Sponsor with Compassion

This large, populous country occupies all the land between the US and Central America and ranges from high mountain plateaus in the central states to dense, low-lying jungles along the Yucatan Peninsula. Mexico has been home to advanced civilizations such as the Olmec, Maya, Toltec and Aztec for thousands of years and is now home to the world's largest Spanish-speaking population.

Traditional values of family and faith are highly prized in this mostly-Catholic country. Graciousness in conversation and communication is highly regarded, and relationships take precedence over other matters. Mexican culture and cuisine have had a large influence on its neighbours, especially in the US. About 80 per cent of Mexicans are mestizo, descended from both Spanish and Indigenous ancestors.

Before the arrival of the Spanish, Mexico was dominated by several major city-states that both traded and fought with one another. Following the defeat of the dominant Aztec empire by Hernan Cortez, Mexico became a territory of Spain, with its capital of Mexico City founded on the site of the former Aztec capital. Mexican revolutionaries negotiated its independence in 1821, and in 1823 it became a republic. Mexico lost much of its territory in what is now the southern US during the Mexican American War after the US annexed Texas. Social discontent rocked the country during the 1960s and 1970s, especially with rising urbanization and unemployment. In 1994, indigenous peoples in Chiapas revolted, demanding economic and political reform, and currency devaluation produced near economic collapse. A boom-and-bust cycle of economic and political turmoil has continued to plague Mexico, and the government has often been charged with corruption involving drug dealers.