Geopolitics of Mexico

located in the backyard of a superpower Mexico is often overlooked in global affairs as being beholden entirely to the will of Washington that imprint is unbecoming Mexico has long maintained an independent foreign policy as a steadfast metal power though that process has not been without effort so let's have a look at the geopolitical profile of Mexico I'm your host Shivan and welcome to Casa film report today's episode is sponsored by Rachael which offers a line of wireless audio devices available on by recon comm / Caspian I've got a pair of the everyday e 25 they sound just as good as other premium brands but the neat thing is that they were about half the price and what I like about them is that they're comfortable discreet and have a play time of around six hours there are a lot more cool features and if you're in the market for wireless earbuds check out Reiko plus you'll be doing Caspian report a favor since they sponsored this type of special episodes so go to buy recon comm slash Caspian to get 15% off your order click the link in the description box below governing a mountainous territory is never easy not to mention one that is almost 2 million square kilometers beginning at Tijuana the us-mexico border stretches over 3100 kilometers to the Gulf of Mexico while the western half of the border is a straight line the eastern half follows the trajectory of the Rio Grande River the entirety of the western border dissects the inhospitable deserts of Baja California Sonora and Chihuahua from the robust economies in the south of the United States and yet despite the harsh terrain the us-mexico border remains the most traversed international boundary in the world with approximately 350 million crossings annually south of the border about 70% of Mexico is made up of mountainous terrain to place things into perspective Mexico is so mountainous that if the country were flattened it would be the size of Asia appreciating this fact of existence is key to understanding Mexico the Sierra Madre Oriental mountain range in the Northeast and the Sierra Madre Occidental in the Northwest dominate Mexico's geographic landscape like two great shoulder blades they run past the country's eastern and western flanks in doing so the two mountain systems detach Mexico's coastlines from its interior to the west the Sierra Madre Occidental gives way to a thin strip of coastal desert and the Gulf of California beyond which lies the Baja California peninsula barren and sparsely populated the peninsula is nonetheless crucial to the defense of Mexico's Pacific coastline in the east meanwhile the gradual descent of the Sierra Madre Oriental towards the Gulf of Mexico turns the coastal regions into a fertile plain that is well suited for farming and is considered as the agricultural base of Mexico however unlike in the West Mexico's eastern coastline has no maritime boundary and is completely exposed to the threats emanating from the Gulf this maritime vulnerability has been demonstrated repeatedly in history nearly every foreign invasion of Mexico from the Spanish in 1519 to the Americans in 1914 has started at the port city of Veracruz the fence of Veracruz is therefore paramount to the security of the Mexican government between the twin Sierra Madre mountain systems lies the arid and sparsely populated Mexican plateau which rises to meet the sierra nevada trans volcanic belt in central and southern mexico at the point of convergence this year a modern mountain ranges and the sierra nevada trans volcanic belt separate north mexico from a place called the valley of mexico which is the seat of the government in Mexico City both protected and confined by its surroundings Mexico City resembles a mountain fortress busy by unforgiving geography it acts as the political heartland of Mexico and it is the closest to a geographic nexus that the Mexican geography has to offer today around 21 million people live in the metropolitan area of the capital and Mexico City extends throughout most of Mexico Valley so control over Mexico City grants one decisive leverage over the rest of the country further south the mountains give way to the dense jungles and swamps of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec which splits to form the Yucatan Peninsula in the east and the Chiapas Highlands in the south with such a divergent landscape whereby many regions are geographically isolated it is no surprise that most of Mexican history is a tale of struggle between the centralization of power in Mexico City and the decentralization of power to the peripheries that narrative exists even today while the Mexican flag is hoisted across the country each outlying region pursues its own interests separately from the capital take for instance the Rio Grande basin in the Northeast it's bloated middle class has close connections to the US banking manufacturing and energy industries and therefore enjoys a GDP per capita almost twice that of the rest of Mexico a similar situation can be observed in Baja California where by border cities such as Tijuana and Mexicali have sophisticated backdoor private dealings with the business elite in San Diego to sum things up north Mexico which is home to a fifth of the Mexican population has more in common with the United States than it does with the rest of Mexico as a result the north has developed an identity quite unlike the rest of the country this fact is not lost on Mexico City where lawmakers view the north at risk of secessionism and foreign intervention Mexico City is so suspicious of Washington's close relationship with north Mexico that at the high of the Second World War despite the threat of Japanese power in the Pacific Ocean Mexican officials refused to allow the stationing of US troops in the Baja California peninsula so maintaining control over North Mexico is a task the central government takes sincerely in the Mexican plateau the story is distinctly different as well destitute mountainous and underdeveloped the plateau serves as a buffer against the United States however the same conditions that restrict mobility have also historically rendered it a cradle of revolution and a crucible of crime for Washington such instability is a security risk because the illicit activities and violence often spill over into the United States in turn Washington is forced to intervene in Mexico's affairs to prevent Washington's unilateral intervention Mexico City embraces bilateral security cooperation in the Mexican plateau as a means of restoring Washington's confidence though it is a breach of sovereignty there's just no way around this being neighbors with a superpower requires some flexibility and this cooperation provides lawmakers in both Washington and Mexico City with necessary breathing room so despite the turbulent relationship the two nations have mutual security concerns in the Mexican plateau looking over its peripheral regions is the Mexico City located some 2,200 meters above sea level Mexico City is protected by its altitude and mountainous surroundings and it has played a crucial role since its founding by the Aztecs however the capital is lacking in interconnectivity with its coastal holdings this proved to be the downfall of the Aztec empire half a millennium has passed since the Spanish conquest but despite the passing of time and the advances in technology Mexico City is still incapable of securing its eastern coastline with the capital's power projection be confined to its interior a well-armed naval power suggests the United States poses a direct threat to Mexico's integrity seen in this light the loss of Texas Alta California and nuevo Mexico in the mexican-american war of 1846 was a natural result of Mexico's vulnerabilities to policymakers in Mexico City the objective is clear whoever controls the eastern coastline controls the capital and whoever controls the capital controls the highlands and thus ultimately the rest of Mexico as long as Cuba and Florida remain in the hands of foreign powers Veracruz remains a knife pointed at the heart of Mexico and existential threat acknowledged even by the most idealistic of defense analysts to the south theater on topic Isthmus serves as Mexico's untamable and uncover noble frontier much of the terrain consists of limestone and has limited access to fresh water as such the Chiapas Highlands in the south and the Yucatan Peninsula in the southeast offer little in the way of agriculture both regions are thus costly possessions for any government nonetheless they have strategic value in the Chiapas Highlands the delineated borders have remained stable because none of the regional States has the capacity to shape the nature of the land meanwhile the Yucatan Peninsula protrudes into the Caribbean and forms a geostrategic continuum with Cuba and Florida so the peninsula is fundamental to the defense of Mexico's eastern flank and the exercise of power in the Caribbean without the Yucatan Mexico would have a hard time defending itself against even minor naval powers be that as it may the area extending from the Chiapas to the Yucatan is difficult to govern and the authority of the central government is seldom felt outside of major cities and although the 21st century has brought with it the opportunities for alternative revenue streams such as tourism the South remains disproportionately underdeveloped especially the Chiapas with its GDP per capita of $7,200 not surprisingly the South is a hotbed for organized crime and low-level insurgency now Mexico's complicated geography could have been overcome by rail and road networks however despite ruling Mexico for over 300 years the Spanish authorities largely neglected the infrastructure necessary for Mexico to function independently so when Mexico became an independent state it started with a blank slate the most rapid era of modernization occurred during the reign of military general Porfirio Diaz in the late 19th and early 20th centuries a period referred to as the porfiriato the central government made enormous strides towards economic social and technological change but it was eventually overturned by the peasantry from the countryside as Mexico entered the 20th century its isolated geographic pockets erupted in civil disobedience and the state fell into a twenty-year political crisis known as the era of the Mexican Revolution emerging as the victor was the Institutional Revolutionary Party or PRI for short which would rule Mexico from 1929 onwards through a system of soft authoritarianism thanks to high oil prices and a booming textile market the PRI gained the confidence to align itself with factions opposing Washington such as the socialist governments in Chile and Nicaragua at the height of its independent foreign policy Mexico was the only Latin American state to oppose the economic embargo against Cuba it was a daring display of policy making but the PRI never went as far as openly aligning with the Soviet Union much of the success of the PRI is owed to the favorable economic prospects but also to its policy of incorporating threats to the political process compromise is usually a good sign in politics in Mexico however it effectively resulted in the government turning a blind eye to the rise of the cartels which over time allowed organized crime to be embedded in Mexican society the second most critical phase in Mexican history occurred in the 1980s with the collapse of oil prices as energy revenues declined Mexico City reluctantly embraced Washington and in doing so opened its economy to foreign investment and trade gradually Mexico lost its opposition attitude and became a bridge state between the United States and Latin America the ratification of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the North American Security and Prosperity Partnership were the final steps in this political evolution but the act had some unintended consequences as part of its new security arrangement with the United States the Mexican government stumbled into conflict with the original cartel networks and the secessionist militias at one point in 1994 a far-left paramilitary group known as the zapatistas briefly seized towns in the Chiapas area and even marched on the regional capital in the year 2000 the PRI relinquished power to the next generation of law makers however the task of maintaining unity remains the number one priority for Mexico the state must integrate its outlying regions with the capital particularly north Mexico this objective cannot be pursued by force it must be accomplished through a democratic mandate that said some physical force is required when dealing with the cartels here Mexico City must collaborate with Washington to break the clout of the cartels for even greater efficiency in the fight against organized crime the Mexican government must provide an incentive structure for those who would otherwise be drawn to illegitimate organizations so some social programs are necessary in the long run next the state must secure its eastern coastline Veracruz remains the Gateway into the heartland of Mexico and that gate must be secured from foreign influence the most cost-effective way to accomplish this is by creating an interdependent relationship with the United States whose Navy dominates the world's oceans the Mexican government could for instance bolster its diaspora lobbying groups in Washington though this must be done with care as not to provoke a backlash should Mexico succeed in unifying its territory under the authority of the capital it can then entertain the idea of foreign objectives from Yucatan Mexico could project influence across the Caribbean having a firm understanding with Cuba would strengthen the security of Mexico's eastern coastline otherwise Mexican policymakers would have to make do with non-interventionism and assume that other nations would respect that principle yet perhaps Mexico's greatest strength is its potential to turn into a bridge between the United States and Latin America Mexico would need far greater soft power across Latin America to accomplish this but it is an objective worth pursuing it would make Mexico indispensable to the United States and that after all is power for the appreciation of a superpower is the greatest deterrence there is I've been your host Shivan from Caspian report if you enjoyed this video leave a like comment and subscribe thank you for watching and so [Laughter] [Music]

Channel: CaspianReport

Views: 912,215

Keywords: Mexico, Geopolitics, Foreign Affairs, World, Map, Nations, Geography, Mexican, United States, Mexico City, History, Landscape, Countryside, Mountains, Terrain, Gulf of Mexico, Sierra Madre Oriental, Baja California Peninsula, Sierra Madre Occidental, Sonora, Chihuahua, Sierra Nevada, Tehuantepec, Yucatan Peninsula, Chiapas Highlands, Veracruz, Mexican Plateau, Rio Grande, Border, Economy, Politics, Interests, Chiapas, Yucatan, Caribbean, Porfiriato, Porfirio Diaz

Id: XJ55YdzWT2g

Length: 17min 34sec (1054 seconds)

Published: Sun Jun 28 2020