Political parties and leaders: (recognized parties) Institutional
Revolutionary Party (PRI), Santiago ONATE Laborde; 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; Democratic Forum Party
(PFD), Pablo Emilio MADERO; Mexican Green Ecologist Party (PVEM),
Jorge GONZALEZ Torres; Workers Party (PT), Alberto ANYA Gutierrez
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)
International organization participation: AG (observer), APEC,
BCIE, Caricom (observer), CCC, CDB, EBRD, ECLAC, FAO, G- 6, G-11,
G-15, G-19, G-24, 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,
OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNU, UPU, WCL,
WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
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, Phoenix, 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, 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
Economy ———-
Economic overview: Mexico has a free market economy with a mixture of modern and outmoded industry and agriculture, increasingly dominated by the private sector. Mexico entered 1996 on the heels of its worst recession since the 1930s. Economic activity contracted about 7% in 1995 in the aftermath of the peso devaluation in late 1994. Although Mexico City was able to correct imbalances in its external accounts, meet international payments obligations, and dramatically improve its trade balance in 1995, the domestic economy suffered harshly as the ZEDILLO administration stuck to a strict austerity program. The tight monetary and fiscal policies helped prevent spiraling inflation and kept government spending under control but drove interest rates to record heights, making it difficult for most Mexicans to service their debts. At the same time, consumers' reduced purchasing power made buying even necessities difficult for some. Many small- and medium-sized firms were unable to survive under the twin burdens of high interest rates and depressed domestic demand for their goods. Business closures and cutbacks fueled unemployment; more than 1 million Mexicans lost their jobs. According to the government and most private sector observers, the recession bottomed out in the third quarter of 1995, but the difficult year fed growing dissatisfaction with the ruling party, led to a crisis of confidence in President ZEDILLO'S ability to lead, and spurred increased tensions within the ruling party. While the ZEDILLO administration is optimistic that 1996 will bring some recovery - the government is forecasting 3% growth and 21% inflation - Mexico will face several key vulnerabilities, including the financial health of the banking sector, shaky investor confidence that could be easily jarred by more political or economic shocks, and increasingly emboldened dissenters within the ruling party.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $721.4 billion (1995 est.)
GDP real growth rate: -6.9% (1995 est.)