Mexico

C

Manufacturing

Mexican industry is among the most developed in Latin America. Until the late 1980s, most new factories were built in northern Mexico as maquiladoras, labour-intensive plants assembling imported parts into finished goods for export; in the 1990s, however, US firms have invested heavily in well-equipped modern facilities producing motor vehicles and other consumer items for the US market. Major industrial plants in Mexico also include factories turning out machinery and electronic equipment; oil refineries; foundries; meat-packing plants; paper mills; cotton mills; tobacco-processing plants; and sugar refineries. Other industrial products include clothing, iron and steel, chemicals, beverages, and cement. Estimated yearly manufacturing output in the early 1990s included 610,000 passenger cars, 8.2 million tonnes of steel, 2.5 million tonnes of wheat flour, and 450,000 tonnes of sulphuric acid.

D

Energy

About 83 per cent of Mexico’s electricity is produced in thermal installations, 9 per cent by hydroelectric facilities, 5 per cent by nuclear power stations, and 3 per cent from geothermal sources. In the mid-1990s electricity-generating capacity was about 32.7 million kW, and in 2003, annual output of electricity was some 209 billion kWh.

E

Currency and Banking

The monetary unit of Mexico is the Mexican peso of 100 centavos (10.93 pesos equalled US$1; early 2007). The central bank and bank of issue is the Bank of Mexico (1925; Banco de México), which is modelled on the US Federal Reserve System. Mexico’s commercial banking system, nationalized in 1982, was restored to private control in the early 1990s. An extremely severe foreign exchange crisis occurred in Mexico from late 1994 to early 1995. The crisis had been caused by a combination of high inflation and an approximately US$30,000 million deficit in the current account. President Clinton of the United States led an international rescue effort, which included other developed nations and various international organizations, such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, and a support programme of loans and credits worth approximately US$50,000 million was devised. Simultaneously, the recently elected President Zedillo announced an austerity programme as well as the sale of major public assets including railways, petrochemical and electricity plants, and airports.

Annual exports in 2003 were valued at about US$165,395 million, and imports in the same period US$171,291 million. Major exports include machinery and transport equipment, crude petroleum and petroleum products, natural gas, cotton, sugar, tomatoes, coffee, silver, electrical goods, and chemicals. The country’s chief imports include machinery, transport equipment, telecommunications apparatus, chemicals, petroleum and petroleum products, agricultural commodities, and iron and steel. The great bulk of Mexico’s trade is with the United States; other important trade partners are Japan, Germany, Brazil, Canada, France, and Spain. Tourism, border trade, foreign investments, and remittances from Mexican workers in the United States are significant sources of foreign exchange revenue. In 1995 an estimated 7.78 million tourists visited Mexico, mainly from North America. The tourist receipts in the same year were estimated at US$4,050 million.

F

Labour

The Mexican labour force totalled about 42.3 million people in 2005. About 35 per cent of the labour force is organized into trade unions. The largest union in the country is the Confederación de Trabajadores de México (Confederation of Mexican Workers), with about 5.5 million members. Statutes prescribe minimum wages.

G

Transport

The Mexican railway system, which is nationalized, includes about 26,662 km (16,567 mi) of operated railway track. The highway system includes about 349,038 km (216,882 mi) of roads, of which about 34 per cent is paved. There were an estimated 133 passenger cars for every 1,000 people in 2003. Several highways traverse the country, including four main routes between the US border and Mexico City, which form part of the Pan-American Highway system. Air services have been intensively developed, and the country now has 50 international and 33 national airports and more than 2,400 landing fields and feeder airports. Mexico’s chief airlines are Aeroméxico, Taesa, Aerocalifornia, Areolíneas Internacionales, and Mexicana Airlines. Benito Juárez International Airport is at Mexico City. The country’s merchant fleet includes some 753 vessels with a total deadweight tonnage of 1 million.