Mexico Missions

Missionaries Serving:

Guillermo & Jennie Salinas

Capital

Mexico City (9,815,800, 1993 est.)

System of Government

Federal Multiparty Republic

Area

1,972,547 Sq Km (761,605 Sq Mi) (three times the size of Texas)

Estimated 2000 Population

105,146,900

Geography

Mexico is located in the southern region of the North American continent. It is bound by the U. S. to the north, the Gulf of California to the northwest, the Pacific Ocean to the west and southwest, Guatemala and Belize to the south as well as the Gulf of Mexico to the east. About 66% of the country is mountainous. The land rises steeply from the coastal plains to a central plateau bound by the Sierra Madre Mountains on the east and west. In the north the Sonoran Desert covers most of the region west of the mountains. Central Mexico consists of rolling hills, broad basins and valleys. The broad plains of the Yucatan Peninsula reach the Gulf of Mexico.

Climate

Mexico has a tropical and temperate climate depending on altitude, winds and cool Pacific Ocean currents. A tropical climate exists along the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula and in lower areas of southern Mexico. Areas with an elevation higher than 3,000 feet have a temperate climate. Most of Mexico is dry, and during summer and autumn both coasts are subject to hurricanes. Average temperature ranges in Mexico City are from 43 to 66 degrees Fahrenheit in January to 54 to 79 degrees Fahrenheit in May.

People

The majority of Mexicans are Mestizos, who account for 55% of the population and are of mixed AmerIndian and Spanish descent. The AmerIndians account for 29% of the population, while 15% of the population is divided between Whites, Chinese, a small number of Black Africans, and Mulattoes, who are of mixed Black and Spanish descent.

Vital Statistics

Life Expectancy at Birth: 66.5 years male, 73.1 years female (1990). Infant Mortality Rate: 46.6 per 1,000 live births (1988). HIV/AIDS Adult Prevalence Rate: 0.29% (1999 est.).

Religions

Most Mexicans are Christians, with 93% of the population Roman Catholic. Protestants and Jews. are religious minorities. Mexico has freedom of religion, and foreign missionaries have only recently received official recognition. Evangelical churches are growing at phenomenal rates. Ministry to Mexico’s young people is vital, since over 50% of the population is under 20 years of age.

Languages

The official language is Spanish which is spoken by the majority of the population, while 7% speak various AmerIndian languages only.

Historny

The site of advanced Amerindian civilizations, Mexico came under Spanish rule for three centuries before achieving independence in 1810. A revolution in 1910 to 1917 led to a federal democracy dominated by the Institutional Revolutionary Party, which ruled until the election of President Vicente Fox Quesada in December 2000. A devaluation of the peso in late 1994 threw Mexico into economic turmoil, triggering the worst recession in over half a century. There is currently a large degree of unrest, as the common people have grown weary of corruption and poverty.