In the southern part of North America lies the United Mexican States with the United States of America, the Pacific Ocean, Guatemala, Belize, the Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico circling around the country. With a population of approximately 126,014,024, Mexico is the 10th most populous country in the world. The nation also has a wealthy cultural heritage and has the most Spanish speakers.
Mexico has a free enterprise economy driven by a mix of modern and outdated industry and agriculture. It is also dominated by the private sector. The nation has free trade agreements with more than 50 countries around the world including El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Japan, and the European Free Trade Area. From 1994, when the North American Free Trade Agreement was put in place, imports from the US has increased to 12% while that from Canada has soared to 5%.
The government has developed infrastructures such as seaports, telecommunications, railroads, airports, and the generation of electricity as well as distribution of natural gas. Mexico’s per capita income is about one-third that of the United States but the income is unevenly distributed. In 2007, the administration of Felipe Calderon gained support from the opposing party to pass pension and fiscal reforms. In 2008, an energy reform measure was also passed followed by another fiscal reform in the subsequent year.
In 2009, the country’s GDP plummeted with the drop of the global demand for exports and the decline of remittances and investment. In 2010, with exports to the United States and with domestic consumption falling behind, Mexico’s GDP recorded a 5% growth.
The Mexican peso is the nation’s currency which is the 15th most traded monetary unit in the world and the most traded from Latin America. The first set of banknotes was issued by the Mexican Empire through the Great Bank of the Mexican Empire in 1823, during Emperor Agustin de Iturbide’s rule.
Mexico’s central bank, the Banco de Mexico, was constituted on September 1, 1925, and has been responsible for the issuance of Mexican peso banknotes since then. Prior to the establishment of the bank’s own printing facility in 1969, Mexican paper bills were produced by the American Bank Note Company. Hence, earlier banknotes have similar designs to that of US dollars. The printing company still supplied paper bills for the country until 1978, even with bank facilities producing notes for the country.
The latest version of Mexican banknotes was released gradually between 2006 and 2019, starting with the 50-peso note on polymer. This set of notes highlights the country’s historical and natural heritage and boasts its flora and fauna along with its landscapes and World Heritage sites. The 50-peso note issued between 2012 and 2017 includes a SPARK feature. It is also the world’s first banknote to use an Eclipse image, multilevel diffractive elements to reveal an asymmetrical image.