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The Temple of Warriors at Chichen Itza, Mexico
The Temple of Warriors at Chichen Itza, Mexico

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Mexico
Location of Mexico
LocationSouthern portion of North America

Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundaries with the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Caribbean Sea to the southeast, and the Gulf of Mexico to the east. Mexico covers 1,972,550 km2 (761,610 sq mi), and is the thirteenth-largest country in the world by land area. With a population exceeding 130 million, Mexico is the tenth-most populous country in the world and is home to the largest number of native Spanish speakers. Mexico City is the capital and largest city, which ranks among the most populous metropolitan areas in the world.


Human presence in Mexico dates back to at least 8,000 BC. Mesoamerica, considered a cradle of civilization, was home to numerous advanced societies, including the Olmecs, Maya, Zapotecs, Teotihuacan civilization, and Purépecha. Spanish colonization began in 1521 with an alliance that defeated the Aztec Empire, establishing the colony of New Spain with its capital at Tenochtitlan (now Mexico City). New Spain became a major center of the transoceanic economy during the Age of Discovery, fueled by silver mining and its position as a hub between Europe and Asia. This gave rise to one of the largest multiracial populations in the world. The Peninsular War led to the 1810–1821 Mexican War of Independence, which ended Peninsular rule and led to the creation of the First Mexican Empire, which quickly collapsed into the short-lived First Mexican Republic. In 1848, Mexico lost nearly half its territory to the American invasion. Liberal reforms set in the Constitution of 1857 led to civil war and French intervention, culminating in the establishment of the Second Mexican Empire under Emperor Maximilian I of Austria, who was overthrown by Republican forces led by Benito Juárez. The late 19th century saw the long dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz, whose modernization policies came at the cost of severe social unrest. The 1910–1920 Mexican Revolution led to the overthrow of Díaz and the adoption of the 1917 Constitution. Mexico experienced rapid industrialization and economic growth in the 1940s–1970s, amidst electoral fraud, political repression, and economic crises. Unrest included the Tlatelolco massacre of 1968 and the Zapatista uprising in 1994. The late 20th century saw a shift towards neoliberalism, marked by the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1994. (Full article...)

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The Alamo, as drawn in 1854

The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event and military engagement in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alamo Mission near San Antonio de Béxar (modern-day San Antonio, Texas, United States). About one hundred Texians, wanting to defy Mexican law and maintain the institution of chattel slavery in their portion of Coahuila y Tejas by seeking secession from Mexico, were garrisoned at the mission at the time, with around a hundred subsequent reinforcements led by eventual Alamo co-commanders James Bowie and William B. Travis. On February 23, approximately 1,500 Mexicans marched into San Antonio de Béxar as the first step in a campaign to retake Texas. In the early morning hours of March 6, the Mexican Army advanced on the Alamo. After repelling two attacks, the Texians were unable to fend off a third attack. As Mexican soldiers scaled the walls, most of the Texian fighters withdrew into interior buildings. Those who were unable to reach these points were slain by the Mexican cavalry as they attempted to escape. Almost all of the Texian inhabitants were killed.

Several noncombatants were sent to Gonzales to spread word of the Texian defeat. The news sparked both a strong rush to join the Texian army and a panic, known as "The Runaway Scrape", in which the Texian army, most settlers, and the government of the new, self-proclaimed but officially unrecognized Republic of Texas fled eastward toward the U.S. ahead of the advancing Mexican Army. Santa Anna's execution of surrendering soldiers during the battle inspired many Texians and Tejanos to join the Texian Army. The Texians defeated the Mexican Army at the Battle of San Jacinto, on April 21, 1836, ending the conquering of the Mexican state of Coahuila y Tejas by the newly formed Republic of Texas. (Full article...)

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The Mexican Dirty War (Spanish: Guerra sucia) was the Mexican theater of the Cold War, an internal conflict from the 1960s to the 1980s between the Mexican Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI)-ruled government under the presidencies of Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, Luis Echeverría, and José López Portillo, which were backed by the U.S. government, and left-wing student and guerrilla groups. During the war, government forces carried out disappearances (estimated at 1,200), systematic torture, and "probable extrajudicial executions".

In the 1960s and 1970s, Mexico was persuaded to be part of both Operation Intercept and Operation Condor, developed between 1975 and 1978, with the pretext to fight against the cultivation of opium and marijuana in the "Golden Triangle", particularly in Sinaloa. The operation, commanded by General José Hernández Toledo, was a flop with no major drug-lord captures, but many abuses and acts of repression were committed. (Full article...)

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The Estadio Azteca hosted the match.

On 16 June 2001, Mexico played Costa Rica in a football match at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, Mexico on the fourth matchday of the final round in the qualification process for the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

Mexico and Costa Rica reached the matchday with four points, both losing as visitors against the United States. Arnoldo Rivera in La Nación described the match as "crucial" as lackluster results by both teams raised doubts prior to the match. The match ended in an unprecedented loss by Mexico. The Mexicans led 1–0 at half-time, with a header by José Manuel Abundis. Costa Rica then made a comeback in the second half, with goals by Rolando Fonseca and Hernán Medford, ending the match 1–2. (Full article...)

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Zapata in 1914

Emiliano Zapata Salazar (Latin American Spanish: [emiˈljano saˈpata]; 8 August 1879 – 10 April 1919) was a Mexican revolutionary. He was a leading figure in the Mexican Revolution of 1910–1920, the main leader of the people's revolution in the Mexican state of Morelos, and the inspiration of the agrarian movement called Zapatismo.

Zapata was born in the rural village of Anenecuilco, in an era when peasant communities came under increasing repression from the small-landowning class who monopolized land and water resources for sugarcane production with the support of dictator Porfirio Díaz (President from 1877 to 1880 and 1884 to 1911). Zapata early on participated in political movements against Díaz and the landowning hacendados, and when the Revolution broke out in 1910 he became a leader of the peasant revolt in Morelos. Cooperating with a number of other peasant leaders, he formed the Liberation Army of the South, of which he soon became the undisputed leader. Zapata's forces contributed to the fall of Díaz, defeating the Federal Army in the Battle of Cuautla in May 1911, but when the revolutionary leader Francisco I. Madero became president he disavowed the role of the Zapatistas, denouncing them as mere bandits. (Full article...)

In the news

9 June 2025 –
The U.S. Treasury Department imposes sanctions on Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar and his brother Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar, El Chapo's sons who are believed to be in Mexico and leading factions of the Sinaloa Cartel. (AP)
5 June 2025 – Mexico–United States relations, Gun law in the United States
The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously blocks a 10-billion dollar lawsuit by the Mexican government against large American firearms manufacturers alleging their failure to prevent firearms sales to drug cartels and other criminal organisations due to a lack of evidence that the companies allow such transactions. (Al Jazeera) (AP) (Politico)
3 June 2025 –
A bus crash kills eleven people and injures 17 others in Hualahuises, Nuevo León, Mexico. (Reuters)
1 June 2025 –
Twelve people are killed and several others are injured in a fire at a drug rehabilitation center in San José Iturbide, Guanajuato, Mexico. The cause is still under investigation. (Barron's) (Infobae)
1 June 2025 – 2025 Mexican judicial elections
Nationwide elections are held to elect over 2,700 members of the Mexican judiciary branch in the first ever judicial election in the country's history. (Reuters)
1 June 2025 – 2025 CONCACAF Champions Cup
Cruz Azul defeat the Vancouver Whitecaps 5–0 in the final of the CONCACAF Champions Cup at the Olympic University Stadium in Mexico City. (USA Today), (France 24)

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In the United States, Mexican Coca-Cola, or Mexican Coke (Spanish: Coca Cola de Vidrio, Glass Coca-Cola, or Coca-Cola in a glass bottle) or, informally, "Mexicoke", refers to Coca-Cola produced in and imported from Mexico. The Mexican formula that is exported into the U.S. is sweetened with white sugar instead of the high-fructose corn syrup used in the American formula since the early 1980s. Some tasters have said that Mexican Coca-Cola tastes better, while other blind tasting tests reported no perceptible differences in flavor.

Mexican Coke is the drink's nickname, and it is separate from the domestic version of Coca-Cola sold in Mexico, which since 2017 may contain the artificial sweetener sucralose, with a can containing one-third less sugar than the export product. (Full article...)

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