Cultural Assignment #2                        Name ___________________________

México                                                     Section _____

I.     GEOGRAFÍA

A.    Identify each body of water.               [4 points]

B.    Locate each of the following cities on the map by writing the city’s name on the line.       

       [8 points]

Mexico City Monterrey                  Mérida                 Acapulco

II.   HISTORIA

A.    Mark each statement “t” (true) or “f” (false).   [16 points]

       Refer to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico#Demographics  

____      1.     Mexico declared independence from Spain on September 16th, 1810.

____      2.    Approximately 3000 years ago, the Aztec, Olmec, Toltec and Maya civilizations ruled

Mexico.

____      3.    The French ruled Mexico from 1864-1867.

____      4.    In the 1840’s  Mexico demanded and received territory from the United States.

B.    Match the historical figure on the left with the correct description on the right.

       (Refer to the Country Profile links or do a web search to answer these questions.) [20 points]

____	1.  Benito Juárez	a.     Ruled the city of Tenochtitlán when the “conquistadores”        arrived in the New World; was regarded as a scholar, not a        warrior
____	2.  Vicente Fox Quesada	b.    Ruled Mexico as a dictator from 1876-1880 and again from      1884-1911; his regime was both violent and corrupt
____	3.  Hernán Cortés	c.     Lawyer, judge, governor and president of Mexico; the only        indigenous person (Zapotec Indian) to serve as        president
____	4.  Moctezuma II	d.    Arrived in the New World in 1506 and soon after        conquered Mexico for Spain
____	5.  Porfirio Díaz	e.     The current president of Mexico; by law allowed to serve        only one 6-year term

C.    Briefly answer each of the following questions.      [10 points]

1.     What does the acronym “NAFTA” refer to?  What was the reason for this legislation?

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2.    What does the Mexican holiday “el cinco de mayo” commemorate?

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III.   ESTADÍSTICAS de la ACTUALIDAD (Current Statistics)     

Refer to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico#Demographics  

       Mark each statement “t” (true) or “f” (false).   [24 points] 

____      1.     Mexico is the country where the greatest number of U.S. citizens live outside the

United States.

____      2.    Mexico City has the second largest population (22 million) of all cities in México.

____      3.    About 30% of the population of Mexico is “mestizo”.

____      4.    Mexico’s literacy rate in 2004 was at 92%.

____      5.    Mexico is divided into 31 states and a federal district.

____      6.    Mexico is the most populous Spanish-speaking country in the world.

IV.  NOTICIAS de la ACTUALIDAD (Current News)

Refer to http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4544699.stm to answer these questions.

[the value of each question is shown in ( ); 18 points total]

1.     List two provisions of the immigration law referred to in this article.   (4)

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2.    What was the reaction of Mexico’s president to this legislation?  (2)

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3.    Who is Santiago Creel?  What plans does he have for the future?  (4)

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4.    According to the article, why do many Republicans in Congress favor stricter immigration

       measures? (3)

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5.    If you were a member of Congress, would you have voted for or against this legislation?  Briefly explain your point of view.   (5)

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