Some Quick Facts:| Area: | 1.972.550 sq.km |
| Population: | 108.7 Mio |
| Time zone: | GMT -6 to -8 hour |
| Electricity: | 120 Volt |
| Prefix: | 00 52 |
| Currency: | Peso MXN |
| Euro | 16 MXN |
| Dollar US | 10,9 MXN |
| Pounds | 21,5 MXN |
Main Cities:
Mexico City (20 Mio.)
Monterrey (4 Mio.)
Guadalajara (4 Mio.)
Puebla (2 Mio.)
Airports:
More than 230;
Many of them International
Harbours:
Altamira, Veracruz,
Tampico and many more
From Past to Present
Footprints in the valley of Mexico show the first human presence about 40.000 years ago. For thousands of years hunters and gatherers were the sole inhabitants of the area, until 9000 years ago ancient Mexicans started an agricultural revolution by domesticating corn. This was the start of many complex civilizations, such as Olmecs, Mayas and Aztecs.
1519 the Spaniards invaded Mexico and set up a 300 year long colonial rule. The viceroyalty of “New Spain” was the most important provider for the Spanish Empire until on September 16.th 1810, Mexico declared the independence from Spain. This started a war, ended by the recognition of independency in 1821.
After a period of unrest, revolutions and a war with the USA, Mexico lost Texas to the United States. But finally the republic was restored in 1867. 1910 followed the next revolution and a civil war, with famous participants like Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata. 1928 this war ended and the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) became the most powerful force for the next 70 years. In the late 1970´s the monopolistic rule of the PRI started to fade, which led to the loss of the absolute majority in 1997 and in 2001 the first Non-PRI president was elected.
Geography and Climate
Mexico is situated in Middle America or, as some say in Southern North America. To the North it is sharing a more than 3000 km long border with the USA, to the South the neighbours are Belize and Guatemala. The natural border in the West is the Pacific Ocean, in the East the Caribbean Sea. Together Mexico has a coastline of 9330 km.
From the North to the South Mexico is crossed by two large mountain ranges: the Sierra Occidental and the Sierra Oriental. Therefore, the bigger part of the central and northern territories is at a higher altitude. The elevation extremes throughout the country reach from 10 meters below sea level at Laguna Salada, to 5.610 meters at the Pico de Orizaba.
Overall, the terrain of Mexico could be described as high rugged mountains with high plateaus, mixed with deserts and low coastal plains. On both shores, Mexico has endless white sandy beaches, which attract tourists from all over the world. Acapulco and Cancun for example are well-known resorts worldwide.
As mentioned before, Mexico is a large country. So large, you cannot speak anymore of “The Mexican Climate”, because you find so different climate-zones like desert and tropical. The twenty-fourth parallel, the Tropic of Cancer, divides the country into tropical and temperate zones. The northern part has colder winters, the southern part has constant temperatures throughout the year – another reason for the booming tourism industry in Mexico.
Economical Facts
The recovery of Mexico after the 1994 economical disaster was quite impressive. Today, Mexico has a modern, diversified and free market economy. Oil is the largest source for foreign income, but Mexico also trades in silver, copper and gold, amongst other natural resources. Tourism is already the third largest sector of the industrial GDP. In 2005 Mexico was the 7.th most popular destination for tourists all over the world. With more than 20 Mio visitors per year, Mexico is the only Latin-American country within the top 25. The main attractions for the tourists are the ancient ruins of the old cultures and the famous beach resorts.
Today almost 90 per cent of the Mexican trade is under free trade agreements with more than 40 countries. Obviously the most important of them is the NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), because still close to 90 per cent of the exports go to the northern neighbours USA and Canada. 65 per cent of the imports are coming from there as well.
One special factor of the Mexican economy is the reduction of poverty by money, sent from Mexican citizens, who are working across the border in the US. These remittances reach more than 20 Billion Dollars per year and are actually the second largest source of foreign income.
Real Estate Facts
Buying property in Mexico, no matter if it is land, an apartment or a house, offers very good value for money, compared to property in Europe or the US. Additionally maintenance costs are a lot cheaper and the ownership-costs like taxes are very low.
Like everywhere else, the three most important factors for buying property in Mexico are: location, location and location. If you buy your property on the right spot, the rental income from your “home away from home”, will be a nice increase of your annual spending money. And the annually increase of the value of the property, makes the initial investment more than worthwhile.
As in many other countries, the best and safest way to invest in property in Mexico is to invest in Real Estate Development project. These are managed by large companies, who take care of all the paperwork and supply the necessary utilities like water, telephone and electricity.
Purchasing property in Mexico is a quite straightforward process, not much different from most European countries. Most Real-Estate Deals in Mexico are done in cash, but over the last years, more banks – American and Mexican – are offering loans like European banks.
And: Foreign Nationals CAN own property in Mexico, without any restrictions and without having a resident permit!