The Mexico Report (One page, basic version)
Overview |History | Geography | Economy | People | Current Event
Star Player | World Cup Information | Links | Sources
Overview:
Mexico is one of the many countries
participating in the FIFA World Cup. They are in the CONCACAF division
. They have been the dominant force in this division. The team's nickname
is the Tricolores. They have not won the FIFA World Cup yet. They have
appeared in the World Cup many times, but never won the whole thing.
History:
Mexico came under Spanish rule
for 3 centuries before achieving independance early in the 19th century.
On May 5, 1862, Mexico was victorious over the French in a battle at The
Battle of Puebla. This celebration is now known as Cinco De Mayo. This
is not Mexico's Independance Day, as many people may think, their independance
day is actually September 16. The battle at Puebla in 1862 happened at
a violent and chaotic time in Mexico's history. Mexico had finally gained
independence from Spain in 1810, and a number of internal political takeovers
and wars, including the Mexican-American War (1846-1848) and the Mexican
Civil War of 1858, had mostly wiped out the national economy. During this
period Mexico had accumulated heavy debts to several nations, including
Spain, England and France, who were demanding payment. Similar debt to
the U.S. was previously cleared after the Mexican-American War. France
was eager to add to its empire at that time, and when Mexico finally stopped
making any loan payments, France used the debt issue to establish its own
leadership in Mexico by installing Napoleon's relative, Archduke Maximilian
of Austria, as ruler of Mexico. France invaded the Gulf coast of Mexico
and began to march toward Mexico City. Although American President Abraham
Lincoln was sympathetic to Mexico's cause, and for which he is honored
in Mexico, the U.S. was involved in its own Civil War at the time and was
unable to provide any direct assistance. Marching on toward Mexico City
from the coast, the French army encountered strong resistance at the Mexican
forts of Loreto and Guadalupe. Lead by Mexican General Ignacio Zaragoza
Seguin, a small, poorly armed militia of about 4,500 were able to stop
and defeat a well outfitted French army of 6,500 soldiers, which halted
the invasion of the country. The victory was a glorious moment for Mexican
patriots and is the cause for the historical date's celebration. This brief
overview of Mexico's history may influence you to read more about this
wonderful country.
Geography:
Abdias Hernandez, 66, said there had been
clashes since 1935 on the edges of this
settlement of 640 people that repeated
federal and state interventions had failed to solve.
"If we had guns, we'd go and do the same
thing to them, but we don't, which is why we stand
here with our arms crossed," Hernandez
said, though he admitted to knowing the local price
for an AK-47.
"If the government does nothing, the dispute
will continue. There will be more massacres,"
he added.
Xochiltepec, about 215 miles southeast of
Mexico City, is one of hundreds of tiny
settlements with apparently ageless rival
claims to land. The federal agrarian reform
department has reported some 600 ongoing
community disputes over land in Oaxaca,
Mexico's most heavily Indian state.
In 1998, a battle between Teojomulco and
another village killed at least 14. A 1986 clash
involving nearby Amoltepec and Zaniza killed
28. One of the men convicted of homicide in
that case is now Amoltepec's mayor, three
years after leaving prison.
Most conflicts in the impoverished region
are related in some way to land. Competing
Indian cultures have battled over farm
and forest land since before the Spanish conquest 500
years ago. Officials say the latest violence
is no exception.
"This attack was an act of vengeance by
one community toward another" because of a
federal ruling that Xochiltepec owned hundreds
of acres also claimed by Teojomulco, the
state attorney general's office said.
Xochiltepec is a Zapotec Indian settlement. Las Huertas is a Mestizo village.
The victims worked at a sawmill in nearby
San Pedro el Alto, staying there from Monday to
Friday and returning each weekend with
their pay.
Survivors said the men had hitched a ride
on a dump truck for the arduous, several-hour ride
back home. At a spot known as Agua Fria
— Cold Water — downed tree trunks and rocks
forced driver Alberto Antonio Perez to
stop and gunmen emerged from the trees.
Perez says they ordered him and his son
to leave — the two were from San Pedro rather
than Xochiltepec — and then opened fire
with automatic weapons. Twenty-six men died and
four survived, sheltered by the bodies
of the dead.
On Sunday, Xochiltepec held three funerals:
one for Evangelicals, one for Jehovah's
Witnesses and one for Catholics. The mourners
were occasionally disrupted by the roar of
state helicopters.
The state attorney general's office said
more than 200 police and federal troops took part in
the arrests. Police here said residents
of Las Huertas unsuccessfully tried to stop the arrests,
and the state pulled back its forces afterward
to avoid provoking a conflict.
There had been sputtering conflicts earlier:
People in Xochiltepec say that men from
Teojomulco fired hundreds of shots at the
village school here in January.
People in Las Huertas accused Xochiltepec
men of a March 1 ambush in which one person
was killed.
"The government has left this to grow and
grow, and then this happened. It was brutal" said Onofre Ramirez, a 24-year-old
teacher.
"This is not an isolated situation. It
is generalized throughout the region."
Coach:
Javier Aguirre,
who is the head coach of the Mexico. He was born on January 1, 1958. He
has coached this team for many years and hopes for a successful World Cup
experience.
Visit the official website of the 2002 World Cup