Mexico

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Mexico
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Flag of Mexico
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Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and to the east by the Gulf of Mexico. Mexico covers 1,972,550 square kilometers (761,610 sq mi), making it the world's 13th-largest country by area; with approximately 126,014,024 inhabitants, it is the 10th-most-populous country and has the most Spanish-speakers. Mexico is organized as a federation comprising 31 states and Mexico City, its capital and largest metropolis. Other major urban areas include Guadalajara, Monterrey, Puebla, Toluca, Tijuana, Ciudad Juárez, and León.

Pre-Columbian Mexico traces its origins to 8,000 BC and is identified as one of the six cradles of civilization; it was home to many advanced Mesoamerican civilizations, most notably the Maya and the Aztecs. In 1521, the Spanish Empire conquered and colonized the region from its base in Mexico City, establishing the colony of New Spain. The Catholic Church played an important role in spreading Christianity and the Spanish language, while also preserving some indigenous elements. Native populations were subjugated and heavily exploited to mine rich deposits of precious metals, which contributed to Spain's status as a major world power for the next three centuries, and to a massive influx of wealth and a price revolution in Western Europe. Over time, a distinct Mexican identity formed, based on a fusion of European and indigenous customs; this contributed to the successful Mexican War of Independence against Spain in 1821.

Mexico's early history as a nation-state was marked by political and socio-economic upheaval. The Texas Revolution and the Mexican–American War in the mid 19th century led to huge territorial losses to the United States. Liberal reforms were enshrined in the Constitution of 1857, which sought to integrate indigenous communities and curtail the power of the church and the military. This triggered an internal war of Reform and intervention by France, in which conservatives installed Maximilian Habsburg as emperor against the Republican resistance led by Benito Juárez. The last decades of the 19th century were marked by the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz, who sought to modernize Mexico and restore order. The Porfiriato era ended in 1910 with the decade-long Mexican civil war, which killed approximately 10% of the population and after which the victorious Constitutionalist faction drafted a new 1917 Constitution, which remains in effect to this day. The revolutionary generals ruled as a succession of presidents until the assassination of Alvaro Obregón in 1928. This led to the formation of the Institutional Revolutionary Party the following year, which governed Mexico until 2000.

There is no official national language but Spanish is the de facto national language.

Spanking in Mexico

The Aztecs would punish disobedient children by making them inhale smoke, sustaining them on a blaze in which they threw spicy peppers. See also this illustration.

The Aztecs had various methods of corporal punishment, some which were quite different from those in the rest of the world, such as the "smoke punishment" (see image to the right).

The Spaniards invaded Mexico in the 16th century and made the country a part of the Spanish Empire. They introduced European corporal punishment methods. Today's Mexican culture is a blend of pre-Hispanic and Spanish culture.

Mexican parents can be tough on their kids; they believe children should be well-behaved, and in general, they believe in corporal punishment. Spanking is widespread and often given bare bottom (a nalga pelona). Mexican immigrants to the U.S. often complain that U.S. laws don't permit them to discipline their kids as sternly as they did in Mexico.[1].

Mexican spanking art

Mexican spanking artists include El Manto Negro and Oscar.

References

More information is available at [ Wikipedia:Mexico ]

External links

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