Cultural Analysis of Mexico - Case Study Example

Mexico Brief history: Trace of civilization in Mexico can be d approximately 21000 years back or more. The indigenous people in Mesoamerican areastarted cultivation around 9000 years ago setting the foundation stone for new civilization. It was in 1519 when the Aztec and Mayan civilization of the area was invaded by Spain. After 300 years of colonization Mexico won independence from Spain and presented itself as the United Mexican States in 1824 after separation with Federal Republic of Central America (Wikipedia). I Geographical Setting: Location: Mexico is situated in Central America. It is bordered by the United States on the north, North Pacific Ocean on the south and west, Guatemala, Belize and the Caribbean Sea on the southeast and the Gulf of Mexico on the east. It is situated at 23° N and 102° W and lies on the North American plate almost fully. It is the 14th largest country in the world covering a total area of 1,972, 550 square kilometer. (Wikipedia) Climate: The northern parts of the country north to the Tropic of Cancer experience dry and temperate climate while the part south of the twenty fourth parallel experience relatively hot and humid climates. Temperature at an elevation of 1000 m in the southern areas remains 24 - 28° C throughout the year and the lowlands experience about 200 cm rainfall annually. The cities situated at the Valley of Mexico at an elevation of 2000 m enjoy temperate weather with temperature ranging from 16 - 18° C. (Wikipedia) Topography: Mexico has the extensions of Rocky Mountains named Sierra Madre Oriental and Sierra Madre Occidental crossing the country from north to south. Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt named Sierra Nevada crosses the country from east to west at the center. Another mountain range named Sierra Madre Del Sur runs from Michoacan to Oaxaca. The highest peaks of the country are Pico de Orizaba (5700m), Popocatepetl (5462m), Iztaccihuatl (5286m) and Nevado de Toluca (4577m) situated in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. Major urban habitation namely Greater Mexico City, Toluca and Puebla are situated in the valleys of these mountain ranges. (Wikipedia) II Social Institutions: Family: Mexican family is generally of extended nature where more than one nuclear family often share same household. It is often seen that married children cohabit with their parents and after some years they built independent household. Thus the nuclear family is not uncommon in Mexico but they still hold the tradition of extended family (“Interpersonal Relations”). With the change in economy and family dynamics the child rearing practice has changed and the children are now growing to be cognitively advanced and better nourished (“Social Change and the Family”). Parents enjoy a very respectful position in the family. Studies showed around 80% of Mexican believe in honoring one’s parents. The system of god parenting is also common. The ritual kinship engaging a man or woman to work as a coparent is quite acceptable in the society (“Interpersonal Relations”). Mexican view of marriage is much traditional. They accept courtship to certain limit but marriage must take place with approval from the family. Confronted marriages are often accepted later by the families (Lobos & Mellot, 2). Men enjoy more dominating role in the society though women are passive and sppressed. But they are sharing a much compassionate relationship more recently and are sharing each other’s responsibilities (Lobos & Mellot, 4). III Education: Education plays an important role in the Mexican society. Government takes important initiatives to promote education even through distance learning programs. Literacy rate was found to be 97% for youth under 14 years and 91% for population over 15 years of age in 2004 making Mexico the 24th place holder in the world according to UNESCO. Primary and secondary education together comprises 9 years of education. The whole system is mandatory and free. Text books are produced in sveral indigenous languages. Secondary education is also imparted through distance learning method to the far flung areas. The Universities in Mexico, both public and privat, secured top ranking world wide. The National Autonomous University of Mexico is the highest ranked spanish speaking university in the world. (Wikipedia) IV Political System: Mexican government is representative, democratic and republican based on congressional system. The different branches of the government are legislative, the Congress of the Union, Executive, the President and judiciary, the Supreme Court. The legislative which makes federal law, declares war, imposes taxes, approves the national budget and international treaties, and ratifies diplomatic appointments. The President is the Head of the state and the Supreme Court looks after the judiciary system. The major political parties are the National Action Party, the Institutional Revolutionary Party and the Party of the Democratic Revolution. Currently the government is stable under President Felipe Calderon. But Mexico experienced political turmoil, armed rebellion and even economic collapse till 1994. the situation improved after comprehensive reform in election process and economy. Mexicans pay different taxes including federal income tax, value-added tax, import and export tax, payroll tax, tax on assets etc. in addition to special taxes like those on alcohol and tobacco, telecommunication, luxury goods, etc. (Mexico 2000 Business Directory; Haynes & Boone). There are 31 sovereign states in Mexico with separate constitution, congress and government. States are divided in municipalities headed by mayor and municipalities are sub-divided into non-autonomous boroughs. The United mexican States are a federation of these states. (Wikipedia) Legal System: Mexico is a code law country where the Supreme Court of Justice comprises of 11 judges appointed by the President. They judges cases of federal competency. Other institutions of the judiciary are the Electoral Tribunal, collegiate, unitary and district tribunals, and the Council of the Federal Judiciary. Sovereign states also have their own judicial system. Law is enforced by Local and State Police Department, Federal Preventve Police and the Secretariat of Public Security (Wikipedia). The Industry Property Law in Mexico specifically protects patents, trademarks and other conventions to encourage foreign investors to come to Mexico (“Doing Business in Mexico”). Social Organizations: Mexican society is distinctly divided in three major classes. The rich upper class controling wealth, the small middle class and somewhat large poor population. The society is a mixture of different races of native Americans and immigrant Europeans. Peninsulares are the highest social class followed by criollos, mestizos, native Americans and blacks (encarta). The different social classes and races form different groups and organizations. Religious corporate groups are also formed bound by rituals. Refugees from Guatemala also form their own organization and leadership. Mexico enjoys club culture in different forms like associations, sports clubs, pubs and bars. Music like rock, pop and salsa are intricate part of Mexican clubs. Clubs are also formed along the lines of nationality (encarta). Business Customs and practices: Mexican market is open and the trade is put under free trade agreement. Banking system is privatised in Mexico. Foreign investment is encouraged but restriction is there on land ownership and area (“Doing Business in Mexico”). V Religion and Aesthetics: A. Religion and other belief systems: There is no official religion of Mexico. 95% of the population is Christian. 89% are Roman Catholic. A small percentage of population is also found to be Jews. Catholicism here is mixed with native American religion and has got a much reformed structure. This also shows tolerance towards native religions and their believers. Our Lady of Guadalupe is the patron saint of the country. Government do not contribute to church financially but they have revoked all restriction from church and priests. Government has granted legal staus to all religious organizations (Wikipedia). B. Aesthetics: Mexican films created between 1940-50 are greatest examples of Latin American cinema. Even in recent years the films have international appeal and represent a huge industry. Mexican music include traditional forms like Mariachi, Banda, Norteno, Ranchera and Corridos along with more contermporary Pop and Rock (Wikipedia). Mexican fine arts have been popularised by Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, etc. The Palace of Fine Arts is the hub of Mexican performing art including ballet, concerts, plays and dramas. Mexico City has a number of dance schools and theatre groups (Encyclopaedia Britannica). Mexican folklore includes Aztec mythology, Maya stories, Poinsettia legend, Magic tales of Mexico etc. (lasculturas.com). VI Living conditions: A. Diet and Nutrition: Average Mexicans depend on vegetarian food including corn, beans, chilli peppers and tomatoes with occasional combination of meat, garlic, onion etc. Upper class population eats more Americanised food rich in pork, beef and meat. A typical Mexican meal consisits of tortillas and beans. They are often supplemented with vegetables, salad, fruits, dry soup like rice or pasta and meat (Lloyd). About 10-12% of Mexican population is malnourished (Carey). B. Housing: Mexican live in both nuclear and extended family households. The size of houses depend on the family size, though is overall improving and increasing in size. About 80.1% of population lives in own house (“The State of Mexico’s Housing”, 20). C. Clothing: Mexican national dress is a colorful straight dress called ‘huipil’ (Wikianswers). General Mexicans wear normal European or American clothes in their daily life. D. Social security: Mexicans enjoy adequate level of social security through Mexican Social Security Institute and the Institute for Social Security and Services for State Workers (Wikipedia). Unemployment benefit is also provided to them. E. Health care: Free health services are avilable through social security. Health coverage in rural sectors is poor. Health care cost in private sector is low. (Wikipedia) VII Language: Mexico has no official language. Spanish is spoken by 97% of the population. Number of dialects and indigenous languages like Kickapoo, Nahuati, Lacandon etc. are also recognised. English is used in business purposes in border areas. (Wikipedia) VIII Executive summary: Mexico is a country of rich history and cultural diversification. Situated in Middle of Americas it absorbs population of diverse races coming from North America, Europe, native America and even from Asia. Historically it was colonized by Spaniards turning it to be the largest population speaking Spanish. The majority of the population is Christian, mainly Roman Catholic though the contry shows significant tolerance to other religions including native American religion. Mexico housing a number of mountains built its large cities in the mountain valleys and the climate they enjoy is mostly temperate though tropical effect is also there. Mexican daily life is highly affected by its mixed population with diversified culture. Dramatical variation can be seen according to socioeconomic level, gender, ethnicity, race, religion and rural and urban set up. The rural dwellers lead a life utterly different from that of urban upper or middle class population. The landless rural people largely shift to the city in search of daily labor jobs with minimum wages. They often lack basic services required for healthy living. The elite farmers of the north are richer and they control the wealth of the country. They enjoy all technological advancements in their farms. A rural middle class society is there but they represent only a small percentage of total agriculturists. Most of the urban population including the government employees show income lower than poverty level. Mexicans are largely educated people though the rural population lack some educational service. Mexicans generally engage in free trade and they pay taxes to different kinds to maintain the status of social security and health care. The law and order in the country is maintained by the three level judicial system. Mexicans give grave importance to their family values. Family creates the base of private and public life. They have retained their tradition of extended families and many households are found to shelter three generations together. This system provide them with economic advantage of sharing roof as well as traditional close bonding with the family members. Mexicans are known to cherish their extended relations. An important and extravagant social occasion in Mexico is the fifteenth birthday party of the girlchild in the family. Wedding is also a lavish affair but needs general approval by all the family members. Mexican women are increasingly coming to the fore in the social structure. The upper and middle class women are engaging in works outside home. They tend to shift some of their responsibilities in household cores and child care to some domestic helps. But the condition of women in lower classes is not all the same. They still need to do all household jobs themselves and are not permitted to move out. The society though is changing still believes in male dominance and women are expected to be submissive and self denying. Domestic violence is still the major concern for the country. The diversified Mexican culture reflects in their food also which varies based on economic condition and region. Corn and beans are staple food. Squash rice and tortillas make an important part of traditional Mexican meal. They depend mostly on vegetarian diet comprised of chili peppers, amaranth, tomatoes, papayas, potatoes, lentils, plantains, and vanilla. Meat makes a part of diet in upper class families. Tinned food is gaining popularity amongst the poor population of late. Preferred dessert are sweet bread and chocolate. In drinks they like sweet milk based or fruit based drinks. Tequila is also quite preferred. A large mid-day meal folowed by a nap was a part of Mexican tradition which is now fading out due to limited lunch hours and long distance from office to home. Open air street markets are still active in Mexico. The holidays and festivals in the country are mostly related to religion. Different Christian festivals as well as fiesta are celbrated in the country with long holidays. Patriotic events like independence day is also celebrated lavishly. Mexicans enjoy traditional art and culture a lot. Music, dance, drama, painting and movies are intimately related to their lives. They also enjoy a number of leisure activities mainly influenced by North American society. Baseball, basketball and American football are very much popular in the country. Bullfight is alos popular among mexicans as a traditional game. Thus Mexico as a whole is a colorful and culturally rich country which has turned to be a true ‘melting pot’ for racial and cultural diversity. (Encyclopaedia Britannica). Works Cited Carey, Fionnuala J. “Malnutrition in Mexico”. Available at: (accessed on 9 July 2008). “Doing Business in Mexico: General Legal, Business & Entry Issues”. Huatulco Real Estate. 2005. Available at: (accessed on 9 July 2008). “Folslore: Legends, Sayings, Beliefs”. Lasculturas.com.2004. Available at: (accessed on 9 July 2008). Haynes & Boone. “Alert: Tax Reform in Mexico”. HG.org. 21 January 2002. Available at: (accessed on 9 July 2008). “Interpersonal Relations”. US Library of Congress. Available at: (accessed on 9 July 2008). Lloyd, Pauline. “Mexican Cookery for Vegans”. 2000. Availabel at: (accessed on 9 July 2008). Lobos & Leland Mellot. “Courtship, Wedding, and Marriages in Mexican-American Culture”. 1998. Available at: (accessed on 9 July 2008). “Mexico”. Encyclopaedia Britannica online. 2008. Available at: (accessed on 9 July 2008). “Mexico”. MSN Encarta. Available at: (accessed on 9 July 2008). “Mexico”. Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 8 July 2008. Available at: (accessed on 9 July 2008). “Social Change and the Family”. Available at: (accessed on 9 July 2008). “Taxes in Mexico”. Mexico connect. 2000. Available at: (accessed on 9 July 2008). “The State of Mexico’s Housing”. Available at: (accessed on 9 July 2008). “What is the Mexiacn national dress?”. Wikianswers. 2008. Available at: (accessed on 9 July 2008). Read More