Mexico
Estados Unidos Mexicanos
Mexico's History
Around about 1500 BC the Olmec people were living in small villages in Mexico. About 300 years later, the Maya built on the accomplishments of the Olmec. The Maya built large cities in Mexico and Central America, around AD 250 through AD 900. No one really found out exactly why the Maya civilization collapsed sometime after 900. After that, the Aztecs moved to central Mexico from the north. Around 1325 they built their capital and other smaller cities.
Later on Europeans came with a Spanish leader, and they had things the Aztecs had never seen before. The Aztecs were weakened by diseases that the Europeans brought and so they were defeated. In 1521 Hernan Cortes claimed the Aztec land for Spain.
Mexico's Culture
To the left is a picture of sugar skulls that Mexicans make to celebrate Day of the Dead.
Mexico's Government
Mexico's Economy
Mexico is a developing country. It has struggles with unemployment, debts to foreign banks, and inflation. In 1994, there was an agreement that made trade easier for Mexico, the United States, and Canada. It is called the North AMerican Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Agriculture is a big part of the Mexican economy, even though just 12 percent of its land can actually grow crops. So Mexicans use the land to grow cash crops, which are sold to the US. ALthough Mexicans do farming, a lot of Mexicans work in the mining, oil, and manufacturing industries.
One other important part of Mexico's economy is tourism. Old colonial cities and Maya and Aztec buildings attract many tourists. Some popular coastal cities that are filled with with tourists are Cancun and Acapulco.