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From the mid-1940s through the 1970s, Mexico generally enjoyed considerable economic growth, especially in industry. However, in the 1980s the economy, heavily dependent on sales of petroleum, incurred large international debts as petroleum prices fell. In the early 1990s, debt relief, diversification and privatization of the economy, and foreign investment showed positive effects, and the growth rate returned to historic levels. But a new crisis arose with the collapse of the peso in the mid-1990s, forcing the adoption of harsh austerity measures. A strong export sector helped the country to recover in the late 1990s, but the economy again went into recession in 2001, in large part because of the economic downturn in the United States. The Mexican government plays a major role in planning the economy and owns and operates some basic industries (including petroleum). However, the number of state-owned enterprises fell from more than 1,000 in 1982 to fewer than 200 in 1998.
About 25% of the country's workers (including those largely outside the money economy) are engaged in farming, which is slowly becoming modernized. Because rainfall is inadequate outside the coastal regions, agriculture depends largely on extensive irrigation. Mexico produces a wide variety of agricultural products, including basic grains, sugarcane, citrus fruits, cotton, coffee, and tomatoes. Maguey (see amaryllis) is widely grown and is processed into the alcoholic beverages pulque and mescal. Livestock raising and fishing are also significant economic activities.
Mexico is among the world's leading producers of many minerals, including silver, fluorite, zinc, and mercury, and its petroleum reserves are one of its most valuable assets. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, petroleum constituted about three quarters of Mexico's exports. That figure fell drastically in the mid-1980s. While the petroleum industry has recovered substantially, diversification of industry is helping to keep Mexico's trade economy from becoming dependent once more on a single export.
Next to oil, the most important source of exports are the industrial assembly plants (maquiladoras) that dot Mexico's border towns. Since the early 1980s there has been considerable foreign investment in the maquiladoras, which take advantage of a large, low-cost labor force to produce finished goods for export to the United States. These plants have increased Mexico's export production considerably. The economic importance of the maquiladoras, however, is exceeded by tourism. Favorite tourist centers include Acapulco, CancUn, Cozumel, Puerto Vallarta, MazatlAn, Cabo San Lucas, and Tijuana, as well as Mexico City itself and such highland centers as Guadalajara and Puebla. Remittances from Mexicans working, both legally and illegally, in the United States are also extremely important to the economy.
The principal industrial centers in Mexico are Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, JuArez, Tijuana, Veracruz, Durango, LeOn, QuerEtaro, Tampico, MErida, and Puebla.
Leading manufactures include food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, refined petroleum and petrochemicals, textiles and clothing, motor vehicles, cement, and electronic products. The country is also known for its handicrafts, especially pottery, woven goods, and silverwork. Mexico's chief ports are Veracruz, Tampico, Coatzacoalcos, MazatlAn, and Ensenada.
The leading imports are machinery, steel, electrical and electronic equipment, chemicals, motor vehicle parts for assembly and repair, aircraft, manufactured consumer goods, and grain; the main exports are crude oil, petroleum products, coffee, sugar, cotton, tomatoes, shrimp, engines, motor vehicles, consumer electronics, silver, sulfur, and zinc. Until recently, the annual value of Mexico's imports was considerably higher than the value of its exports. The principal trade partners are the United States, the European Union nations, Japan, and Canada. Mexico is a member of the United Nations, the Organization of American States, the North American Free Trade Agreement, the Latin American Integration Association, and the Latin American Economic System.
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