Mexico (Unraveling USA)

Mexico is a country in southern North America. It was founded as a country in 1810 when it declared independence from Spain. The national language is Spanish and the Capital is Mexico City.

Early History
The region that now encompasses central and southern Mexico was an early cradle of civilization and gave rise to civilizations such as the Olmec and Maya beginning before 1000 BC. People from the city of Teotihuacan were responsible for establishing the Toltec empire in the classical and early postclassical periods of Mesoamerican history around the time of 800-1100 AD. The Aztec, or Mexica, people established an empire centered around Lake Texcoco in the Valley of Mexico which dominated the region beginning in 1428. Notably, they built the city of Tenochtitlan on an island in a lake, and it grew to become the modern national capital, Mexico City.

In the 1500s, this region was invaded and conquered by Spanish conquistadors, bringing the downfall of the Aztec Empire. At this time called New Spain, it was a valuable colony with a large supply of silver, and the Spanish crown rewarded conquistadors for the conquests by providing them with rights to native or mestizo (mixed-race European and native) laborers on land grants called encomiendas, and the laborers then converted to Catholicism. In general, the Spanish-born peninsulares held more power than either the mestizo, native, or New-World-born Spanish creolos.

In 1810, a war for Mexican independence began, mostly led by creolos against the peninsulares. Spain acknowledged Mexico's independence and ceased fighting in 1821. At this point, Mexico had possession of Texas, New Mexico, and Alta California, which included modern day Nevada, Arizona, and parts of other states, and Mexico temporarily annexed the Federal Republic of Central America.

Middle History
As the United States of America expanded westward in the early 1800s, Mexico decided to offer Americans land grants in Texas as long as they converted to Catholicism. This was very popular, but by 1835 these Texans rebelled, forming the Republic of Texas, which was incorporated into the US as a state. In 1846, the US attacked Mexico over a disputed territory, leading to a war in which the US took the northern regions of Mexico.

Corruption under various dictators plagued Mexico for the rest of this century. The Mexican Revolution broke out in 1910, and in the 1900s and was often dominated by the United States in the 1800s and 1900s. From 1900 to 2000, Mexico's life expectancy increased from 30 years to above 70 years. During this same period of time, Mexico rapidly industrialized and urbanized, and many Mexicans began working in factories.

Early 21st century turmoil
In the early 2000s, emigration from Mexico to the USA, both legal and illegal, increased. This was partially due to immigrants from Central America to Mexico, who were really passing through Mexico to get to the USA. In 2015 and 2016, Donald Trump campaigned for President of the United States on a platform that included building a wall on the Mexican-US border to keep out the immigrants.

Drug-related violence also increased across Mexico. As a result, the Mexican government began a war against drug cartels, which controlled certain areas of land in cities. By 2025, this was over and the drug cartels had been removed.

Expansion
In the aftermath of the Second Great Depression in the USA, several states declared independence from the United States. In 2031, the state of California, which had been part of the former Mexican province of Alta California until the 1800s and which had Mexican cultural influences, was admitted to Mexico as the new states of Alta California Sur and Alta California Norte. In 2035, the state of Texas, which also had been formerly part of Mexico and had Mexican cultural influences, was admitted as the new state of Tejas.

Economy
In the late 1900s, Mexico transitioned from a mostly rural to a mixed rural and industrial economy. This increased Mexican exports and GDP. In the 2020s, Mexico's economy gained more international recognition. By 2025, Mexico City was one of the world's major financial centers.

Infrastructure
Skyscrapers were constantly being built in Mexico City during the 2020s. Many building firms competed for space as prices kept increasing due to companies moving in. Most of these new buildings were designed to be sustainable. Meanwhile, the rail system was improved, and many new high speed railways were built extending across Mexico.