Mexico

Geology and Water Resources

Volcanoes

Mexico is home to one of the highest volcanoes in the world.

Under the terms of the treaty, Mexico is obliged to supply water to the United States from its Colorodo, Tijuana and Rio Grande rivers

On October 25, 2025, the next five-year cycle ends, within which Mexico must deliver a total of 2.158 billion cubic meters to the United States. m water under the treaty of 1944 on the use of the waters of the Colorodo, Tijuana and Rio Grande rivers. Under its terms, Mexico undertakes to supply at least 431 million cubic meters to the United States annually. waters from the Rio Grande River as part of 5-year cycles.

The Rio Grande River holds 90% of the water supply to all of South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley, where more than 7 million people live.

In recent years, due to increasing droughts in Mexico, authorities can no longer transfer enough water. The last 5-year cycles, Mexico closed with a deficit, which complicated relations with the US government.

Po of September 2025, less than half of the fixed amount (985 million cubic meters) was transferred over almost 5 years. m). The Mexican authorities assure that they keep the situation under control and all conditions for the United States will be fulfilled.

But water discharge is virtually impossible. The largest Mexican dams in the region - Amistad and Falcon - are less than 25% full.

Meanwhile, the White House believes that Mexico does not comply with the terms of the treaty. The state authorities, Texas which require a tougher approach, are especially unhappy. Due to water shortages in the US state, farmers are forced to switch to drought-resistant crops, the sugar industry has completely disappeared.

The only option for the Mexican authorities to close the shortage is to dump water from other dams of the main tributaries of the Rio Grande. The authorities have already resorted to such measures in 2020, but then this caused massive discontent among peasants from Chihuahua.

Population

Population

2025: Population - 131.41 million

2022:132 million people

Mean age

Migration

2021: Net outflow over 4 years

2020: Second in the world in the number of emigrants

Mortality

Traffic safety

Homeless people

2021: There are 30,000 homeless people in Mexico City

Languages

Hunger

Parliament: General Congress of the Mexican United States

2023: Proportion of women in Parliament - 50%

Armed Forces

2024: 28th in the world in defense spending - $10.2 billion

Top 30 countries in the world in defense spending in 2024, published by Bloomberg based on data from the International Institute for Strategic Studies:
US: $968 billion
China: $235 billion
Russia: $145.9 billion
Germany: $86 billion
UK: $81.1 billion
India: $74.4 billion
Saudi Arabia: $71.7 billion
France: $64 billion
Japan: $53 billion
South Korea: $43.9 billion
Australia: $36.4 billion
Italy: $35.2 billion
Israel: $33.7 billion
Ukraine: $28.4 billion
Poland: $28.4 billion
Canada: $27bn
Brazil: $24.4 billion
Netherlands: $23.6 billion
UAE: $22.3 billion
Algeria: $21.4 billion
Spain: $19.4 billion
Taiwan: $18.9 billion
Singapore: $15.2 billion
Turkey: $14.3 billion
Iraq: $12.7 billion
Sweden: $12.3 billion
Indonesia: $10.9 billion
Mexico: $10.2 billion
Norway: $9.8 billion
Qatar: $9.7 billion

2018: Military spending - $6.57 billion

Education

Libraries

2021: Mexico has 7,260 public libraries

2020: Mexico's National Autonomous University is the country's oldest functioning institution, founded in 1551

2018: Literacy rate

Natural disasters

2012: Earthquake

An earthquake of magnitude 6.3, which occurred in the capital of Mexico, did not cause destruction, but forced thousands of residents of the city to leave their homes, reports Agence France-Presse on Monday evening, April 2, 2012^[1].

The epicenter of the earthquake, recorded at 17:36 GMT, was located in the state of Guerrero, 314 kilometers southeast of Mexico City, 137 kilometers southwest of the city of Huajuapan de Leon, Oaxaca, according to the website of the US Geological Survey.

The mayor of Mexico City wrote in his microblog on Twitter that there are no casualties and destruction as a result of the natural disaster. The head of the city police, in turn, said that the inspection of the city from the air and the ground "did not reveal a catastrophic situation."

Despite the fact that the earthquake, according to reports, did not cause significant damage, the authorities of the capital of Mexico said, it forced thousands of residents of different areas of the city to urgently leave their homes.

Data on the effects of the earthquake outside Mexico City is being clarified. To clarify the situation in rural areas located near the epicenter of the earthquake, the authorities of the states of Guerrero and Oaxaca sent patrols.

According to seismologists, the tremors recorded on April 2 are the so-called aftershock of the earthquake that occurred in Mexico on March 20, 2012. Then, as a result of an earthquake of magnitude 7.4, the epicenter of which was located in the state of Guerrero, more than 500 buildings were damaged, including in Mexico City, two people were killed, 12 were injured.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Mexico

10th in terms of exports in the world

In 2024, the volume of world trade in goods and services reached $32.2 trillion, which is 4% more than in 2023, when a decrease of 2% was recorded. Trade in goods rose by 2%, services - by 10%. Such data are contained in the materials of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which TAdviser got acquainted with in mid-October 2025. Read more here.

Health care

2022

Abortion ban in place

Ban on the sale of e-cigarettes introduced

In late May 2022, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador signed an executive order banning the sale of e-cigarettes, thus continuing the government's anti-vaping policy. As follows from the document, this decision was made to protect the health of the nation, especially children and adolescents of the country. Read more here.

2021: Number of weeks of paid maternity leave: 12-24

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2020

Duration of guaranteed paid sick leave 6 months or more

COVID-19 coronavirus epidemic

The first confirmed case of COVID-19 infection in Mexico was recorded on February 28, 2020. According to the WHO dated May 13, 2020, since then the number of confirmed infections has grown to more than 36 thousand, about 3.5 thousand people have died from the virus.

On March 30, the Mexican Health Board introduced an epidemiological emergency regime in the country and decided to suspend the activities of all enterprises until April 30. The operating mode remained unchanged only for five "vital areas of activity," to which they attributed

• health sector,
• public safety, including police, military, justice and lawmaking,
• fundamental for the functioning of the economy types of work,
• the social programs of the government, as well as
• Work to support critical infrastructure.

Later, the quarantine regime was extended until May 30, but regions in which the incidence of coronavirus is low will be able to remove restrictions from May 17.

Crime

2025: Hacker hacked city cameras and helped Mexico's largest drug cartel find and execute FBI informants

The Sinaloa drug cartel used a hacker to hack city CCTV cameras and mobile phones to identify and subsequently kill informants from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation. The cybercriminal followed an FBI official in Mexico investigating former cartel chief Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman. This was announced by the Office of the Chief Inspector of the US Department of Justice in July 2025. Read more here.

2024

Drug cartel "New Generation Jalisco" - the largest in the country

For the first time about the cartel "The New Generation of Jalisco" (aka CJNG) started talking in 2009.

By 2024, the cartel is the largest in Mexico and specializes mostly in the production and sale of synthetic drugs in North America and cocaine - on international sites. Cases of working with the supply of heroin and cannabis were also mentioned.

The approximate revenue of organized crime groups is more than $6 billion a year from the sale of synthetic drugs and more than $10 billion from cocaine.

Sinaloa Drug Cartel

The Sinaloa cartel declared itself as an independent organized criminal group in the late 1980s, and its founders, being hereditary drug dealers, managed to light up in the activities of the famous Guadalajara cartel - it was they who at one time tested the main logistics routes for the delivery of drugs and their precursors from Colombia and Mexico to the United States.

They approached the matter creatively - not only did they attach old smuggling trails and border tunnels to the matter, but they tried something fundamentally new for their time (for example, planes and small submarines).

After the collapse of the Guadalajara cartel and the redistribution of spheres of influence, the guys from Sinaloa still managed to maintain control over a significant part of the logistics facilities and intercept the "supervision" over most of the drug flow entering the United States. In international areas - in Europe, Australia and Asian countries - the cartel also works, but in media terms this story is not as promoted as that of the New Generation of Jalisco (CJNG).

Unlike the modern paramilitary group, which the CJNG positions itself with, the Sinaloa cartel places more emphasis on traditional "family contracts" for the region, where they prefer to conduct business with relatives, children can be connected to business from an early age, there are still certain aspects of blood revenge, as well as bonding unions through contractual marriages.

All of the above concerns rather the leadership of the groups, as well as the manufacturers of the goods and, in some cases, personal protection. Combat formations mainly consist of professionals, including foreign mercenaries.

"Nepotism," as well as the peculiar transfer of power by inheritance from parents to children (or nephews, pupils) is one of the reasons for the more frequent occurrence of internal conflicts in this organized criminal group, which sometimes flow into open hostilities over spheres of influence or territories.

In 2024, the cartel specializes in the supply of Colombian cocaine, synthetic drugs, as well as marijuana. Since the latter, it is interesting that earlier the organized criminal group was engaged exclusively in the Mexican harvest, but now, according to some data, they trade more in what was grown in the United States, in California.

Additionally, it is known that the Los Chapitos faction is attempting political lobbying and has begun investing in businesses related to the legal cultivation and trade in cannabis.

On July 25, 2024, it became known that Ismael Sambada Garcia and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, two of the famous leaders of the Sinaloa cartel, were arrested at one of the private airports in Texas.

Several versions of what happened are distributed on the Web. According to one of them, the drug lords decided to surrender themselves, leading before this long negotiations with American law enforcement officers. In the second, one of them betrayed the other by luring US justice into the hands in exchange for legal immunity.

At the same time, there is no specifics, and if we take into account the specifics of such detentions, then the whole truth will not be revealed for many years, and maybe never.

At the same time, this arrest can be called important, if only because:

• Apparently, the main investigative actions were carried out in Mexico - but the official version, according to which drug lords were captured in El Paso, hints that the organizers of the action wanted to avoid disputes over extradition and jurisdiction. The very disputes that allow you to slow down the trial or even allow criminals to hide.

• The arrest was carried out by people from the team of US President Biden, and more specifically - the protege of the Clinton clan and US Attorney General Merrick Garland.

2023: Clashes with drug traffickers after arrest of Ovidio Guzman Lopez - son of former Sinaloa cartel leader

According to official statements by the Mexican authorities, on January 6, 2023, a special operation to ensure law and order is being carried out in the north of the country amid the arrest of Ovidio Guzman Lopez, one of the sons of the former leader of the Sinaloa cartel, El Chapo.

Ovidio Guzman Lopez, Ivan Archivaldo Guzman Salazar and Alfredo Guzman Salazar are the leaders of the Los Chapitos group. The structure claims to be part of the Sinaloa cartel, but other factions do not recognize them as part of the cartel. These comrades have the most definite reputation - all the largest outbreaks of violence in the state are recorded on the account of Los Chapitos, which, even by local criminality, are recognized as non-negotiable.

For the "unexpected" arrest of Guzman, many in Sinaloa were ready - they prepared shelters in the mountains in advance or left the country. In another month, military equipment began to be transferred to the state, and American aircraft of the Drug Enforcement Administration patrolled the sky. A few hours before the capture of Guzman, the commander-in-chief of the 9th military zone of the Secretariat of National Defense in Sinaloa was replaced - and this essentially happened in the dead of night.

Cartel members continue to resist, though they retreat, burning civilian vehicles and seizing hospitals with doctors. It is known that American specialists are taking part in the special operation in Kulyakan.

Outbreaks of violence were recorded in the states of Sinaloa, Sonora and Nayarit - roads were blocked, shootouts did not subside, airports were stopped and mass events were canceled.

To a greater extent, the public is shocked that the cartels took part in the air battle on a par with the Mexican troops. At the same time, the fact that the bandits had helicopters and planes at their disposal is not surprising, if we recall that in some states entire units leave the army for cartels - and take with them everything they can. Some even go to the army to get the necessary training there to serve on narcos.

It is noteworthy that chaos in Mexico erupted against the backdrop of preparations for the Summit of North American countries (where US President Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are to attend). In addition, just a few hours after the start of the special operation, former US President Donald Trump published a video message about the need to use the US armed forces in the fight against drug cartels.

2018: The Murders of Journalists

Prisons

2021: Number of prisoners - 215,232

2019: The minimum age for children to be jailed is 12

2018: Number of prisoners per 100 thousand citizens

Culture

Painting

Religion

2021:71% of the population say they adhere to a certain religion

History

2024

Outgoing President Obrador protests US NGOs in the country

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in August 2024 announced plans to send a diplomatic note to the US authorities over their funding of the local opposition NGO Mexicans Against Corruption and Impunity.

The country's main intelligence agency found out that from 2018 to January 2024, this NGO received 96.74 million pesos (approximately $5.6 million) from the US Embassy in Mexico City and the USAID Foundation .

Moreover, NGOs also received funds from entities such as the Rockefeller Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the International Community Foundation and several others. Moreover, payments to NGO accounts began to be received three years after the founding of the organization - in 2018. Then, too, when Obrador won past elections.

The President of Mexico plans to send not only a diplomatic note (which is being prepared by the Foreign Ministry), but also a personal letter to US President Joe Biden on the issue of interference in issues related to the country's sovereignty.

In addition, the fiscal prosecutor's office will check all donations to the organization - moreover, they will update the rules regarding the tax deduction regarding donations to organizations and make efforts so that state resources are not used to finance campaigns that contradict the interests of most Mexicans.

Interestingly, Obrador has been expressing his protest against American financing of the opposition for several years in a row.

Back in 2023, Obrador "discovered America," saying that through USAID, Americans finance opposition NGOs, which is contrary to international law and should be immediately suppressed. In 2021, Mexico City was similarly outraged by the activities of USAID.

For the first time, a woman became president of Mexico

Claudia Sheinbaum won a landslide victory in the Mexican presidential election held on June 2, 2024, becoming the first woman elected head of state in the country's history. He will take office on October 1, 2024. Read more here.

1979

1962

1958

1955

1954

1931: Eisenstein in Mexico

1920

1917: Civil War ends with victory for moderate revolutionaries

The civil war between the revolutionary peasantry and moderate liberals (July 1914 - February 1917) was the last, fourth stage of the revolution. The victory was won by the moderate wing of the revolutionaries, but the broad masses played a decisive role in the revolution, affecting the subsequent development of the country.

1914: Restoration of the constitutional regime and the outbreak of civil war

February 1913 - July 1914 - restoration of the constitutional regime. The revolutionaries again came out as a united front, while the role of the peasant masses increased.

1913: Counter-Revolutionary Coup

May 1911 - February 1913 - the liberal democrats were in power, but the lack of unity among the revolutionary forces led to a counter-revolutionary coup.

1911: Overthrow of the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz

November 1910 - May 1911 - overthrow of the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz. Liberal landlords and entrepreneurs, workers and peasants acted as a united front under the political leadership of liberal democratic leaders.

1903

1897

683: Death of King Pacal I

Sport

2022: The most popular sport is football

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Fauna

2020: Shark attack statistics

Notes