Environmental Issues in Mexico

Mexico has a large heritage from a long time ago, still visible throughout the country. In fact, its capital of Mexico City even stands on a legacy: the legacy of Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire. Although most of modern day Mexico used to be part of the Aztec Empire, other civilizations including the Maya, Zapotec, Toltec, Teotihuacan and Olmec flourished in the space in which Mexico stands today. However, upon the arrival of the Spanish in Mexico, the advanced Aztec civilization was overthrown, mainly due to the fact that the Aztecs lacked the advanced weapons which the Europeans possessed and also lacked immunity to European diseases like Smallpox, which wiped out large parts of their population, including members of the population who could fight. The Mexicans remained under Spanish rule until the early 1800s, when several independence figures including Father Hidalgo, managed to make Mexico an independent nation.

Mexico is a very populated country, being roughly 3 times the size of Texas but containing a population of 130,207,371 people. Mexico City has become the most populated, containing a quarter of the population and holding the title for the 12th largest city on Earth. Due to the large influence which the Spanish had over the 3 centuries in which they were the dominating power in Mexico, most Mexicans (92.7%) speak Spanish, and most are Roman Catholic (82.7%). Mexico is not the highest on the life expectancy, with an average life expectancy at 76.94 years. Mexico is ruled by a presidential republic, and is split into 32 states. Currently, Mexico is ruled by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. The NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) has played an essential role in industrializing Mexico, which pay be one reason as to why Mexico has a $2.4 trillion economy. With free trade with the US and Canada, it has become much easier for Mexico to industrialize, although the income across Mexico is not yet near equal.

Although Mexico has many different concerns, the environment is a large one of these. With the rise of industrialization in Mexico (largely due to the NAFTA), there have been numerous issues which have often been associated with industrialization. Due to this (and the fact that Mexico started industrializing without proper ways to remove pollutants and waste created by industrial plants), most of the environmental issues in Mexico result from (or are) waste going into public spaces including water, sewage and pollutants going into water and urban areas, as well as air pollution from industrial pollutants. In turn, this results in dirty water so fresh water is scarce in Mexico. Also due to this pollution, the agricultural lands of Mexico are being ruined. In order to clear space for industrial plants, deforestation is used. This results in erosion since the trees can no longer protect the ground well from wind and water. Industrial expansion also helps contribute to ongoing desertification.

Mexico has 486.4 megatons in carbon dioxide emissions, levels which are dangerously high. Even though agricultural land is decreasing in favor of industrial centers, 54.9% of the land in Mexico is still used for agricultural purposes. With a lot of waste from industrial centers (53.1 million tons every year) and not enough resources to remove these - only 5% of the waste is actually recycled.

Works Cited:

Brewer, Stephanie. “Mexico.” WOLA, 27 Apr. 2021, www.wola.org/program/mexico/.

Central Intelligence Agency, Central Intelligence Agency, 4 May 2021, www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/mexico/#environment.

“Mexico - United States Department of State.” U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of State, 25 Feb. 2021, www.state.gov/countries-areas/mexico/.

“Mexico Timeline.” Ducksters, Ducksters, 2010, www.ducksters.com/geography/country/mexico_history_timeline.php.

“Mexico.” Ducksters, Ducksters, 2019, www.ducksters.com/geography/country/mexico.php.

“Mexico.” World Bank, World Bank, 2021, projects.worldbank.org/en/projects-operations/projects-summary?countrycode_exact=MX.