Publishing and broadcast media

• Main national newspapers: There are 295 daily newspapers. Excélsior is a prominent newspaper both within Mexico and the rest of Latin America
• Television stations: 468 commercial stations
• Radio stations: 1142 commercial stations

There has been greater media freedom since 2000. The Televisa broadcasting empire faces growing competition.

• Main languages spoken: Spanish, Nahuatl, Mayan, Zapotec, Mixtec, Otomi, Totonac, Tzotzil, Tzeltal
• Population density: 55/km2 (142/mi2) (Population density medium)

The urban/rural population split

Religious persuasion

Ethnic makeup

Population age breakdown

While most Mexicans are mestizo (of mixed race), it is Mexico's Amerindian culture which is promoted by the state. This obscures the fact that rural Amerindians are largely segregated from Hispanic society, a situation that dates back to the Spanish colonial period and which has only recently been seriously challenged. The 1994 Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) guerrilla uprising in Chiapas was on behalf of Amerindian rights, and in protest against the poverty of landless Amerindians. President Vicente Fox promised to act, but the Indigenous Rights and Culture Bill, watered down by a hostile Congress and enacted in 2001, was rejected by the EZLN and all the main indigenous groups.

The small black community, which is concentrated along the eastern coast, is well integrated.

As in much of Latin America, men retain their dominance in both the commercial and political spheres.

• Dates of last and next legislative elections: L. House 2003/2006 U. House 2000/2006
• Head of state: President Vicente Fox

Mexico was a multiparty democracy in name only until 1997; reforms culminated in a PAN presidency in 2000.

Profile

The PRI dominated Mexico from 1929. The strength of opposition parties grew during the 1990s, and, after grudging electoral reform, the PRI lost its monopoly on power in 1997. After the 2000 elections the PAN was the largest party in the Chamber of Deputies, but it lacked an overall majority and was overtaken once more by the PRI in the 2003 midterm poll.

Main Political Issues

President Fox's administration

The first half of President Vicente Fox's six-year term (2000–2006) was uneven. His failure to consult and build consensus, coupled with PRI opposition in Congress, resulted in key policy failures, notably in the areas of electricity, telecommunications, and fiscal reform. Promises on job creation went unmet but government accountability and transparency improved. An economic downturn was also seen off without the specter of hyperinflation. Fox's position was made all the more difficult when the PRI emerged as the victors in the July 2003 Congressional midterm elections.

Future of the PRI

Election defeats in the late 1990s left the PRI rudderless and faction-ridden. It turned to hard-liner Roberto Madrazo, party leader from 2002, to translate public disillusionment with the PAN into popular support for the PRI.