Mexico
officially United Mexican States
The Rio Grande forms part of its northeastern border with the U.S. Area: 758,449 sq mi (1,964,375 sq km). Population (2002 est.): 100,976,000. Capital: Mexico City. About three-fifths of Mexico's people are mestizos, one-third are American Indians, and the rest are of European ancestry. Languages: Spanish (official); more than 50 Indian languages are spoken. Religion: Roman Catholicism. Currency: Mexican peso. Mexico has two major peninsulas, the Yucatán in the southeast and Baja California in the northwest. The high Mexican Plateau forms the core of the country and is enclosed by mountain ranges: the Sierra Madre Occidental, the Sierra Madre Oriental, and the Cordillera Neo-Volcánica. The last has the country's highest peak, the volcano Citlaltépetl, which reaches 18,406 ft (5,610 m). Mexico has a mixed economy based on agriculture, manufacturing, and the extraction of petroleum and natural gas. About one-eighth of the land is arable; major crops include corn, wheat, rice, beans, coffee, cotton, fruits, and vegetables. Mexico is the world's largest producer of silver, bismuth, and celestite. It has significant reserves of oil and natural gas. Manufactures include processed foods, chemicals, transport vehicles, and electrical machinery. It is a republic with two legislative houses; its head of state and government is the president. Inhabited for more than 20,000 years, the area produced great civilizations in AD 100–900, including the Olmec, Toltec, Maya, and Aztec. The Aztecs were conquered in 1521 by Spanish explorer Hernán Cortés, who established Mexico City on the site of the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlán. Francisco de Montejo conquered the remnants of Maya civilization in 1526, and Mexico became part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain. In 1821 rebels negotiated independence from Spain, and in 1823 a new congress declared Mexico a republic. In 1845 the U.S. voted to annex Texas, initiating the Mexican War. Under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, Mexico ceded a vast territory in what is now the western and southwestern U.S. The Mexican government endured several rebellions and civil wars in the late 19th and early 20th centuries (see Mexican Revolution). During World War II (1939–45) it declared war on the Axis Powers, and in the postwar era it was a founding member of the United Nations (1945) and the Organization of American States (1948). In 1993 it ratified the North American Free Trade Agreement. The election of Vicente Fox to the presidency (2000) ended 71 years of rule by the Institutional Revolutionary Party.
墨西哥
正式名称墨西哥合众国。
位于北美洲南部。东北部的格兰德河与美国为界。面积：1,958,201平方千米。人口：约99,969,000(2001)。首都：墨西哥城。约3/5的墨西哥人口是梅斯蒂索，1/3为印第安人，其余为欧洲人后裔。语言：西班牙语(官方语言)；逾50种印第安语。宗教：天主教。货币：墨西哥比索。墨西哥有两个半岛，东南方的尤卡坦半岛和西北方的下加利福尼亚半岛。墨西哥高原形成该国的核心地区，四周被山岭环抱：西马德雷山脉、东马德雷山脉和科迪勒拉新火山，后者有该国最高峰锡特拉尔特佩特火山。墨西哥的混合经济以农业、制造业和石油开采为主。约1/8的土地是可耕地，主要作物有玉米、小麦、稻米、豆类、棉花、水果和蔬菜。为世界最大银、铋、天青石产国，而其原油储量占世界第七位。制造业包括食品加工、化工、运输车辆和电动机械。墨西哥为***和国，两院制。国家元首暨政府首脑是总统。该地区在2万多年前就有人定居。公元100～900年出现许多伟大的文明，包括奥尔梅克文化、托尔特克人、马雅人和阿兹特克人诸文化。1521年西班牙探险家科尔特斯征服了阿兹特克人。在阿兹特克人的首都特诺奇蒂特兰的位置上建起了墨西哥城。1526年F.德蒙特霍征服了马雅人居住的其他地方，墨西哥成为新西班牙总督辖区的一部分。1821年造反者通过谈判脱离西班牙而独立，1823年新国会宣布墨西哥为***和国。1845年美国通过投票决定兼并得克萨斯，引发了墨西哥战争。根据1848年的《瓜达卢佩伊达尔戈和约》，墨西哥割让了大片领土，即如今美国的西部和西南部。19世纪末和20世纪初，墨西哥政府承受了数次叛乱和内战(参阅墨西哥革命[Mexican Revolution])。第二次世界大战期间，墨西哥向轴心国宣战(1942)。战后，它是联合国(1945)和美洲国家组织(1948)的创始国。1993年批准了《北美自由贸易协议》。2000年V.福克斯赢得大选，结束了革命制度党长达71年的统治。