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Cultural Communication in Mexico

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Submitted By aponic
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Communication and Culture in Mexico

Background Information on Mexico

A. Brief History
Mexico is situated in the southern part of mainland North America, bordered by the United States in the North, and Belize and Guatemala towards the South. Mexico was conquered and colonized by Spain in the early 16th century and is home to various Amerindian civilizations such as the Maya and Aztec tribes. Administered as the Viceroyalty of New Spain for three centuries, it achieved its independence early in the 19th century.
The elections held in 2000 marked the first time since the 1910 Mexican Revolution that an opposition candidate - Vicente FOX of the National Action Party (PAN) - defeated the party in government, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). Another PAN candidate Felipe CALDERON succeeded him in 2006, but the PRI regained the presidency in 2012.

B. Religious and Cultural Background
The word “Mexico” is derived from Mexica, the name for the indigenous group also known as the Aztecs. Aside from this, Mexicans have several cultural subdivisions within the nation, most commonly identifying themselves as Northern, Central and South/South-Eastern Mexico. The extensive, desertlike north was only sparsely populated until the middle of the twentieth century - but the more densely populated central and western Mexico is the cradle of the nation. This is where highly developed Indian cultures populated the region in pre-Columbian times and was the heart of the colony of New Spain. These have developed into large cities and major urban and industrial centers. (Everyculture.com)
Mexico is predominantly Roman Catholic consisting of least three quarters of the population with around six percent adhering to various other protestant faiths. Many of these still hold various elements of the Aztec and Mayan religions. The most important practitioners are Catholic

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