Postion Paper Essay Research Paper The Position

Postion Paper Essay, Research Paper

The Position PaperIn such Western countries as Canada and the US the high standard of living and quality of life can be credited to the development of these countries in the modern era. Mexico, which has had many problems in the past, is faced with a dire question that has to be answered if it hopes to grow into a strong international power with a bright future. Should the western world s experience of development in the modern era serve as a model for the development of Mexico? In order to arrive at an answer it is important to examine both sides of the issues and to find out a little more about Mexico. The country of Mexico is located just south of the US and borders the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. Mexico has a total area of 1 972 550 square kilometers and its 9 000-km of shoreline makes it a truly beautiful vacation spot. Mexico is a very diverse country with terrain varying from rugged mountains to low coastal plains and with a climate just as diverse. The 100 million people that inhabit this country mostly consist of mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish). Mexico s democratic government consists of an executive, legislative and judicial branch Mexico and a legal system based on the one in the US. Mexico s President is Ernesto Zedillo who is both chief of state and head of government and has held the presidential position since 1994. Anyone over 18 years old has the right to vote thereby making Mexico a true democratic country. The Western world s development model is based on free enterprise of laissez faire economics and private businesses. This development model is based on profit and competition between private companies, which would result in economic prosperity and development of products and technologies. An important part of this form of development is trade, which is supposed to lead to competition and economic prosperity. This form has been beneficial to Western nations and has lead to great economic gains.

Once souce of conflict in Mexico is the Mexican State of Chiapas and the rebels that live here. The Chiapas are one of the poorest of the Mexican states, for example they have a literacy rate of 69% compared to the 87% that Mexico has on average. In this region on about 49% of the population has running water and 50% of the people live in houses without pluming and latrines. The poor condition of this region is one of the examples of what the western worlds development model causes. This regions problems stem from the division of land in this region. The wealthy landowners own most of the fertile land in this region and are able to farm cash crops such as cotton, sugar and coffee. The indigenous people of the Chiapas on the other hand mostly farm the thing rocky soil found on the steep slopes in this region. The farmers that create their own agricultural land are also faced with problems. While cutting down the rainforests does allow the creation of new agricultural land, this red soil loses its fertility in 2-3 years. The Mexican government has also ended the agrarian reforms, which we supposed to help landless peasants get their own small farms. This dissatisfaction with the land distribution had lead to the formation of Chiapas rebels known called Zapatista National Liberation Army. The rebel demands include work, land, shelter, food, health, education, independence, freedom, democracy, justice, and peace. These rebels have attacked and take over Mexican towns and have participated in political assassinations in order to force the government to change land distribution and implement reforms in to improve life in the Chiapas.