http://mexico.freeblogit.com Exploring the World Wed, 23 Jul 2008 08:27:23 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en   The arrival of the Spaniards led to many changes in transportation and communication in Mexico, but neither as immediate nor as complete as might be expected. Although the Spaniards introduced both draft animals and wheels, transportation largely continued in the pre-Columbia mold during the early colonial period. True, pack animals ... http://mexico.freeblogit.com/2008/07/23/changes-in-transportation-and-communication-in-mexico/ Water provided the most efficient means of transportation in pre-Columbian Mexico. Rafts and canoes were used in coastal waters, as well as farther out to sea. Although these rafts and canoes were paddled (the sail was unknown in Mexico), they attained considerable size. Columbus noted an ocean-going merchant's canoe in ... http://mexico.freeblogit.com/2008/07/23/transportation-in-pre-columbian-mexico/ Wheels were known and used on small toys in preColumbian Mesoamerica, but since there were no domesticated animals large enough to be ridden or to pull vehicles, overland transport was limited to foot traffic. Foot transport was professionalized in Mesoamerica: human carriers, called tlamemes (in Nahuatl the singular was tlameme ... http://mexico.freeblogit.com/2008/07/23/transport-and-communications-mesoamerican-and-colonial/ During the 1980s Mexican policy makers began to change course on foreign trade. Not only had import substituting industries outlived their usefulness as the primary motor of economic growth in the country, but foreign investment was in short supply in the wake of the 1982 debt crisis. In response, the ... http://mexico.freeblogit.com/2008/07/23/trade-liberalization/ Mexico always has had a diverse export mix. In the 1940s minerals, such as silver, copper, lead, zinc, and petroleum made up the majority of Mexican exports. Agricultural products, especially cotton (Laguna), coffee (southern highlands), sugar (south-central temperate zone), shrimp (gulf coast), cattle (northern region), cord fiber (Yucatán), and fruits ... http://mexico.freeblogit.com/2008/07/23/exports-and-imports-2/