When we hear discussions or read articles about drug wars, killings, and illegal immigration into the United States, many of us immediately think of Mexico. As a nation, Mexico is a much greater country than these commonly referred to issues. Mexico is a country with a broad history, deep family culture, and an economy fueled by oil and tourism. The United States Department of State (USDS) offers a broad range of information on countries outside the US, including Mexico. I found a wealth of information about Mexico through the USDS Background Note provided on their website located at www.state.gov. I will outline for you the key information found in this report, and others, related to the Mexican economy, culture, and more.
The economy of Mexico is vastly diverse, much like that of the United States. Mexico has many different sources of economic revenue including tourism, oil, agriculture, and the automobile industry. The USDS website reports the percentage breakdown of Mexico’s gross domestic product (GDP), with the largest portion (61%) coming from the service sector. The site defines the service sector as commerce and tourism, financial services, transportation and communications. In 2010, Mexico attracted 21.3 million tourists, making it the 10th most visited destination in the world. The remaining portion of GDP is broken down between industry and agriculture. Industry accounts for (31%) of GDP and is defined as a combination of food and beverage, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, and others. The remaining 5% of GDP comes from agriculture, with the top three crops being corn, wheat, and soybeans. Mexico also has a variety of natural resources including petroleum, silver, copper, and gold, which is included under...
... middle of paper ...
...rce in the globalized economy.
Works Cited
United States Department of State. (2011). Background Note: Mexico. Retrieved from : http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/35749.htm
Geert Hofstede, Culture’s Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions, and Organizations Across Nations. Second Edition, Thousand Oaks CA: Sage Publications, 2001
Geert Hofstede, Gert Jan Hofstede and Michael Minkov, Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind. Revised and Expanded 3rd Edition. McGraw-Hill 2010.
Unknown. Unknown. Remittances. Dictionary.com. Retrieved from: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/remittances?s=t
Kehoe, Timothy J. (November 2010). Why Economic Reforms Have Not Generated Economic Growth in Mexico. Kim J. Ruhl Department of Economics, NYU Stern School of Business. Retrieved from http://www.kimjruhl.com/storage/data/KehoeRuhlJEL.pdf
Kurian, George Thomas, ed. "Mexico: Economy." World Geography and Culture Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 13 May 2014. .
Mexico is country rich in history, tradition and culture; it is made up of 31 states and one federal district. It is the third largest country in Latin America and has the largest population with more than 100 million people; making it the home of more Spanish speakers than any other nation in the world. Many of Mexico’s rural areas are still inhabited by native people whose lifestyles mirror their ancestors. In addition, many pre-Columbian ruins still exist throughout Mexico, including the ancient city of Teotihuacán and the Mayan pyramids at Chichén, Itz, and Tulum. Throughout this article the basic life that an average person in Mexico goes through will be described. Also there will be deep detail on five major aspects that mold and describe Mexico. The first major topic is Tradition, culture, and identity where holidays, food, traditions, and religion are a day to day thing. Next is sports and recreation with baseball, Charreria, bullfighting, and soccer. Another main role for Mexico is there education. Through education there are many ups and downs throughout the educational system. Their overall rate of passing and grades is surprisingly high but the bumps and bruises come in when funds are mentioned. Public safety is main concern for the Mexican government. Law and Criminality causes major unrest and is very common in Mexico. The drug war is also a big factor that affects the health of natives which brings me to my last topic. Disease and Health is one of the BIGGEST concerns for Mexico. The main reason is because their high disease rate. With a high disease rate, many people die a day from things that could be prevented.
It has a free-market economy that has a combination of traditional and modern agriculture and industry (Miller, 2015). The economy is also interesting being dominated by the private sector due to the welcoming conditions that are favorable to investors. State protectionist policies and regulation were the norm before the 1980s. However, privatization, internationalization, and deregulation have occurred which has improved the economy (Gallo, 2016). The number of parastatals has also decreased, from a high of 1000 in 1982 to less than 200 by 1998. Economic restructuring was also backed by international and national groups in responding to the financial and economic crises that were occurring in the late twentieth century.
Hofstede, G. (1980). Culture's Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.
Mexico politics take framework of presidential representative whose government that is based on congressional system. The country has the president as head of both state and government, and multi-party system. The government represents Mexico and divided by three branches that are: executive, legislative and judicial. Currently the president of Mexico is Enrique Pena Nieto that is trying to transform Mexico for a better future. The paper, New Internationalist, expressed doubt because he comes from the Inst...
Mexico is the top trading nation in Latin America and the ninth-largest economy in the world. No country has signed more free trade agreements – 33 in all, including the two biggest markets in the world, the US and the EU. Altogether these signatory countries make up a preferential market of over more than billion consumers. Much of the FDI in Mexico is attracted by the country’s strategic location within the North American Free Trade Agreement, which has positioned it as a springboard to the US and Canada. Other attractions are competitive production costs and a young, skilled workforce, together with political stability and an open economy.
Money for both countries are completely different. Mexican money is called Pesos. At this moment a pesos is worth about six cents in American money. The money that is earned over in Mexico from a forty hour week job, compared to an eight hour job in the United States, is about earn the same as the minimum wage of an Illinoian. So that means that a Mexican is working forty hours just to earn about sixty-six dollars. The United States reference to their currency dollar bills. A dollar in Mexico is about sixteen pesos. Even though a dollar might not get much of value here it has a great value in Mexico which can go very far in the aspect of living a decent live.
...ad a monopoly within the country in the TV broadcasting field. Now there are new broadcasting group and many foreign satellite and cable operators. Mexico new aged technology has now made them ranked 12th in the world with 32 million users of the internet. Mexico’s Weather Analysis
Mexico is boarded by the United States of America, Belize and Guatemala. Mexico has a very diverse landscape of mountains, plateaus, deserts, tropical jungles, and even beautiful Palm beaches. With its diverse climate, Mexico also has a diverse population of plants. In desert areas, the most common plants that are found include cac...
The modernization of Mexico brought oppression to Mexico’s poor and riches to the Elite class. Diaz looked to the U.S. as a template of what he wanted to create for Mexico. What set Mexico and the U.S. apart was the Diaz tried to modernize Mexico without all of its citizens having the same objective. Diaz’s first action was to open up the country to foreign investment to develop Mexico’s vast resources, from the U.S. and other European countries. The U.S. had invested highly in mines and the oil reserves of Mexico, France set up large textile factories, and even the Germans had set up drug and Hardware industries in Mexico.[3] Diaz had established an economic boom by allowing foreign countries to develop Mexico. The economic boom brought the country to now have rail roads and silver...
According to Geert Hofstede (1983, p. 76), culture can be explained as the ‘collective programming of the mind’ and it influences how people think and how they act in different situations. This distinguishes members of one group or category from another. He argued that people are mentally programmed and that it influences the lifestyles, attitudes and norms of people and their belonging in particular groups (Hofstede 1983, p. 76). Another definition of culture is that it explains the different way in which people of different populations perceive values, norms, attitudes and roles in society. By gaining an understanding of the differences that separates a culture from another and gaining knowledge on how cultures operate on a daily basis, conflicts and misunderstandings can easily be avoided (He & Liu 2010, p. 2).
Geert Hofstede performed the most lauded research on The Dimensions of Culture theory. His findings and the model that he created were outlined in his 1980 book “Cultures Consequences.” The work was met with both acclaim and disregard from fellow academics. Hofstede’s work is generally quoted and cited without any hesitation even today and his model is still widely used the main guideline for dealing with human resources from a cultural perspective.
O'Neill, Shannon K. "Mexico: Development and Democracy at a Crossroads." A Markets and Democracy Brief. Council on Foreign Relations, Feb. 2011. Web. 9 Jan. 2014.
To be given an opportunity to do business in Mexico, one must understand where to start and how to deal with a totally different social and cultural environment from what one is accustomed to. To succeed in making a good first impression and to carry out any type of business transaction, it is important to understand what these differences are.
Gorodnichenko, Y. and Roland, G. (2011, December 27). Individualism, innovation, and long-run growth. PNAS, (Vol): 104, suppl. 4. Retrieved from http://www.pnas.org/content/108/Supplement_4/21316.full.pdf