Why is the mexican plateau considered the heartland of mexico
Geopolitics of Mexico
located in the backyard of a superpower
Mexico is often overlooked in global
affairs as being beholden entirely to
the will of Washington that imprint is
unbecoming Mexico has long maintained an
independent foreign policy as a
steadfast metal power though that
process has not been without effort so
let's have a look at the geopolitical
profile of Mexico
I'm your host Shivan and welcome to Casa
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the description box below governing a
mountainous territory is never easy
not to mention one that is almost 2
million square kilometers beginning at
Tijuana the us-mexico border stretches
over 3100 kilometers to the Gulf of
Mexico while the western half of the
border is a straight line the eastern
half follows the trajectory of the Rio
Grande River the entirety of the western
border dissects the inhospitable deserts
of Baja California Sonora and Chihuahua
from the robust economies in the south
of the United States and yet despite the
harsh terrain the us-mexico border
remains the most traversed international
boundary in the world with approximately
350 million crossings annually south of
the border about 70% of Mexico is made
up of mountainous terrain to place
things into perspective Mexico is so
mountainous that
if the country were flattened it would
be the size of Asia appreciating this
fact of existence is key to
understanding Mexico the Sierra Madre
Oriental mountain range in the Northeast
and the Sierra Madre Occidental in the
Northwest dominate Mexico's geographic
landscape like two great shoulder blades
they run past the country's eastern and
western flanks in doing so the two
mountain systems detach Mexico's
coastlines from its interior to the west
the Sierra Madre Occidental gives way to
a thin strip of coastal desert and the
Gulf of California beyond which lies the
Baja California peninsula barren and
sparsely populated the peninsula is
nonetheless crucial to the defense of
Mexico's Pacific coastline in the east
meanwhile the gradual descent of the
Sierra Madre Oriental towards the Gulf
of Mexico turns the coastal regions into
a fertile plain that is well suited for
farming and is considered as the
agricultural base of Mexico however
unlike in the West
Mexico's eastern coastline has no
maritime boundary and is completely
exposed to the threats emanating from
the Gulf this maritime vulnerability has
been demonstrated repeatedly in history
nearly every foreign invasion of Mexico
from the Spanish in 1519 to the
Americans in 1914 has started at the
port city of Veracruz the fence of
Veracruz is therefore paramount to the
security of the Mexican government
between the twin Sierra Madre mountain
systems lies the arid and sparsely
populated Mexican plateau which rises to
meet the sierra nevada trans volcanic
belt in central and southern mexico at
the point of convergence this year a
modern mountain ranges and the sierra
nevada trans volcanic belt separate
north mexico from a place called the
valley of mexico which is the seat of
the government in Mexico City both
protected and confined by its
surroundings
Mexico City resembles a mountain
fortress busy
by unforgiving geography it acts as the
political heartland of Mexico and it is
the closest to a geographic nexus that
the Mexican geography has to offer
today around 21 million people live in
the metropolitan area of the capital and
Mexico City extends throughout most of
Mexico Valley so control over Mexico
City grants one decisive leverage over
the rest of the country further south
the mountains give way to the dense
jungles and swamps of the Isthmus of
Tehuantepec which splits to form the
Yucatan Peninsula in the east and the
Chiapas Highlands in the south with such
a divergent landscape whereby many
regions are geographically isolated it
is no surprise that most of Mexican
history is a tale of struggle between
the centralization of power in Mexico
City and the decentralization of power
to the peripheries that narrative exists
even today while the Mexican flag is
hoisted across the country each outlying
region pursues its own interests
separately from the capital take for
instance the Rio Grande basin in the
Northeast
it's bloated middle class has close
connections to the US banking
manufacturing and energy industries and
therefore enjoys a GDP per capita almost
twice that of the rest of Mexico a
similar situation can be observed in
Baja California where by border cities
such as Tijuana and Mexicali have
sophisticated backdoor private dealings
with the business elite in San Diego to
sum things up north Mexico which is home
to a fifth of the Mexican population has
more in common with the United States
than it does with the rest of Mexico as
a result the north has developed an
identity quite unlike the rest of the
country this fact is not lost on Mexico
City where lawmakers view the north at
risk of secessionism and foreign
intervention Mexico City is so
suspicious of Washington's close
relationship with north Mexico that at
the high
of the Second World War despite the
threat of Japanese power in the Pacific
Ocean Mexican officials refused to allow
the stationing of US troops in the Baja
California peninsula so maintaining
control over North Mexico is a task the
central government takes sincerely in
the Mexican plateau the story is
distinctly different as well destitute
mountainous and underdeveloped the
plateau serves as a buffer against the
United States however the same
conditions that restrict mobility have
also historically rendered it a cradle
of revolution and a crucible of crime
for Washington such instability is a
security risk because the illicit
activities and violence often spill over
into the United States in turn
Washington is forced to intervene in
Mexico's affairs to prevent Washington's
unilateral intervention Mexico City
embraces bilateral security cooperation
in the Mexican plateau as a means of
restoring Washington's confidence though
it is a breach of sovereignty there's
just no way around this being neighbors
with a superpower requires some
flexibility and this cooperation
provides lawmakers in both Washington
and Mexico City with necessary breathing
room so despite the turbulent
relationship the two nations have mutual
security concerns in the Mexican plateau
looking over its peripheral regions is
the Mexico City located some 2,200
meters above sea level
Mexico City is protected by its altitude
and mountainous surroundings and it has
played a crucial role since its founding
by the Aztecs
however the capital is lacking in
interconnectivity with its coastal
holdings this proved to be the downfall
of the Aztec empire half a millennium
has passed since the Spanish conquest
but despite the passing of time and the
advances in technology Mexico City is
still incapable of securing its eastern
coastline with the capital's power
projection be
confined to its interior a well-armed
naval power suggests the United States
poses a direct threat to Mexico's
integrity seen in this light the loss of
Texas Alta California and nuevo Mexico
in the mexican-american war of 1846 was
a natural result of Mexico's
vulnerabilities to policymakers in
Mexico City the objective is clear
whoever controls the eastern coastline
controls the capital and whoever
controls the capital controls the
highlands and thus ultimately the rest
of Mexico as long as Cuba and Florida
remain in the hands of foreign powers
Veracruz remains a knife pointed at the
heart of Mexico and existential threat
acknowledged even by the most idealistic
of defense analysts to the south theater
on topic Isthmus serves as Mexico's
untamable and uncover noble frontier
much of the terrain consists of
limestone and has limited access to
fresh water
as such the Chiapas Highlands in the
south and the Yucatan Peninsula in the
southeast offer little in the way of
agriculture both regions are thus costly
possessions for any government
nonetheless they have strategic value in
the Chiapas Highlands the delineated
borders have remained stable because
none of the regional States has the
capacity to shape the nature of the land
meanwhile the Yucatan Peninsula
protrudes into the Caribbean and forms a
geostrategic continuum with Cuba and
Florida so the peninsula is fundamental
to the defense of Mexico's eastern flank
and the exercise of power in the
Caribbean
without the Yucatan Mexico would have a
hard time defending itself against even
minor naval powers be that as it may the
area extending from the Chiapas to the
Yucatan is difficult to govern and the
authority of the central government is
seldom felt outside of major cities and
although the 21st century has brought
with it the opportunities for
alternative revenue streams such as
tourism
the South remains disproportionately
underdeveloped especially the Chiapas
with its GDP per capita of $7,200 not
surprisingly the South is a hotbed for
organized crime and low-level insurgency
now
Mexico's complicated geography could
have been overcome by rail and road
networks however despite ruling Mexico
for over 300 years
the Spanish authorities largely
neglected the infrastructure necessary
for Mexico to function independently so
when Mexico became an independent state
it started with a blank slate the most
rapid era of modernization occurred
during the reign of military general
Porfirio Diaz in the late 19th and early
20th centuries a period referred to as
the porfiriato the central government
made enormous strides towards economic
social and technological change but it
was eventually overturned by the
peasantry from the countryside as Mexico
entered the 20th century its isolated
geographic pockets erupted in civil
disobedience and the state fell into a
twenty-year political crisis known as
the era of the Mexican Revolution
emerging as the victor was the
Institutional Revolutionary Party or PRI
for short which would rule Mexico from
1929 onwards through a system of soft
authoritarianism thanks to high oil
prices and a booming textile market the
PRI gained the confidence to align
itself with factions opposing Washington
such as the socialist governments in
Chile and Nicaragua at the height of its
independent foreign policy Mexico was
the only Latin American state to oppose
the economic embargo against Cuba it was
a daring display of policy making but
the PRI never went as far as openly
aligning with the Soviet Union much of
the success of the PRI is owed to the
favorable economic prospects but also to
its policy of incorporating threats
to the political process compromise is
usually a good sign in politics in
Mexico however it effectively resulted
in the government turning a blind eye to
the rise of the cartels which over time
allowed organized crime to be embedded
in Mexican society the second most
critical phase in Mexican history
occurred in the 1980s with the collapse
of oil prices as energy revenues
declined Mexico City reluctantly
embraced Washington and in doing so
opened its economy to foreign investment
and trade gradually Mexico lost its
opposition attitude and became a bridge
state between the United States and
Latin America the ratification of the
North American Free Trade Agreement and
the North American Security and
Prosperity Partnership were the final
steps in this political evolution but
the act had some unintended consequences
as part of its new security arrangement
with the United States
the Mexican government stumbled into
conflict with the original cartel
networks and the secessionist militias
at one point in 1994 a far-left
paramilitary group known as the
zapatistas briefly seized towns in the
Chiapas area and even marched on the
regional capital in the year 2000 the
PRI
relinquished power to the next
generation of law makers however the
task of maintaining unity remains the
number one priority for Mexico
the state must integrate its outlying
regions with the capital particularly
north Mexico this objective cannot be
pursued by force it must be accomplished
through a democratic mandate that said
some physical force is required when
dealing with the cartels here
Mexico City must collaborate with
Washington to break the clout of the
cartels for even greater efficiency in
the fight against organized crime
the Mexican government must provide an
incentive
structure for those who would otherwise
be drawn to illegitimate organizations
so some social programs are necessary in
the long run next the state must secure
its eastern coastline Veracruz remains
the Gateway into the heartland of Mexico
and that gate must be secured from
foreign influence the most
cost-effective way to accomplish this is
by creating an interdependent
relationship with the United States
whose Navy dominates the world's oceans
the Mexican government could for
instance bolster its diaspora lobbying
groups in Washington though this must be
done with care as not to provoke a
backlash should Mexico succeed in
unifying its territory under the
authority of the capital it can then
entertain the idea of foreign objectives
from Yucatan Mexico could project
influence across the Caribbean having a
firm understanding with Cuba would
strengthen the security of Mexico's
eastern coastline otherwise Mexican
policymakers would have to make do with
non-interventionism and assume that
other nations would respect that
principle yet perhaps Mexico's greatest
strength is its potential to turn into a
bridge between the United States and
Latin America Mexico would need far
greater soft power across Latin America
to accomplish this but it is an
objective worth pursuing
it would make Mexico indispensable to
the United States and that after all is
power for the appreciation of a
superpower is the greatest deterrence
there is I've been your host Shivan from
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[Laughter]
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