Mexico
Human presence in Mexico dates back to at least 8,000 BC. The earliest stone tools found in the Valley of Mexico are chips dated to circa 10,000 years ago. This region became a cradle for the domestication of maize, tomato, and beans around 5000 BC. These agricultural surpluses allowed hunter-gatherers to form sedentary villages. The Olmec culture flourished on the Gulf Coast from around 1500 BC. Their cultural traits diffused into other societies across Chiapas, Oaxaca, and the Valley of Mexico. The Maya and Zapotec civilizations developed complex centers during the pre-classical period. They created the first true Mesoamerican writing systems. The Classic Maya Hieroglyphic script reached its height during this era. Teotihuacán rose as a military and commercial empire in Central Mexico. It held a population exceeding 150,000 people by 1 AD. Its pyramidal structures were among the largest in the pre-Columbian Americas. After 600 AD, political competition emerged between Xochicalco and Cholula. Nahua peoples moved southward to dominate central Mexico during the Epi-Classic period. The Aztec Empire established dominance based in Tenochtitlan before 1521.
Spanish colonization began in 1521 with an alliance that defeated the Aztec Empire. Hernán Cortés founded Veracruz in 1519 to launch the conquest. The capture of Tenochtitlan marked the start of a 300-year colonial era known as New Spain. Silver deposits discovered in north Mexico fueled the transoceanic economy. Two ports remained open for foreign trade: Veracruz on the Atlantic and Acapulco on the Pacific. Pirate attacks included the 1663 Sack of Campeche and the 1683 Attack on Veracruz. Napoleon's invasion of Spain in 1808 triggered upheaval across the Empire. Secular priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla declared against bad government in Dolores, Guanajuato. His Cry of Dolores occurred on the 16th of September 1810. Hidalgo and some soldiers were executed by firing squad in 1811. Agustín de Iturbide became regent after independence was achieved. He declared himself Emperor Agustín I from 1822 to 1823. The First Mexican Republic was established in 1824. Vicente Guerrero abolished slavery during his term from April to December 1829. General Antonio López de Santa Anna dominated politics for the next 25 years. The US invasion in 1846 resulted in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Mexico lost much of its northern territory under this agreement.
The Mexican Revolution began with uprisings against Porfirio Díaz after a fraudulent election in 1910. Díaz resigned in May 1911, allowing Francisco I. Madero to win the democratic election that fall. A military coup overthrew Madero in February 1913 with support from the United States. Federal Army General Victoriano Huerta murdered Madero. Woodrow Wilson refused to recognize Huerta's regime when he took office in March 1913. Venustiano Carranza led the Constitutional Army from Coahuila. Emiliano Zapata commanded a peasant army in the South. Alvaro Obregón defeated Pancho Villa at the Battle of Celaya in 1915. The Constitution of 1917 was ratified in February 1916 and empowered the government to expropriate land. The revolutionary war killed 900,000 out of Mexico's 15 million population. Plutarco Elías Calles founded the Institutional Revolutionary Party in 1929. This party held uninterrupted power until 2000. Lázaro Cárdenas nationalized the Mexican Eagle Petroleum Company in 1938. The Green Revolution began in the Yaqui Valley during the mid-20th century. The Tlatelolco Massacre occurred before the opening of the 1968 Summer Olympics. It killed between 300 and 800 protesters. Electoral fraud in the 1988 election allowed Carlos Salinas de Gortari to take office.
Mexico covers 1,972,550 square kilometers and is the thirteenth-largest country by land area. Its highest elevations are found along the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. Pico de Orizaba stands as the tallest mountain in the nation. The Sierra Madre Oriental and Occidental cross the country from north to south. The Yucatán Peninsula contains the Chicxulub crater linked to mass extinction events. Climate varies due to size and topography across nine distinct regions. Land north of the Tropic of Cancer experiences cooler winter temperatures. South of the Tropic, temperatures remain fairly constant year-round. Mexico ranks fourth globally in biodiversity with over 200,000 species. It holds first place for reptiles with 707 known species. The country has second-highest mammal diversity with 438 species. About 2,500 species are protected under Mexican legislation. In 2002, deforestation rates were second only to Brazil. Protected Natural Areas include 34 biosphere reserves and 67 national parks. Maize, tomato, beans, chocolate, vanilla, avocado, and guava originated here. Tequila production relies on cultivated agave cacti.
The Institutional Revolutionary Party held hegemonic power until Vicente Fox won the 2000 election. Fox became the first president not from the PRI since 1929. Felipe Calderón from the PAN party won the 2006 presidential election by a narrow margin of 0.6%. Enrique Peña Nieto returned the PRI to power in 2012 with around 38% of the vote. Andrés Manuel López Obrador founded the National Regeneration Movement party after 2012. He won the 2018 election with over 50% support. Claudia Sheinbaum won the 2024 presidential election in a landslide victory. She was sworn in as president on the 1st of October 2024. The Supreme Court of Justice elected its nine members for single twelve-year terms starting in 2025. Mexico operates under a federal republic system established by the Constitution of 1917. The Congress of the Union comprises the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. The Chamber has 500 deputies elected through plurality and proportional representation. The Senate includes 128 senators representing each state equally. Three dominant parties have shaped modern politics: the PRI, PAN, and PRD. The National Regeneration Movement has governed since 2018.
Mexico holds the thirteenth-largest economy by purchasing power parity at US$3.4 trillion. Its GDP per capita reached US$26,000 as of April 2025. The country produces the most automobiles of any North American nation. General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Volkswagen, and Nissan operate plants within Mexican borders. Kia opened a one billion dollar factory in Nuevo León in 2016. Electronics exports to the United States totaled seventy-one billion dollars in 2011. Remittances from citizens working abroad topped other foreign income sources after 2021. Poverty rates rose from 19% to 46% between 2006 and 2010. CONEVAL reported a decrease to 36% between 2018 and 2022. Extreme poverty increased slightly to seven percent during that same period. Daily minimum wages were set at 248.93 pesos in 2024. The World Bank ranked Mexico second in Latin America for gross national income. The OECD notes Mexico has the second-highest inequality among its member countries. The bottom ten percent dispose of only 1.4% of resources while the top ten percent hold 36%. Budgeted expenses for poverty alleviation remain about one-third of the OECD average.
Mexico's drug war began in 2006 and has caused over 127,000 deaths. Approximately 37,000 people are listed as missing since 2007. One hundred thousand individuals are officially recorded as disappeared as of May 2022. The mass kidnapping of forty-three students occurred in Iguala on the 26th of September 2014. More than one hundred journalists have been killed or disappeared since 2000. Most crimes against media workers remained unsolved with few arrests made. The National Guard formed in 2019 from disbanded Federal Police units. It numbers roughly 110,000 personnel today. Serious abuses of power have been reported in security operations across southern regions. Enforced disappearances and femicide remain critical human rights violations. Hate crimes targeting the LGBT community persist despite anti-discrimination laws existing since 2003. Mexico fully recognized same-sex marriage in 2022. A 2020 BBC report indicated 10.7 million households contained at least one crime victim. Demonstrations held nationwide in August 2025 protested the disappearance of 130,000 people.
Continue Browsing
Common questions
When did human presence in Mexico begin?
Human presence in Mexico dates back to at least 8,000 BC. The earliest stone tools found in the Valley of Mexico are chips dated to circa 10,000 years ago.
What caused the Mexican Revolution to start?
The Mexican Revolution began with uprisings against Porfirio Díaz after a fraudulent election in 1910. Díaz resigned in May 1911, allowing Francisco I. Madero to win the democratic election that fall.
How large is the land area of Mexico?
Mexico covers 1,972,550 square kilometers and is the thirteenth-largest country by land area. Its highest elevations are found along the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt.
Who won the 2024 presidential election in Mexico?
Claudia Sheinbaum won the 2024 presidential election in a landslide victory. She was sworn in as president on the 1st of October 2024.
When did the drug war in Mexico begin and how many deaths have occurred?
Mexico's drug war began in 2006 and has caused over 127,000 deaths. Approximately 37,000 people are listed as missing since 2007.