Portal:Mexico

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The Temple of Warriors at Chichen Itza, Mexico

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¡Bienvenido! Welcome to the Mexico portal

Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It covers 1,972,550 km² (761,610 sq mi), making it the world's 13th-largest country by area; with a population of almost 130 million, it is the 10th-most-populous country and the most populous Spanish-speaking country. Mexico is organized as a federal constitutional republic comprising 31 states and Mexico City, its capital. It shares land borders with the United States to the north, with Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; as well as maritime borders with the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Caribbean Sea to the southeast, and the Gulf of Mexico to the east.

Human presence in Pre-Columbian Mexico dates back to 8,000 BCE, making it one of the world's six cradles of civilization. The Mesoamerican region hosted various intertwined civilizations, including the Olmec, Maya, Zapotec, Teotihuacan, and Purepecha. The Aztecs came to dominate the area prior to European contact. In 1521, the Spanish Empire, alongside indigenous allies, conquered the Aztec Empire, establishing the colony of New Spain in the former capital, Tenochtitlan (now Mexico City). Over the next three centuries, Spanish expansion enforced Christianity, spread the Spanish language, and exploited rich silver deposits in Zacatecas and Guanajuato. The colonial era ended in the early nineteenth century with the Mexican War of Independence. (Full article...)

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Baja California is a state in Northwest Mexico that is divided into seven municipalities. According to the 2020 Mexican census, Baja California is the 13th most populous state with 3,769,020 inhabitants and the 12th largest by land area spanning 73,290.08 square kilometres (28,297.46 sq mi).

Municipalities in Baja California are administratively autonomous of the state according to the 115th article of the 1917 Constitution of Mexico. Their legal framework derives from Title VI of the state Constitution and the state's 2001 Law of the Municipal Regime. Every three years, citizens elect a municipal president (Spanish: presidente municipal) by a plurality voting system who heads a concurrently elected municipal council (ayuntamiento) responsible for providing public services for their constituents. The municipal council consists of a variable number of trustees and councillors (regidores y síndicos) who govern from the municipal seat. Municipalities are responsible for public services (such as water and sewerage), street lighting, public safety, traffic, and the maintenance of public parks, gardens and cemeteries. They may also assist the state and federal governments in education, emergency fire and medical services, environmental protection and maintenance of monuments and historical landmarks. Since 1984, they have had the power to collect property taxes and user fees, although more funds are obtained from the state and federal governments than from their own income. Municipalities may establish functional and geographical subdivisions called delegaciones and subdelegaciones in accordance with Article 29 of the Law of the Municipal Regime. (Full article...)

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Clockwise from top left: Miguel Hidalgo, José María Morelos, Trigarante Army in Mexico City, Mural of independence by O'Gorman, Embrace of Acatempan between Iturbide and Guerrero

The Mexican War of Independence (Spanish: Guerra de Independencia de México, 16 September 1810 – 27 September 1821) was an armed conflict and political process resulting in Mexico's independence from the Spanish Empire. It was not a single, coherent event, but local and regional struggles that occurred within the same period, and can be considered a revolutionary civil war. It culminated with the drafting of the Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire in Mexico City on September 28, 1821, following the collapse of royal government and the military triumph of forces for independence.

Mexican independence from Spain was not an inevitable outcome of the relationship between the Spanish Empire and its most valuable overseas possession, but events in Spain had a direct impact on the outbreak of the armed insurgency in 1810 and the course of warfare through the end of the conflict. Napoleon Bonaparte's invasion of Spain in 1808 touched off a crisis of legitimacy of crown rule, since he had placed his brother Joseph on the Spanish throne after forcing the abdication of the Spanish monarch Charles IV. In Spain and many of its overseas possessions, the local response was to set up juntas, ruling in the name of the Bourbon monarchy. Delegates in Spain and overseas territories met in Cádiz — a small corner of the Iberian Peninsula still under Spanish control — as the Cortes of Cádiz, and drafted the Spanish Constitution of 1812. That constitution sought to create a new governing framework in the absence of the legitimate Spanish monarch. It tried to accommodate the aspirations of American-born Spaniards (criollos) for more local control and equal standing with Peninsular-born Spaniards, known locally as peninsulares. This political process had far-reaching impacts in New Spain during the independence war and beyond. Pre-existing cultural, religious, and racial divides in Mexico played a major role in not only the development of the independence movement but also the development of the conflict as it progressed. (Full article...)

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Zacatecas woman

image credit: Tomas Castelazo

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Nazario Moreno González (8 March 1970 – 9 March 2014), commonly referred to by his alias El Chayo ("Nazario" or "The Rosary") and/or El Más Loco ("The Craziest One"), was a Mexican drug lord who headed La Familia Michoacana before heading the Knights Templar Cartel, a drug cartel headquartered in the state of Michoacán. He was one of Mexico's most-wanted drug lords.

Very few details are known of Moreno González's early life, but the authorities believe that religion played a major role in his upbringing. Although born in Michoacán, Moreno González moved to the United States as a teenager, but fled back into Mexico about a decade later to avoid prosecution on drug trafficking charges. In 2004, the drug boss Carlos Rosales Mendoza was captured, and Moreno González, alongside José de Jesús Méndez Vargas, took control of La Familia Michoacana. Unlike other traditional drug trafficking organizations in Mexico, his organization also operated like a religious cult, where its own members were given "bibles" with sayings and conduct guidelines. Moreno González reportedly carried out several philanthropic deeds to help the marginalized in Michoacán. Such deeds helped him craft an image of protector, saint, and Christ-like messianic figure among the poor, and gave La Familia Michoacana a level of influence among some natives. (Full article...)

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Juárez, c. 1872

Benito Pablo Juárez García (Spanish: [beˈnito ˈpaβlo ˈxwaɾes ɣaɾˈsi.a] ^ⓘ; 21 March 1806 – 18 July 1872) was a Mexican Liberal lawyer and statesman who served as the 26th president of Mexico from 1858 until his death in office in 1872. Of Zapotec ancestry, he was the first and only indigenous president of Mexico and the first democratically elected indigenous president in the postcolonial Americas. Previously, he had served as Governor of Oaxaca and had later ascended to a variety of federal posts including Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of Public Education, and President of the Supreme Court. During his presidency he led the Liberals to victory in the Reform War and in the Second French intervention in Mexico.

Born in Oaxaca to a poor, rural, Indigenous family and orphaned as a child, Juárez passed under the care of his uncle, eventually moving to Oaxaca City at the age of 12, where he found work as a domestic servant. Sponsored by his employer who was also a lay Franciscan, Juárez temporarily enrolled in a seminary and studied to become a priest, but he later switched his studies to law at the Institute of Sciences and Arts, where he became active in Liberal politics. He began to practice law and was eventually appointed as a judge, after which he married Margarita Maza, a woman from a socially distinguished family in Oaxaca City. (Full article...)

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Vicente Fox Frida Kahlo Porfirio Díaz Juan Diego Emiliano Zapata Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla Cantinflas Pancho Villa Antonio López de Santa Anna Chespirito Agustín de Iturbide Maximilian I of Mexico Carlos Slim Diego Rivera Francisco I. Madero Juana Inés de la Cruz Carlos Salinas de Gortari Miguel de la Madrid

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In the news

6 April 2024 – 2024 raid on the Mexican embassy in Ecuador: Nicaragua suspends diplomatic relations with Ecuador following the raid on the Mexican embassy in Quito, Ecuador. (Al Arabiya)
5 April 2024 – Ecuador–Mexico relations: 2024 raid on the Mexican embassy in Ecuador; After local police arrest former vice-president Jorge Glas at its embassy in Quito in violation of Article 22 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, Mexico suspends diplomatic relations with Ecuador. (The Guardian)
2 April 2024 – 2024 Mexican general election: A mayoral candidate is assassinated in Celaya, Guanajuato, ahead of Mexico's upcoming general election. (CNN)
27 March 2024 –: At least four people are killed by several wildfires across the State of Mexico, Mexico. (Reuters)
20 March 2024 – Mexican drug war: Twelve bodies are found in Mexico, five inside a truck in the municipality of Villa Corona, Jalisco and seven in Sonora. (El Universal)

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A sugar skull, a common gift for children and decoration for the Day of the Dead.

A calavera (Spanish – pronounced [kalaˈβeɾa] for "skull"), in the context of Day of the Dead, is a representation of a human skull or skeleton. The term is often applied to edible or decorative skulls made (usually with molds) from either sugar (called Alfeñiques) or clay, used in the Mexican celebration of the Day of the Dead (Spanish: Día de Muertos) and the Roman Catholic holiday All Souls' Day. Calavera can also refer to any artistic representations of skulls or skeletons, such as those in the prints of José Guadalupe Posada, or to gifts or treats in relation to the Day of the Dead. Some widely known calaveras are created with cane sugar, decorated with items such as colored foil, icing, beads, and sometimes objects such as feathers. They range in multiple colors.

Traditional methods for producing sugar skulls with molds have been in use for a long time, though the first known mention of the sale of skeletal figures dates to the 1740s. The sugar skulls were originally created as gifts, to be eaten by children. They are sometimes now used as offerings to be placed on altars known as ofrendas ("offerings") for Día de Muertos. It has been argued that the tradition has roots in indigenous celebrations, by groups including the Aztec, Mayan, and Toltec commemorations. However, what we now call Day of the Dead is more Catholic than indigenous because the Spanish tried to eradicate indigenous religions Moreover, as Stanley Brandes has argued, these skulls and skeletons have seven characteristics. They are: (1) ephemeral; (2) seasonal; (3) humorous; (4) secular; (5) commercial; (6) made for living people; (7) meant to be played with; (8) small and transportable; (9) made and consumed by an urban population. They are "lighthearted emblems of death." Thus they are not derived from sacred Mesoamerican traditions. (Full article...)

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Mexican cuisine Cuisine of Chiapas Cuisine of Veracruz Crema (dairy product) Aztec cuisine Oaxacan cuisine Mole sauce Guacamole Enchilada Mexican breads Nachos Burrito Mexican street food Pozole Cheeses of Mexico Taco Pan dulce Mexican wine Sopa de fideo Tostilocos Beer in Mexico Champurrado Mexican Coke Menudo (soup)

General images

The following are images from various Mexico-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Battle of Centla, the first time a horse was used in battle in a war in the Americas. Mural in the Palacio Municipal of Paraíso, Tabasco (from History of Mexico)
Image 2Surrender of Santa Anna by William Henry Huddle shows the Mexican president and general surrendering to a wounded Sam Houston in 1836. (from History of Mexico)
Image 3A statue of a Chichimeca Warrior in the city of Querétaro (from History of Mexico)
Image 4El Chapo in US custody after his extradition from Mexico. (from History of Mexico)
Image 5The Execution of Emperor Maximilian, 19 June 1867. Gen. Tomás Mejía, left, Maximilian, center, Gen. Miguel Miramón, right. Painting by Édouard Manet 1868. (from History of Mexico)
Image 6Murals of Bonampak (between 580 and 800 AD) (from Culture of Mexico)
Image 7Cerro del Cubilete ("Dice Cup Hill"). At the top of the hill is the Cristo Rey (Christ the King) statue. (from Culture of Mexico)
Image 8Lázaro Cárdenas mural (from History of Mexico)
Image 9Comanchería, territory controlled by the Comanches, prior to 1850 (from History of Mexico)
Image 10President Felipe Calderón with President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. (from History of Mexico)
Image 11Panel 3 from Cancuen, Guatemala, representing king T'ah 'ak' Cha'an (from History of Mexico)
Image 12La leyenda de los volcanes (The legend of the volcanoes). Saturnino Herrán. 1910-1912. (from Culture of Mexico)
Image 13Chacmool, Maya, from the Platform of the Eagles, Chichen Itza, Mexico, ca. 800–90 CE (from History of Mexico)
Image 14Shield Jaguar and Lady Xoc, Maya, lintel 24 of temple 23, Yaxchilan, Mexico, ca. 725 ce. (from History of Mexico)
Image 15Buffalo Soldiers of the American 10th Cavalry Regiment taken prisoner during the Battle of Carrizal, Mexico in 1916. (from History of Mexico)
Image 16Making cigarettes in the El Buen Tono factory, Mexico City (from History of Mexico)
Image 17Pear, Quince and Psidium cajeta. In 2010 declared the Bicentennial Dessert of Mexico. (from Culture of Mexico)
Image 18A map of Mexico 1845 after Texas annexation by the U.S. (from History of Mexico)
Image 19Equestrian statue of Charles IV in Mexico City (from History of Mexico)
Image 20Battle of Miahuatlán (from History of Mexico)
Image 21Battle of Tampico (1829) (from History of Mexico)
Image 22President Vicente Fox with Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh (from History of Mexico)
Image 23Teotihuacan view of the Avenue of the Dead and the Pyramid of the Sun, from the Pyramid of the Moon (from History of Mexico)
Image 24Logo of Nacional Financiera (NAFIN), the state development bank. (from History of Mexico)
Image 25Logo of the Partido Nacional Revolucionario, with the colors of the Mexican flag (from History of Mexico)
Image 26Toltec carving representing the Aztec Eagle, found in Veracruz, 10th–13th century. Metropolitan Museum of Art. (from History of Mexico)
Image 27Victoriano Huerta, ruler of Mexico from 1913 to 1914 (from History of Mexico)
Image 28Three world leaders: (background, left to right) Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari, U.S. President George H. W. Bush, and Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, observe the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement. (from History of Mexico)
Image 29Ignacio Comonfort (from History of Mexico)
Image 30Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (from History of Mexico)
Image 31Olmec colossal (from History of Mexico)
Image 32General Pancho Villa at the entrance of Ojinaga (from History of Mexico)
Image 33The Castillo, Chichen Itza, Mexico, ca. 800–900 CE (from History of Mexico)
Image 34Goddess, mural painting from the Tetitla apartment complex at Teotihuacan, Mexico, 650–750 CE (from History of Mexico)
Image 35Porfirio Díaz (from History of Mexico)
Image 36Club América vs Cruz Azul at the Estadio Azteca. (from Culture of Mexico)
Image 37Gilberto Bosques Saldívar took the initiative to rescue tens of thousands of Jews and Spanish Republican exiles from being deported to Nazi Germany or Spain. (from History of Mexico)
Image 38Plutarco Elías Calles (from History of Mexico)
Image 39President Carranza in La Cañada, Querétaro, January 22, 1916. (from History of Mexico)
Image 40Colossal atlantids, pyramid B, Toltec, Tula, Mexico, ca. 900–1180 AD (from History of Mexico)
Image 41Distribution of linguistic groups around 1500. (from Culture of Mexico)
Image 42Variegated maize ears (from History of Mexico)
Image 43Modern group monument of Cortés, Doña Marina, and their mestizo son Martín (from History of Mexico)
Image 44Mexican Central Railway train at station, Mexico (from History of Mexico)
Image 45Spanish and Portuguese empires in 1790 (from History of Mexico)
Image 46Entry into Mexico City by the Mexican army (from History of Mexico)
Image 47Portrait and book by Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Baroque poet and writer. (from Culture of Mexico)
Image 48The first Braceros arrive in Los Angeles by train in 1942. Photograph by Dorothea Lange. (from History of Mexico)
Image 49Mexican Army troops in the Zócalo in the 1968 Tlatelolco massacre. (from History of Mexico)
Image 50Chihuahua Cathedral and a monument to the city's founder, Antonio Deza y Ulloa (from History of Mexico)
Image 51U.S. President Barack Obama and Mexican President-Elect Enrique Peña Nieto during their meet at the White House following Peña Nieto's election victory. (from History of Mexico)
Image 52General Santa Anna. (from History of Mexico)
Image 53"The Fall of the Alamo" by Robert Jenkins Onderdonk (from History of Mexico)
Image 54Agustín de Iturbide the first Emperor of Mexico (from History of Mexico)
Image 55Sawdust carpet made during "The night no one sleeps" in Huamantla, Tlaxcala (from Culture of Mexico)
Image 561985 Mexico City earthquake (from History of Mexico)
Image 57La huida a Egipto (The Flight into Egypt). Miguel Cabrera, around 1700. (from Culture of Mexico)
Image 58Subcomandante Marcos (from History of Mexico)
Image 59Cabinet Officers of Andrés Manuel López Obrador (left) and of Enrique Peña Nieto (right). (from History of Mexico)
Image 60Liberación (Liberation). Jorge González Camarena. 1908. (from Culture of Mexico)
Image 61Mexico City street market (from History of Mexico)
Image 62Singer and actor Pedro Infante, one of the leading figures of the Golden Age of Mexican Cinema. (from Culture of Mexico)
Image 63"The Torture of Cuauhtémoc", a 19th-century painting by Leandro Izaguirre (from History of Mexico)
Image 64Viceroy José de Iturrigaray (from History of Mexico)
Image 65Exconvento (Ex-convent), by José María Velasco. 1860. (from Culture of Mexico)
Image 66Alegoría de la Constitución de 1857, Petronilo Monroy, 1869. (from History of Mexico)
Image 67Dining table, painted between 1857 y 1859, oleo sobre tela (oil on canvas) by Agustín Arrieta (from Culture of Mexico)
Image 68President Obregón. Note that he lost his right arm in the Battle of Celaya (1915), earning him the nickname of Manco de Celaya ("the one-armed man of Celaya"). (from History of Mexico)
Image 69A unit of Cristeros preparing for battle. (from History of Mexico)

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