Geo-Mexico, the geography of Mexico

Mexico receives $280m in international funding to fight urban poverty

Mexico's geography in the Press Comments Off

Oct 172011

Today (17 October 2011) is International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. A few weeks ago, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) approved a $280 million loan to help fight urban poverty in Mexico through a comprehensive approach that combines efforts targeting both physical needs — increased access to urban services and infrastructure — as well […]

Hurricane Jova smashes into Barra de Navidad and Melaque on Mexico’s Pacific Coast

Mexico's geography in the Press Comments Off

Oct 142011

The twin coastal towns of Melaque and Barra de Navidad in the state of Jalisco felt the full force of Hurricane Jova earlier this week. Barra de Navidad has great historical importance as one of the shipbuilding ports where the Spanish built the ships which traversed the Pacific Ocean to the islands of the Philippines. […]

The maquiladora export landscape

Books and resources, Teaching ideas Comments Off

Oct 102011

InfraNet Lab is “a research collective probing the spatial byproducts of contemporary resource logistics.” Given its emphasis on spatial aspects, it includes many topics of interest to geographers. InfraNet Lab was included on Planetizen’s 2009 list of the 10 best planning, design, and development websites. Planetizen describes InfraNet Lab as: “An intense and directed blog […]

The diffusion of the Africanized honey bee in North America: a bio-geographical case study

Other Comments Off

Oct 082011

The diffusion of the Africanized honey bee in North America: a bio-geographical case study

Africanized honey bees, sometimes popularly called “killer” bees, resulted from the crossing (hybridization) of European honey bees and African honey bees. They combine the best and the worst of both sets of relatives. Africanized honey bees are slightly smaller than European honey bees, but more aggressive and less inclined to remain in one place. They […]

Mexico’s geomorphosites: the volcanic spine of Tequila Volcano, Jalisco

Other 1 Response »

Oct 062011

Mexico’s geomorphosites: the volcanic spine of Tequila Volcano, Jalisco

The small town of Tequila, the center of production of Mexico’s national drink, lies in the shadow of an imposing 2700-meter (8860-ft) volcano. Most visitors to the town visit the National Tequila Museum, take a distillery tour, and then sample one or two of the many world-famous brands of tequila made in the area. Tequila […]

The re-opening of the giant El Boleo copper mine in Santa Rosalía, Baja California Sur

Other 4 Responses »

Oct 042011

The re-opening of the giant El Boleo copper mine in Santa Rosalía, Baja California Sur

Santa Rosalía in Baja California Sur is one of my favorite places on the Baja California Peninsula. Geography and economics have conspired to change its fortunes more than most towns in the course of history. Originally founded in 1705, the town failed to prosper as its populace faced repeated epidemics, and its farmland was subject […]

Mexico’s multinationals: Groupo Bimbo, one of the world’s largest food companies

Other 4 Responses »

Oct 032011

Mexico's multinationals: Groupo Bimbo, one of the world's largest food companies

The word “Bimbo” in common English usage refers to an inept person, an airhead or a “cheap” flirtatious “dumb blond”. In Spanish, “Bimbo” has no particular meaning, but is the name of Mexico’s predominant bread baker, a massive multinational company. It is so well-known that in many parts of Latin America, packaged, sliced white bread […]

The GINI index: is inequality in Mexico increasing?

Updates to Geo-Mexico Comments Off

Oct 012011

The GINI index: is inequality in Mexico increasing?

The GINI index, used to quantify the degree of inequality within a population or country (the higher the value, the more inequality), was introduced in a previous post. In this post we report on the change in GINI index for the member countries of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development). The OECD regularly […]

Examples of high risk settlements located near Pemex pipelines

Mexico's geography in the Press Comments Off

Sep 292011

Examples of high risk settlements located near Pemex pipelines

There have been several fatalities associated with Pemex pipeline explosions in recent years, sometimes resulting from illegal attempts to tap into the lines. They include the disastrous blast in San Martin Texmelucan, Puebla, in December 2010 that killed 28 people. It therefore comes as something of a surprise to find press reports highlighting areas where […]

Mexico’s geomorphosites: The Piedras Bola (Stone Balls) of the Sierra de Ameca, Jalisco

Other Comments Off

Sep 272011

Mexico’s geomorphosites: The Piedras Bola (Stone Balls) of the Sierra de Ameca, Jalisco

The Sierra de Ameca is a range of hills a short distance west of Guadalajara. The area was important in colonial times for gold and silver mining. One of the mines is called Piedra Bola (Stone Ball). The landscape immediately around this mine is so distinctive and unusual that it featured on the cover of […]

Mexico City: attracting businesses from northern Mexico and revitalizing downtown core

Mexico's geography in the Press Comments Off

Sep 262011

Mexico City: attracting businesses from northern Mexico and revitalizing downtown core

Some businesses leaving northern Mexico and moving to Mexico City According to Laura Velázquez, the Economic Development Secretary for the Federal District, the city has attracted 1650 firms from the north of Mexico in the first six months of 2011. The Federal District does offer some financial incentives for newly established companies, but the main […]

Traffic congestion still a serious problem for commuters in Mexico City

Updates to Geo-Mexico Comments Off

Sep 242011

Traffic congestion still a serious problem for commuters in Mexico City

An IBM survey of 8,042 commuters in 20 cities on six continents shows that more people are now taking public transport rather than driving. In general, people report that traffic has improved over the past three years. The survey, entitled Global Commuter Pain, found that commuting in Mexico City was the “most painful” of the […]

Update on Mexico and the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

Mexico's geography in the Press, Updates to Geo-Mexico Comments Off

Sep 222011

In a previous post, we looked at Mexico and the UN Millennium Development Goals. This post is the text of a press release issued by the President’s Office in September 2011: As part of the celebrations of the 50th Anniversary of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), President Felipe Calderón gave the General Administrator of […]

The Ethos Foundation’s Multidimensional Poverty Index

Other Comments Off

Sep 202011

The Ethos Foundation's Multidimensional Poverty Index

We looked in a previous post at the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), originally presented in an Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative (OPHI) working paper, and explained its advantages over earlier poverty measures, especially the relatively crude single-factor approaches like “a dollar a day”. Earlier this year (2011), the Ethos Foundation, a Mexican NGO, presented […]

The financial flows involved in Mexico’s vehicle manufacturing industry

Other, Teaching ideas Comments Off

Sep 192011

The financial flows involved in Mexico’s vehicle manufacturing industry

In previous posts, we have seen Where Mexico’s vehicle assembly plants are located, as well as looked at some of the reasons for Mexico’s success in this industrial sector and examined Mexico’s vibrant autoparts sector. In this post we analyze the varied financial flows involved in the industry. Both local and international financial flows underpin […]

The reasons why Mexico is fast becoming a key player in aerospace manufacturing

Updates to Geo-Mexico Comments Off

Sep 172011

The reasons why Mexico is fast becoming a key player in aerospace manufacturing

In a previous post, we looked at why Querétaro has become a hub of aerospace manufacturing, home to major manufacturing or research plants for such firms as Bombardier and GE. In this post we take a further look at the aerospace industry in Mexico, which, according to ProMexico, the Mexican federal agency that promotes trade […]

Review of “Mexican National Identity, Memory, Innuendo and Popular Culture”, by William H. Beezley

Books and resources Comments Off

Sep 152011

Review of "Mexican National Identity, Memory, Innuendo and Popular Culture", by William H. Beezley

William H. Beezley, a professor of history at the University of Arizona, has written widely about Mexican history. He was co-editor, alongside Michael C. Meyer, of the Oxford History of Mexico, an illustrated “narrative chronicle” through the centuries, and a landmark modern history of Mexico. In this book, first published in 2008, Beezley explores the […]

The measurement of poverty: the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI)

Other Comments Off

Sep 132011

The measurement of poverty: the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI)

Measuring poverty sounds easy but is surprisingly difficult. What exactly constitutes poverty? What is “extreme poverty”? Simple poverty measures are often uni-dimensional. For example, many poverty figures quoted in the past were based on the proportion of the population having to survive on less than a dollar a day (later revised upwards to $1.25 a […]

Re-using resources in Mexico: One person’s garbage is another man’s island!

Other 2 Responses »

Sep 122011

Re-using resources in Mexico: One person’s garbage is another man’s island!

Richie (Rishi) Sowa is back! In 2002, Sowa, a former carpenter from Middlesbrough in England, completed the construction of his own private island paradise off the coast of Quintana Roo—built entirely of plastic bottles. Amazing but true! Sowa painstakingly constructed his island, known as Spiral Island, using more than 200,000 plastic bottles, and then lived […]

Mexico’s vibrant autoparts sector

Other Comments Off

Sep 102011

In previous posts in this mini-series, we have seen where Mexico’s vehicle assembly plants are located and looked at some of the reasons for Mexico’s success in this industrial sector. In this post, we consider the importance of the autoparts industry. Each year, Mexico makes about 2 million vehicles, of which about 1.5 million are […]

Geotourism and geomorphosites in Mexico

Other 2 Responses »

Sep 082011

Geotourism is geography tourism (as opposed to tourism geography!). It applies to any recreational (tourism) activity where one of the primary objectives is to visit some phenomenon of geographic importance. This could be a coral reef, mangrove swamp, volcano, mountain peak, cave or canyon, but it could just as easily be a sinkhole, waterfall, new […]

Is poverty in Mexico on the rise?

Mexico's geography in the Press Comments Off

Sep 062011

According to a recent government study, almost half of Mexico’s population now lives in poverty. The report came from the National Political and Social Development Commission (Spanish language acronym: Coneval). Poverty rates had been falling for several years, so this is clear evidence that Mexico’s economy has been struggling in the wake of the economic […]

The reasons why Mexico has become one of the world’s top ten vehicle-making countries

Other Comments Off

Sep 052011

The reasons why Mexico has become one of the world’s top ten vehicle-making countries

As we saw in an earlier post – Where are Mexico’s vehicle assembly plants located? – Mexico’s autoparts and vehicle assembly industry plays a vital role in Mexico’s economy, attracting foreign direct investment (FDI), providing employment and bringing in billions of dollars in export earnings each year. Mexico also has a large internal (domestic) market […]

The geography of Mexico’s sugarcane industry

Other 6 Responses »

Sep 032011

The geography of Mexico's sugarcane industry

The sugar industry accounts for 0.5% of national GDP. Sugarcane fields cover 670,000 hectares (1.6 million acres) in Mexico, the second largest crop area after corn. Yields of sugarcane range from 60-70 metric tons/hectare. Main growing areas in Mexico The main cane producing states are: Veracruz (1.9 million metric tons), San Luis Potosí and Jalisco […]

The geography of Mexico in the 21st century (cartoon)

Other Comments Off

Sep 022011

The geography of Mexico in the 21st century (cartoon)

Below is Mexican cartoonist Negrinho’s view of the “Geography of Mexico in the 21st Century“, which shows how “In the course of history, the geography of Mexico has changed: its natural environment due to deforestation, its politics, society and even its security…” The cartoon dates from a few years ago, and features references to politics, […]

How do the rates of intentional homicide differ across Mexico?

Other 1 Response »

Sep 012011

How do the rates of intentional homicide differ across Mexico?

In a recent post, we looked at the vexed question of the overall 2010 homicide rate for Mexico. We included a mention of National System of Public Security (SNSP) data for Mexico that show that there were 18 intentional homicides (murders) per 100,000 population in 2010. This rate varies greatly from state to state (see […]

Mexico’s Fair Trade coffee faces an uncertain future

Updates to Geo-Mexico Comments Off

Aug 302011

An earlier post looked at why Mexico’s coffee harvest was unlikely to meet expectations this year. The 2010-11 harvest, hit by poor weather, totaled a disappointing 4 million 60-kg sacks (240,000 metric tons), almost entirely Coffea arabica and about 70% destined for export. This post looks at some recent trends relating to the production and […]

Mexodus: student journalists write about the on-going exodus from Mexico’s northern border zone

Books and resources 1 Response »

Aug 292011

In a previous post–Ciudad Juárez faces economic fallout from the effects of the war on drugs–we looked at how violence in one border city has adversely affected the local economy, causing many businesses to close. The violence has also resulted in many people migrating away from the city. How many have moved? There is limited […]

Where are Mexico’s vehicle assembly plants located?

Teaching ideas Comments Off

Aug 272011

Where are Mexico's vehicle assembly plants located?

Mexico is one of the world’s “Top Ten” countries for vehicle production and for vehicle exports. 75% of Mexico’s annual production of around 2 million vehicles are made for export. The industry attracts large amounts of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Vehicle assembly plants provide around 60,000 jobs, with a further 80,000 employed in distributorships nationwide […]

Are homicide rates in Mexico increasing? Perhaps, but…

Other Comments Off

Aug 252011

This question is far more complicated to answer than might initially appear. To start with there are two primary sources of homicide data in Mexico which provide very different results and vary significantly from state to state and year to year. The National System of Public Security (SNSP) compiles homicide statistics from police reports and […]

Older Entries Newer Entries