International Encyclopedia of Communication Online

Extract

Mexico gained its independence from Spain in 1810, and in 1822 it became a republic. Of the history prior to the 1910 revolution, the war between Mexico and the United States in the mid-nineteenth century needs to be mentioned, in which the former lost almost half of its territory – this became a permanent source of friction in the relations between the two countries. Nowadays Mexico is a federal republic with 31 states and a federal district constituted under specific provisions. It has a presidential system in which the significance of the legislative branch is increasing. It has a population of 107 million people – to which around 20 million people living either legally or illegally in the United States should be added – with a per capita income of US$6,230 per year, and almost 90 percent of Mexicans are Catholics. Nevertheless, the influence of evangelical groups is increasing. The presence of indigenous groups is another important factor. Mexico is the only Latin American member country of the OECD and it is shaping up as a booming developing nation. However, its development has always been hampered by overwhelming social and economic inequality. During recent years, the Mexican media system has experienced significant modifications. These may be explained by the strong interdependence between the media and the country's democratization process. After almost 70 years of de ... log in or subscribe to read full text