LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Mexico
built 630 days ago
Mexico has long been the top travel destination for Americans. But until now, there has not been such a panoramic vision of offered by some of Mexico's finest contemporary writers of fiction and literary prose. Here are writings — many translated for the first time — that bring you to the people of the beaches, the deserts, jungles, snow-capped mountains, and megacities. The voices are rich and diverse, the stories enthralling and strange. These writings shatter stereotypes as they provide a rollicking journey from the Pacific to the Gulf, from Yucatan to the U.S.-Mexico border, from humble ranchos to a fabulous mountaintop castle. Contributors include Daniel Reveles, Carlos Fuentes, Inés Arredondo, Jesús Gardea, Elizondo Elizondo, Agustín Cadena, C. M. Mayo, Carlos Monsiváis, Juan Villoro, Guadalupe Loaeza, Fernando del Paso, Mónica Lavín, Pedro ángel Palou, ángeles Mastretta, Raúl Mejía, Martha Cerda, Araceli Ardón, Bruno Estañol, Ilan Stavans, Raymundo Hernández-Gil, Julieta Campos, Alberto Ruy Sánchez, Rosario Castellanos, and Laura Esquivel.
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Harder - Mexico is a land of varied landscapes and changing climate conditions. Few countries have as many contrasts within such short distances. High plateaus, mixed with deep valleys and towering mountains account for about two-thirds of Mexico's land. Tropical rain forests, arid deserts, and lush fertile valleys support a wide range of plant and animal life. Mexico is rich with minerals making it a leading producer of silver. The country ... has significant deposits of copper, gold, lead, salt, sulfur, and is a major exporter of oil and petroleum products.
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M[E]xico has an excellent and inexpensive health care system. Many larger centers offer first class hospitals, and a full range of health care. Many North Americans now travel to Mexico for dental work and minor surgery, as prices are considerably lower. Pharmaceuticals are widely available and at prices much lower than the U.S. or Canada. Doctors are well trained and they even do house calls! Health insurance is available and it is inexpensive.
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Mexico has nearly 150 rivers; most are small, unnavigable, and 70% drain into the Pacific Ocean; some of the large rivers include the Balsas, Conchos, Grijalva, Panuco, Papaloapan, Usumacinta. (some not shown on the map for space reasons)
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Mexico actively participates in several international organizations; it was elected to a seat on the UN Security Council for the period 2002-03. It is a strong supporter of the United Nations and Organization of American States systems and ... pursues its interests through a number of ad hoc international bodies. Mexico has been selective in its membership in other international organizations. It declined, for example, to become a member of Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Nevertheless, Mexico does seek to diversify its diplomatic and economic relations, as demonstrated by its accession to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1986; its joining the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC) in 1993; its becoming, in April 1994, the first Latin American member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD); and its entering the World Trade Organization as a founding member in 1996. Mexico attended the 1994 Summit of the Americas, held in Miami; managed coordination of the agenda item on education for the 1998 Summit of the Americas in Santiago, Chile; and hosted a Special Summit of the Americas in early 2004.
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The people of Mexico reflect the country's rich history. The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire in the early 16th century soon led to widespread intermarriage and racial mixing between Spaniards and Native Americans. As late as the early 19th century, Native Americans accounted for nearly two-thirds of the population in the region. During that century... the racial composition of the country began to change from one that featured distinct European (Spanish) and indigenous populations, to one made up largely of mestizos—people of mixed Spanish and Native American descent. By the end of the 19th century, mestizos, who were discriminated against during three centuries of Spanish colonization, had become the largest population group in Mexico. Mestizos now account for about 60 percent of Mexicans.
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