Mexico

MEXIO Who, and political background *  31 free and sovereign states *    3 dominant political parties: National Action Party (PAN), Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), Institutional Revolutionary Party *  Mexico   has the second largest defense budget ($60.07 billion USD) and armed forces in the region. Mexico  's military includes 503,777 total personnel, of which around 192,770 are active in the frontline //(fighting Zapatistas and Indigenous people)// *    The Mexican Military has three branches; the Mexican Army, the Mexican Air Force, and the Mexican Navy What world memberships, when Economy *12th largest economy in the world as measured in gross domestic product in purchasing power parity - $1.353 trillion in 2006... 2nd highest in Latin America after Brazil *    population in extreme poverty has decreased from 24.2% to 17.6% (CIA handbook  says 13.6% in 2004)in the general population and from 42% to 27.9% in rural areas from 2000-2004     *     1994 crisis- 50% fell into poverty - better macroeconomics fundamentals., floating exchange rate. *  The remittances from Mexican citizens working in the United States   account only for 2% of Mexico  's economy ( US$20 billion dollars per year and is the third largest source of foreign income after oil and industrial exports) * Approximately 90% of Mexican trade has been put under free trade agreements with over 40 countries, of which the North American Free Trade Agreement remains the most significant. * Almost 90% of Mexican exports go to the United States and Canada   and close to 65% of its imports come from these two countries * US sub-prime mortgage loan lowers worth of peso, government planning on borrowing $5 billion by multilateral lenders by 2009(1 billion pesos = 74 million US dollars) *  Stock Market Bonds- 10-, 12-, 30- year bonds. Points plunged from 1.04 percentage points (3 //l/2// year high) to 10.36 percent. The bond's price rose 7.48 centavos to 97.17 centavos per peso * agriculture, energy and mineral resources, and tourism *Member of General Agreements of Tariffs and Trade (GATT) since 1986, and currently active inWTO, *12 free trade agreements with 44 countries: NAFTA with US and Canada(most important: environmental agreements NAAEC and NAALC); Colombia, Venezuela, Peru Panama, Ecuador; Costa Rica; Bolivia; Nicaragua; Chile; EU; Israel; Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras; Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, Switzerland; Uraguay; Japan * expert prediction: by 2020 Mexico should have the 5th or 6th largest economy.
 * President-Felipe ** Calderon (1st PAN president in)(won 35.89% over 35.31% vote for Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador)