Political and Economic Environment Comparison Essay

The political and economic environments between Costa Rica and Mexico have similarities as well as differences. There are strong values and ethical views from both cultures that need to be compared and respected before there is complete understanding. The ability to understand each culture’s description and detailed information will determine how both cultures are able to understand each other and other surrounding cultures with similar views. The political views are discussed from both countries, Mexico and Costa Rica, and the economy is compared and contrasted to show overall cultural develop and growth. Political and Economic Environments of Costa Rica Costa Rica is one of the fastest growing nations right now, it’s government is one that is known as one of the oldest democracies in Central America, often looked upon by other countries as a model of success when discussing Latin American governments. However unlike most of their neighbors, Costa Rica has not suffered through the usual dictatorships or civil wars since their current system was implemented in 1948. In Costa Rica Presidential elections take place every four years and the president is elected by popular vote just as the American vote. The rule of thumb is that the president is elected with at minimum 40 percent of the popular vote or a runoff election will need to be held to make the final decision. The judicial branch has the final say in terms of administering justice in Costa Rica, this branch of government is made up of the Supreme Court, appellate courts and trial courts. Costa Rica’s governing body includes 22 magistrates, which are selected by the legislative assembly that takes place every eight years. The current President of Costa Rica is Laura Chinchilla, although the current President is a woman, Costa Rica has been ran by very strong male leaders in the past, a few notable politicians in Costa Rica are: Oscar Arias Sanchez, who was also a Nobel Peace Prize winner (1987) and also the President of the Republic (1986–1990, 2006-current). Another past president of Costa Rica was Juan Primitivo Prospero Fernandez Oreamuno from 1882 to 1885. He fought in the war of 1856-1857 against William Walker and participated in the military coup that overthrew Jesus Jimenez in 1870. Economic Factors of Costa Rica Costa Rica like many other countries uses trade to level economy. Trade brings in the income and a variety of food and merchandise. Here are a few countries Costa Rica is in trades with. The United States, Netherlands, China (including the special region of Hong Kong, Japan, Venezuela, Mexico, and Brazil (2005) (Foley, 2008). A few other countries that Costa Rica has signed trade agreements with include, Canada, Chile, The Dominican Republic, Panama, and several Caribbean Community countries. The total value of exports is $2. 9 billion (1996); partners with Germany, Italy, Guatemala, El Salvador, United Kingdom, Netherlands, and France. Total value of imports was at $3. 4 billion in (1996); partners with the United States, Japan, Mexico, Guatemala. In 2000 trade was $6. 1 billion. In 2009 there was a two-way trade between the United States and Costa Rica exceeding $9. 6 billion. One major industry includes â€Å"The Intel Corporation,† which opened a chip-manufacturing plant in 1998. The garment assembly and tuna processing industries are important. The industrial production growth rate in 1992 was at 10. 5%. Costa Rica use these main industries, food processing textiles, clothing, construction materials, fertilizers, and plastic products. Others include aluminum processing, a petrochemical plant at Moin, a tuna-processing plant at Golfito, and an oil refinery at Puerto Limon. According to the Infocostarica staff, tourism is another major industry. Some 400,000 foreign tourists spent United States $164 million in 1998. In 1992 more than half a million foreigners visited Costa Rica, and spent an estimated $20 million, 15,000 jobs sites were also created within the first six months of that year. Costa Rica has been listed the lowest unemployment in all Latin America and the Caribbean. In 2001 the unemployment rate was at 6. %. In 2010 the unemployment rate was 6. 7%. The Cost Rican Union of Private Business Chambers and Associations (Uccaep) reported 15,000 lost jobs in the month of December 2008. The unemployment level was set a t 4. 9 in 2008, whereas it was expecting to rise 6% in 2009. The Nations International Labor Organization (OIT) listed Costa Rica as the lowest employment rate. The report also noted that more than half the new jobs generated in 2007 in the entire region are considered to be low-paying; jobs such as mine, construction and factory workers, transportation, and warehouse workers. Women in Costa Rica continue to be a disadvantage even though women have a higher level of education than men; the average salary paid to women is 26% lower. Costa Rica is known to use what they call currency as colon (CRC). Notes of 500; 1,000; 2,000; 5,000; 10,000 colon, coins 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, cemtimos, one USD – 517 (CRC) in 2007 (Foley, 2008). Currency is subdivided into 100 centimos. The Costaricans have slang terms for the currency, one example is for the colon bill of 100 called – â€Å"teja. † In recent times the colon has tended to depreciate against the dollar by about 10% annually. Political and Economic Environments of Mexico Mexico has a federation of about 31 states including the Federal District or (Mexico City, DF). [pic] There are three branches within the Federal Government in Mexico such as: Executive, Legislative and Judicial but all are very centralized in practice and most of the power with the executive branch. This branch includes the [pic]President, whom is elected to a 6 year term, called a sexenio. The President in Mexico can not be re-elected. [pic] The President is able to appoint closest collaborators which are referred to as the government’s Department Secretaries/Ministers (Politics of [pic] Mexico 2006). The Legislative Branch (Congreso de la Union has two parts; Senate and Congress. There are 128 Senators in the Senate and 500 Congressmen in Congress. The Senators have 96 members which are directly elelcted by simple [pic] votes within districts, 32 are allocated by proportional [pic] bases [pic]on the party’s popular vote. All senators serve a 6 year term. The Congressmen, have 300 member which are directly elected by the majority of the votes within districts [pic] while the rest of the 200 member are picked by popular vote from each party. All Congress members serve a 3 year term. Both the Senate and Congress’ members cannot be re-elected. Below is a list of today’s current Government Officials since 2006. Here are a few examples of current politicians in Mexico starting with the President being Felipe Calderon Hinojosa, the Foreign Secretary is Patricia Espinosa Cantellano, the Ambassador to the U. S. is Arturo Sarukhan Casmitjana, and the Ambassador to the United Nations is Claude Heller Rouassant. Mexico also has its share of [pic]famous politicians and holds large pride in each person’s success representing the country. Such great people are Robert Madrazo Pintado, Rosario Robles, and Moctezuma Ilhuicamina. Roberto Madrazo Pintado, a Mexican politician affiliated with the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). He was the candidate of the alliance between the Ecologist Green Party of Mexico (PVEM) and his party during the 2006 Presidential Election. Another famous person was Rosario Robles. She was born in 1956 and a left-wing Mexican politician who was appointed substitutes Head of Government of the Federal District or Mayor of Mexico City. Lastly, a famous earlier century (1398-1469) politician Moctezuma or Motecuhzoma Illhuicamina was the fifth Aztec emperor before Christopher Columbus discovered the Americas (wikipedia. org). Economic Factors of Mexico Mexico has several major industries which include vehicles, machinery, cement, pottery, iron and steel, mining, agriculture, oil and natural gas production, and aluminum refining. (Altepedia, 2009). Mexico’s official currency is the Mexican Peso, and one hundred centavos (Mexican cents) are equal to one peso. Like the American dollar, the symbol for a Mexican peso is the dollar sign. However, the symbol is displayed slightly differently to help one distinguish between the two. For example, sometimes peso amounts will be shown with the letters MX in front of the dollar sign (MX$). Other times the amount will have the letters MN after the amount ($500 MN). The letters MN stand for â€Å"Moneda Nacional,† in English translation it means â€Å"National Currency. † Similar to other currencies, the Mexican peso’s value fluctuates daily because this currency is â€Å"free floating† (Mexperience, 2010). The country has three main trading partners including the USA, European Union, and Japan. In 1986, Mexico joined the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trades (GATT). After this exports to all countries began to rise. Between the years 1985 and 1993, exports went up 80 percent. In 1994, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) began. This agreement removed most of the barriers to trade between the countries in North America (United States, Mexico, and Canada) (Williams, 2004). Once the implementation of NAFTA took place, Mexico’s exports growth nearly doubled. The countries major exports include â€Å"Chemicals, Coffee, Cotton, Fruit and Vegetables, Machinery and Industrial Goods, Oil and Gas, Shrimps† (Altepedia, 2009, p. 1). Unfortunately, during recent years the Mexican Economy began to change. During the last few years, Mexico has experienced a downturn in the economy. As a result employment levels began to drop. The economic downturn along with a recent increase in violence on the United States – Mexico border has damaged many of the country’s manufacturing plants. Several of the country’s Industria Manufacturera, Maquildora y de Servicios de Exportacion (IMMEX) plants shut down. In Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua employment levels â€Å"decreased from 214,272 in July 2007 to 168,011 in December 2009† (Angeles Villarreal, 2010, p. 11). During this period, 46,261 jobs were lost. In Tijuana, Baja California, during the same period 37, 148 jobs were lost. These cities had the largest number of jobs in export assembly plants, but many more people were affected. The entire country’s export employment rate decreased from 1,910,112 to 1,641,465. The country’s total number of jobs lost between July 2007 and December 2009 was 268, 647 (Angeles Villarreal, 2010). Conclusion We have read about politics in Costa Rica and Mexico. How the government handles the absolute. Although each country has a president, the politicians can easily overrule democracy. Costa Rica and Mexico’s major industries are somewhat similar in content, although Mexico beats Costa Rica by one essence, pottery, while Costa Rica sky rockets with its tourism. The unemployment rate in both countries is at an ultimate low. That gives us clarity on why so many Latinos flee to the U. S. Many believe there is more to opportunity. Is that the only way out? Will Costa Rica and Mexico beat the odds?