Nuevo Laredo, Tijuana
Name of THEIR representative to UN-Jorge MONTANO Martinez
Description of the Symbolism of flag-
three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and red; Mexico's coat of arms (an eagle with a snake in its beak perched on a cactus) is centered in the white band; green signifies hope, joy, and love; white represents peace and honesty; red stands for hardiness, bravery, strength, and valor; the coat of arms is derived from a legend that the wandering Aztec people were to settle at a location where they would see an eagle on a cactus eating a snake; the city they founded, Tenochtitlan, is now Mexico City
National Anthem-"Himno Nacional Mexicano" (National Anthem of Mexico)
National Symbol(s)-golden eagle
Descriptions of International Disputes-abundant rainfall in recent years along much of the Mexico-US border region has ameliorated periodically strained water-sharing arrangements; the US has intensified security measures to monitor and control legal and illegal personnel, transport, and commodities across its border with Mexico; Mexico must deal with thousands of impoverished Guatemalans and other Central Americans who cross the porous border looking for work in Mexico and the United States; Belize and Mexico are working to solve minor border demarcation discrepancies arising from inaccuracies in the 1898 border treaty
Quantity of refugees inside country and country(ies) of origin of refugees-N/A
Quantity of Internally Displaced Persons-160,000
Quantity of Stateless Persons- 7
Description of current human trafficking- N/A
issues related to this country- N/A
Description of Illicit Drug trafficking/use-major drug-producing and transit nation; world's second largest opium poppy cultivator; opium poppy cultivation in 2009 rose 31% over 2008 to 19,500 hectares yielding a potential production of 50 metric tons of pure heroin, or 125 metric tons of "black tar" heroin, the dominant form of Mexican heroin in the western United States; marijuana cultivation increased 45% to 17,500 hectares in 2009; government conducts the largest independent illicit-crop eradication program in the world; continues as the primary transshipment country for US-bound cocaine from South America, with an estimated 95% of annual cocaine movements toward the US stopping in Mexico; major drug syndicates control the majority of drug trafficking throughout the country; producer and distributor of ecstasy; significant money-laundering center; major supplier of heroin and largest foreign supplier of marijuana and methamphetamine to the US market (2007)