Mexico (Mexico Britannica)
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Mexico | |
---|---|
Capital and city | Mexico City |
Official languages | English (Spanish is also spoken in some communities) |
Religion | Primarily Anglicanism and Roman Catholicism |
Demonym(s) | Mexican |
Government | Federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy |
• Monarch | Queen Elizabeth II |
Legislature | Parliament |
Senate | |
House of Commons | |
Independence from the United Kingdom | |
• Federation | Late 19th century or Early 20th century |
• Statute of Westminster | 11 December 1931 |
Currency | Mexican dollar ($) (MXD) |
Time zone | UTC-6, -7, -8 |
• Summer (DST) | UTC-7, -8, -9 |
Driving side | right |
ISO 3166 code | MX |
Internet TLD | .mx |
Mexico is a federal parliamentary constitutional republic in North America. It was first formed as a Spanish colony in 1521 after defeating the Aztecs and other rival territories. In the 17th or 18th century, it was later taken over by the British as the Spanish Empire was in decline and the British Empire started to grow in the New World.
It gained self-autonomy during the 19th century, and eventually became a British Commonwealth. Its monarch is Queen Elizabeth II and it also has its own prime minister and parliament.
Demographically, the population is composed of Spanish Mexicans (hispanomexicanos), which are descendants of the original Spanish settlers (criollos and mestizos), Anglo-Mexicans, which are descendants of British settlers, and the indigenous population, as well as an African and Indian-descended population concentrated more in the tropical regions south in Central America. The region also has a small population of French, Italian, Irish and German immigrants. English is the official language, with some significant communities also speaking Spanish and indigenous languages. The use of the Spanish language in the country has been in decline since the British take-over and influences from the UK and English becoming an international language.
Protestantism, namely Anglicanism, is the dominant religion in the country. The Spanish communities mainly practices Roman Catholicism. Other significant religions in the region include Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, other Protestant denominations such as Pentecostalism and Mormonism, and atheism.
Government and Politics
Mexico is a member of the British Commonwealth. It is a Commonwealth realm, with Queen Elizabeth II as its monarch and head of state. Like most other Commonwealth countries, it follows a parliamentary system of government, where the leader of the party which gets the most seats in the House of Commons of Parliament becomes the Prime Minister, who is the head of government.
The Parliament is bicameral, with the lower house being the House of Commons and the upper house the Senate. The lower house is elected directly by eligible citizens, with the number of seats representing each province in proportion to that province's population. Members of the Senate however are appointed by either the Queen or governor-general on the advice of the prime minister.
The Queen represents the country of Mexico and is the commander-in-chief of the Royal Mexican Armed Forces. She also appoints a governor-general who acts on her behalf.
The country has two main parties, the Liberal Party (which is centre-left) and the Conservative Party (which is centre-right). Other minor parties include the Spanish Catholics Party (a moderately conservative party which advocates for the Spanish Mexican community), the Green Party (advocating ecology and moderate liberalism), the Anarcho-Communist Party (a far-left party advocating for Marxist-Lenninism and rights of indigenous people, analogous to the EZLN), and the Nationalist Party (a far-right party advocating white Anglo-Saxon pride).
History
The country became part of the Spanish Empire as New Spain after defeating and conquering the Aztec Empire as well as surrounding nations in 1521 by an expedition lead by Hernan Cortez. However, the Spanish Empire started to decline by the 17th century due to hyperinflation as well as internal conflicts within Spain. This gave opportunities to other European nations such as England and France to start claiming territory in the New World. Eventually, the British defeated the Spanish and took over the entire New Spain, including Caribbean territories as well as the Philippines, which was later renamed New England (Mexico and Central America proper, the Caribbean and the Philippines were held as separate territories). Spain did kept the other viceroyalties in South America.