Politics of Mexico, NAFTA

Pretty good, could have touched base with NAFTA more could have touched base with NAFTA more

Mexico was the site of some of the earliest and most advanced civilizations in the western

hemisphere. The Mayan culture, according to archaeological research, attained its greatest

development about the 6th century AD. Another group, the Toltec, established an empire in

the Valley of Mexico and developed a great civilization still evidenced by the ruins of

magnificent buildings and monuments. The leading tribe, the Aztec, built great cities and

developed an intricate social, political, and religious organization. Their civilization

was highly developed, both intellectually and artistically. The first European explorer to

visit Mexican territory was Francisco Fernández de Córdoba, who in 1517 discovered traces of

the Maya in Yucatán. In 1535, some years after the fall of the Aztec capital, the basic

form of colonial government in Mexico was instituted with the appointment of the first

Spanish viceroy, Antonio de Mendoza. A distinguishing characteristic of colonial Mexico was

the exploitation of the Native Americans. Although thousands of them were killed during the

Spanish conquest, they continued to be the great majority of inhabitants of what was

referred to as New Spain, speaking their own languages and retaining much of their native

culture. Inevitably they became the laboring class. Their plight was the result of the

'encomienda' system, by which Spanish nobles, priests, and soldiers were granted not only

large tracts of land but also jurisdiction over all Native American residents. A second

characteristic of colonial Mexico was the position and power of the Roman Catholic church.

Franciscan, Augustinian, Dominican, and Jesuit missionaries entered the country with the

conquistadores. The Mexican church became enormously wealthy through gifts and bequests that

could be held in perpetuity. Before 1859, when church holdings were nationalized, the

church owned...