9781422286913

Timeline

1910–1917 Major damage done to the Colima area in the Mexican Revolution. 1974 Discovery of major crude petroleum deposits in Chiapas leads to further exploration and development. 1993 Mexico, Canada, and the United States sign the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). 1994 In Chiapas, the Zapatista Army of National Liberation declares war against the Mexican government. 2000 Vicente Fox is elected president of Mexico, and promises reform. 2003 A 7.6-magnitude earthquake kills 29 people and leaves thousands homeless, mostly in the state of Colima. 2006 In Oaxaca, a teacher’s strike turns into seven months of protests against state governor Ulises Ruiz, resulting in at least 18 deaths; In December, president Felipe Calderón orders federal soldiers and police to intervene in turf wars among powerful drug cartels. This begins a period of violence known as the narco war.

9

2008

The Mexican government pledges $42 million to improve sanitation and curb pollution in tourist-heavy Acapulco. In December, Mexican authorities kill Arturo Beltran Leyva, one of the country’s most wanted drug lords. His Beltrán-Leyva Cartel, which controlled drug smuggling in Guerrero, Oaxaca, and Chiapas, soon collapses and is replaced by the Sinaloa Cartel. PAN candidate Gabino Cué Monteagudo becomes the first non-PRI candidate to be elected governor of Oaxaca in 80 years. A 7.4-magnitude earthquake destroys more than 30,000 homes in a large area along the Oaxaca–Guerrero border. In Chiapas, conflict breaks out between the Zapatista rebels and an organization of farm workers known as CIOAC-H.

2009

2010

2012

2014