Discovering Mexico

Government Mexico is a federal republic divided into 31 states and one federal district. The federal powers reside in this district, known as Mexico, D.F. (Distrito Federal) or Mexico City. The head of the executive branch is President Enrique Peña Nieto, since December 2012. The president is elected by popular vote for a six-year term with no re-election. The legislative branch is the National Congress, made up by the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. The judicial branch’s highest court is the Supreme Court and the subordinate courts on the federal level include Circuit, Collegiate, and Unitary courts. There are also State and District level courts, where each state is made up of those three branches. Economy Mexico’s economy is a mix of modern industry and agriculture. It is the 15th largest economy in the world; however, there is large inequality in terms of income distribution. The country’s largest trading partners are the U.S. and Canada due to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) followed by other free trade agreements with over 40 countries, including the European Union. Mexico is open to foreign and local investment in every sector of the economy from energy, commerce, and tourism to infrastructure and telecommunications. It has signed more free trade agreements than any other country in the world, making it very attractive to investors worldwide. Time Zones Mexico has three different time zones, with most of the country using Central Standard Time. The states of Chihuahua, Nayarit, Sonora, Sinaloa and Baja California Sur use Mountain Standard Time. Only the state of Baja California Norte uses Pacific Standard Time. Daylight Savings Time (DST) Daylight savings time begins on the first Sunday of April at 2:00 a.m. local time, and falls back to standard time at 2:00 a.m. on the last Sunday of October. There are 10 municipalities in Mexico which share a border with the United States that begin daylight savings time three weeks earlier than the rest of the country – on the second Sunday in March and end on the first Sunday in November. The purpose is to facilitate commerce with the United States since some industries like transportation and banking were being affected by the differences in daylight-saving time. Business Hours Mexican standard business hours are from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., and then from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Helpful Hints: The state of Sonora does not observe daylight savings time.

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Discovering Mexico