Introduction
The United Mexican States, more commonly known as Mexico, is a federal republic located in North America. It is bordered by the United States of America to the north, the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, Guatemala and Belize to the southeast, and the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico to the east. In total, its land mass covers 761,600 square miles (1,972,550 km2), making it the third largest country in North America behind Canada and the USA, and the third largest Latin American county behind Brazil and Argentina. Mexico is divided into 31 states and a federal district.
Mexico gained independence from Spain on August 24, 1821, after being ruled by the Viceroyalty of New Spain for nearly 300 years. However, independence was first declared on September 16, 1810, which serves as Mexico’s Independence Day and one of the most celebrated patriotic events in the country. In 1521, Spanish explorer Hernan Cortez landed on the Mexican shores in search of wealth and eventually...
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Suggested Readings
Alisky, M. (2008). Historical dictionary of Mexico (2nd ed.). Lanham: Scarecrow Press.
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Mexico. (2010). In CIA world factbook. Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/mx.html
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Mexico. (2010). In United States Department of State. Retrieved from http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/35749.htm
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Guerrero, J., Misra, R. (2012). Mexico. In: Loue, S., Sajatovic, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Immigrant Health. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5659-0_507
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