Mexico

Religion.—The number of Protestants in the Republic, most of whom are not Mexicans, is so small that the Catholic is prac tically the only church. Mexico has been Catholic since the Conquest, although many Indians have still a very pagan con ception of Christianity. The church is administered by three archbishops and 23 suffragan bishops. The first official bishopric, which was that of the capital, was created in 1530 and was occu pied by the famous Fray Juan de Zumarraga. Fifteen years later it was elevated to the rank of archbishopric and in 1863 it was divided into the three archdioceses of Mexico, Guadalajara and Michoacan. In the 19th century the church grew immensely wealthy until in 1859 it owned practically one-third of the repub lic. Juarez, the great Indian president, inspired the laws of La Reforma, which nationalized its property, deprived it of State support and forbade it any participation in political affairs. The Constitution of 1917 and the interpretation given it by President Calles further restricted the power of the church. Places of public worship must be at all times under governmental supervision. The church can not own property, and priests, who must all be Mexi can-born, may not participate in politics. There are several Prot estant missions in Mexico, but their growth has been slow.

Finance.

The Mexican monetary unit is the gold peso, and coins are made of 2.5, 5, 10, 20 and so pesos, respectively. Gold or silver the peso is theoretically worth 5o (American) cents, although the silver standard varies slightly in accordance with the market value of that metal. The amount of gold coined by the Government in 1923 totalled $15,644,619. Of the 34 char tered banks existing in Mexico in 1908, 29 had the right of issu ing bank-notes, the total value of which amounted to $97,787,878 at that time. Since the Constitution of 1917 was promulgated banks have no longer been allowed to issue notes, this right being reserved to one "State Bank" (Banco Unico) and they have ac cordingly become only institutions of discount and deposit. In 1925 the Banco de Mexico was founded by the Government and in 1926 the Banco de Credito Agricola. The exchange value of the old notes varied (1926) between 21 and 221 cents of peso (i,t, to I II. cents of dollar) per nominal peso, according to the metallic reserves of the bank that had issued them. As a demon stration of the confidence of the Mexican people in their Gov ernment, the fact may be mentioned that deposits in the banks passed from (pesos) in 1925 to $134,672,271 in 1926. The assets of all the Mexican banks were said to be $738,386,696.

In 1923 Federal revenues amounted to $256,259,123, while in 1925 they rose to $309,306,011. State revenues passed from $53, to $64,849,218, and municipal from $47,281,836 to $46, 037,877. Taxes per capita amounted to $21.36 in 1926 (Great Britain $177.55). The following figures show the variations in revenues and expenditures for a certain number of years : The total Mexican external debt amounted to $soo,000,000 plus $200,000,000 for interest in arrears in 1922. According to an agreement, signed on June 16, 1922, by Adolfo de la Huerta and the International Committee of Bankers, a payment of $15, 000,000 was made on Dec. 8, 1923, for the year 1923, but owing

to a revolutionary outbreak no other payment was made. In 1925 the Lamont-Pani Agreement was signed which excluded the National Railways from Mexico's external debt.

Defence.

The revolution has thoroughly changed the de fensive organization of the country. Military education (includ ing defensive exercises) is compulsory for all citizens. Besides this emergency force there is a regular army, nominally number ing 50,000 men and commanded by officers, who in many cases have received their military training at the Escuela Militar de Aspirantes (Military academy) located in the Chapultepec castle. Five gunboats and a few smaller vessels protect the long coast and there is a naval academy at Veracruz. There is also an aviation school at Mexico City.

Mineral Wealth.

Mexico is one of the richest countries in the world, if not the richest, in metals of many different kinds. From 1521 to 1922 Mexico yielded 155,000 metric tons of silver of a total value of $3,000,000,000. This was then two-thirds of the world's production and the output is still (1927) one-third. The total American capital invested in Mexican mines amounts to $500,000,000. It is highly probable that if Mexico ever drops to a low rank among the petroleum-producing nations, it will still be one of the leading ones in mining. Metals make two thirds of the Mexican export trade. There are more than 75,000 property-titles, covering a mining territory of 520,000 hectares and 80,000 men are engaged in the mining and ore-smelting indus tries. Gold is especially abundant in Lower California, Chihuahua, Durango, Michoacan, Puebla, Sinaloa and Sonora, the total pro duction having varied between 20 and 24 tons between 1919 and 1926, one-third of which was exported and the rest coined in the capital. Silver is mined in Guanajuato, Zacatecas, San Luis Potosi, etc., and gold is frequently found with it. The annual production of silver is generally between 2,500 and 3,00o tons, of which six-sevenths are exported while the rest is left to be coined in Mexico. Lead is next in importance and is found in the States of Hidalgo, Oaxaca, Queretaro, Jalisco, Puebla, etc., part only of the country has been explored by the oil geologists, there are indications that no other oil-fields of importance may be found outside of the Gulf coast regions. Mexican oil is pro duced in considerable quantities in the State of Veracruz, in those portions of Tamaulipas and San Luis Potosi which are near Tampico and, in small quantities, in some regions of Tabasco and Chiapas. Much of it is heavy oil, suitable for fuel, but some of the lighter variety is found in Tabasco (Macuspana) and in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. The following figures give, in Mex ican pesos, the amount of foreign and Mexican capital invested in the Mexican oil-fields: United States, $614,487,263; Great Britain, $356,776,199; Netherlands, $75,758,960; Mexico, $11, 582,405; other countries, ; total, $1,065,548,110.