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Mexico

 
     
    • Names: 
     
        conventional long form: 
        United Mexican States 
     
        conventional short form: 
        Mexico 
     
        local long form: 
        Estados Unidos Mexicanos 
     
        local short form: 
        Mexico 
     
    • Digraph: 
      MX 
     
    • Type: 
      federal republic operating under a centralized government 
     
    • Capital: 
      Mexico 
     
    • Administrative divisions: 
      31 states (estados, singular - estado) and 1 federal district* (distrito federal); Aguascalientes, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Colima, Distrito Federal*, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Mexico, Michoacan de Ocampo, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro de Arteaga, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz-Llave, Yucatan, Zacatecas 
     
    • Independence: 
      16 September 1810 (from Spain) 
     
    • National holiday: 
      Independence Day, 16 September (1810) 
     
    • Constitution: 
      5 February 1917 
     
    • Legal system: 
      mixture of US constitutional theory and civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations 
     
    • Suffrage: 
      18 years of age; universal and compulsory (but not enforced) 
     
    • Executive branch: 
     
        chief of state and head of government: 
        President Ernesto ZEDILLO Ponce de Leon (since 1 December 1994); election last held on 21 August 1994 (next to be held NA); results - Ernesto ZEDILLO Ponce de Leon (PRI) 50.18%, Cuauhtemoc CARDENAS Solorzano (PRD) 17.08%, Diego FERNANDEZ de Cevallos (PAN) 26.69%; other 6.049% 
     
        Cabinet; appointed by the president 
     
    • Legislative branch: 
      bicameral National Congress (Congreso de la Union) 
     
        Senate (Camara de Senadores): 
     
        Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados): 
         
    • Women's Share of Seats in Parliament:

      • 8% (1997 est.)
       
    • Judicial branch: 
      Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justicia) 
     
    • Political parties and leaders: 
      (recognized parties) Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), Maria de los Angeles MORENO; National Action Party (PAN), Carlos CASTILLO; Popular Socialist Party (PPS), Indalecio SAYAGO Herrera; Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), Porfirio MUNOZ Ledo; Cardenist Front for the National Reconstruction Party (PFCRN), Rafael AGUILAR Talamantes; Authentic Party of the Mexican Revolution (PARM), Rosa Maria MARTINEZ Denagri; Democratic Forum Party (PFD), Pablo Emilio MADERO; Mexican Green Ecologist Party (PVEM), Jorge GONZALEZ Torres 
     
    • Other political or pressure groups: 
      Roman Catholic Church; Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM); Confederation of Industrial Chambers (CONCAMIN); Confederation of National Chambers of Commerce (CONCANACO); National Peasant Confederation (CNC); Revolutionary Workers Party (PRT); Revolutionary Confederation of Workers and Peasants (CROC); Regional Confederation of Mexican Workers (CROM); Confederation of Employers of the Mexican Republic (COPARMEX); National Chamber of Transformation Industries (CANACINTRA); Coordinator for Foreign Trade Business Organizations (COECE); Federation of Unions Providing Goods and Services (FESEBES) 
     
    • Member of: 
      AG (observer), APEC, BCIE, CARICOM (observer), CCC, CDB, CG, EBRD, ECLAC, FAO, G- 6, G-11, G-15, G-19, G-24, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM (observer), OAS, OECD, ONUSAL, OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO 
     
    • Diplomatic representation in US: 
     
        chief of mission: 
        Ambassador Jesus SILVA HERZOG Flores 
     
        chancery: 
        1911 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20006 
     
        telephone: 
        [1] (202) 728-1600 
     
        consulate(s) general: 
        Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, El Paso, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico) 
     
        consulate(s): 
        Albuquerque, Austin, Boston, Brownsville (Texas), Calexico (California), Corpus Christi, Del Rio (Texas), Detroit, Eagle Pass (Texas), Fresno (California), Loredo, McAllen (Texas), Midland (Texas), Nogales (Arizona), Oxnard (California), Philadelphia, Phoenix, Sacramento, St. Louis, Salt Lake City, San Bernardino, San Jose, Santa Ana, Seattle 
     
    • US diplomatic representation: 
     
        chief of mission: 
        Ambassador James R. JONES 
     
        embassy: 
        Paseo de la Reforma 305, Colonia Cuauhtemoc, 06500 Mexico, Distrito Federal 
     
        mailing address: 
        P. O. Box 3087, Laredo, TX 78044-3087 
     
        telephone: 
        [52] (5) 211-0042 
     
        FAX: 
        [52] (5) 511-9980, 208-3373 
     
        consulate(s) general: 
        Ciudad Juarez, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Tijuana 
     
        consulate(s): 
        Hermosillo, Matamoros, Merida, Nuevo Laredo 
     
    • Flag: 
      three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and red; the coat of arms (an eagle perched on a cactus with a snake in its beak) is centered in the white band 
       
    • National Anthem (Realaudio File)