Mexico

Mexico is one of the world’s great civilizational palimpsests: Indigenous empires, Spanish conquest, Catholicism, revolution, and modern mass culture layered on top of one another without ever fully erasing what came before. From the Aztecs and Maya to New Spain and the modern republic, Mexico’s history is inseparable from the making of the Atlantic world and the rise of the Americas. Modern Mexico emerged from violent rupture—the conquest, independence, and a profound social revolution—yet retained deep continuity in language, belief, and ritual. Today, Mexico is a cultural superpower, an economic and political hinge between North and South America, and a country whose struggles with inequality, corruption, migration, and identity reflect some of the central dilemmas of the modern world.

1. 1 Mexico is a critical economic and demographic partner of the United States, shaping trade, migration, and regional stability.
2. 2 Its history of revolution and state-building influenced political movements across Latin America and beyond.
3. 3 Mexican culture—food, art, music, film, and literature—has become globally influential.
4. 4 Ongoing debates over violence, governance, and inequality mirror challenges faced across the developing and developed world.
5. 5 Mexico’s Indigenous past and colonial legacy remain central to modern discussions of identity, power, and historical memory.