Mexico is a federal republic with 31 states and one federal district. The country has a diverse range of ethnic and social groups and a varied terrain. Mexico was colonized in the 15th century for its natural resources, and the indigenous people suffered. In the early 1800s, Mexico fought for independence and established a government with executive, judicial, and legislative branches. The country has several major political parties, and in the late 20th century, it underwent many governmental reforms to fight corruption and promote a healthy economy.
Mexico has 31 states and one federal district, Mexico City, where the seat of the federal government and about one-fifth of the population are located. The country is considered a federal republic, with each state – from Baja in the north to Oaxaca in the south – having a separate state government answerable to the national government. The land covers a wide variety of terrains, from lowland deserts to mountainous rainforests, and the various states encompass a diverse range of ethnic and social groups.
The region of North America now known as Mexico has been inhabited by humans for over 4,000 years. In the 15th century and age of exploration, the West learned about the region and colonized it in an effort to control its vast natural resources, which included minerals, timber, and a variety of botanical discoveries such as tomatoes and corn. The conquest had tragic consequences for the indigenous peoples of North America, who found themselves subsumed by a highly stratified and deeply Catholic culture.
In the early 1800s, the country fought for independence and won, inspired by the efforts of other former colonies. The first century of independence, however, was marked by revolutions and infighting, with various factions vying for control, culminating in the 1917 drafting of the Constitution. Just like the United States, Mexico divides the country’s government into executive, judicial, and legislative branches in a system of checks and balances.
The states are divided into municipalities, which are governed by mayors. Mexican states also have legislatures, constitutions, and governors, and they function in a sense as independent entities that can enact and enforce their own laws. This model of government is familiar to American citizens, familiar with a system of decentralized states and a federal seat of government.
Mexico has several major active political parties, including the Institutional Revolutionary Party, the National Action Party, the Democratic Revolution Party, the Green Ecological Party, and the Labor Party. The Institutional Revolutionary Party controlled the government for 71 years until 2000, when Vicente Fox of the National Action Party was elected president for a non-renewable six-year term.
In the late 20th century, the country underwent many governmental reforms, including a restriction on the powers of the president, who had traditionally been the most powerful branch of government. It has also established laws and procedures to fight corruption at all levels of government, as well as to promote a healthy and sustainable economy. Most of the laws were enacted at the federal level, governing all states, while some Mexican states enacted more sweeping legislation aimed at ending government corruption and economic exploitation.
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