Top 10 Proposals:

1. Juan Rivera - Juan's Super Blog(Japan) Because Japan has suffered so many tragedies recently, I personally think it should be at the top of anyone's priority list. It is necessary to find help for these people, be it emotional or physical, in any way possible.
2. Ian Vizcarrondo- The Haiti In Me(Haiti) Haiti is one of the poorest countries that I've been able to learn about. It's incredible how they are STILL trying to recover from the devastation brought by last year's huge earthquake.
3. Paola Cruz- Welcome to Somalia!(Somalia) Somalia has horrible living conditions. Many, if not most, of the people are malnourished and unemployed/underemployed, therefore expanding the terrible economic status already existing.

4. Jalimar Gonzalez- Sudan & Its Rights (Sudan) Sudan also needs immediate help. So many children die because of being malnourished. There is so much war and discrimination. Being Africa's largest country, there should be visible reactions towards these terrible things going on. 

5. Yvette Arias- Fighting for Equality, Fighting for our Rights(Tibet) Tibet is the most peaceful place I've learned about. Yet, because of this, they continue being stepped on by China. They should have the right to be free and completely emancipated from the Chinese government.
6. Valeria Burgos- Loving Our Rights(Uganda) It's horrible to know the violence existing in this country, especially against homosexuals. In my opinion, homosexuals to me are sort of like heroes for being themselves and not letting anyone stop them to change their minds, and realizing how much discrimination against them there is, is absolutely terrible. Another huge issue in Uganda would be the extreme poverty the people of Uganda live in.
7. Natalia Sanchez- This is Life in China(China)  The Chinese government keeps prohibiting and violating their citizens' rights. This cannot continue, they need to find a way to have these ways abolished, and therefore let them continue to live their lives as free willing citizens of China.
8. Adriana Rivera- Forever Tunisia(Tunisia) There is so much discrimination in this country, especially against religion. Sexism is a big deal in this country also, and it shouldn't be, no one should be discriminated because of their sex or their religion.
9. Giovanni Gerena - Giovanni's Human Right Blog (Cuba) Because of such a long time of suffering a dictatorship,  Cuba hasn't been able to live their rightful human rights.
10. Wilson Acosta - Wilson's Metal Blog (Afghanistan) Afghanistan has been suffering a horrible government for a great deal of time. Most of this country's issues are "solved" with pure, raw violence. No one deserves to live in fear of their lives because of the careless decisions taken by the government.

My Proposal- A proposal with purposes of changing the People's minds about inadequate "solutions" towards serious problems in Mexico

After pointing out the various issues in Mexico that violate the citizens' human rights, there is to mention that a solution should be presented to cease these problems. Most, if not all, of these problems are coming from the same primary and perhaps, most important issue, the running of the Mexican government.

Poverty strikes upon Mexico, leaving its people weak, socio-economically wise. Mexicans are at a loss at finding jobs that are able to sustain their families, therefore, they resort to unattainable and sometimes, explicitly dangerous measures, such as leaving their homes for other countries and finding illegal jobs which leads to drug trafficking.

Personally, I think that the main problem isn't the fact that these things are happening, but that the government is taking way too many drastic measure to stop this, instead of seeing the big picture.

The government should take other steps towards finding solutions for these issues. The U.N. should be able to assist Mexico's government in ways that violence is not used. They should force the Mexican government to apply all of the articles of the human rights in the Declaration of Human Rights to their constitution.

Approval of Same Sex Marriage

Recently, I found out that same sex marriage was now legal in Mexico City, thus becoming the first city in Latin America to legalize this act. I truly am inspired by this.

Violation of Mexico's Human Rights

Mexico has long suffered violations of its citizens' human rights. These violations include military abuse, domestic abuse, and discrimination among others. Articles 1-3, Article 5, Articles 7-13, Article 16, Article 19, and lastly, Article 28 have been repeatedly violated throughout the years. Mexicans have no freedom of speech. Some journalists are cruelly tortured for reporting critical views of the police force and the way the government is run. The military in Mexico has been active recently because of the ever growing drug trafficking issues in the country. Though these men are here to protect, they instead act unrelentingly towards citizens who will not give them information asked, or instead, they often beat up women to later rape them. This kind of behavior is also often seen in homes, where men take control of women and threaten them. The criminal justice system is also failing at being dependable, honorable, and most importantly, fair. Victims of this violation have been subjected to acts of torture to gain confessions. Migration is also a fairly big problem in Mexico. The problem is not migration itself, but the consequences brought with this. Authorities have not yet taken the correct methods or adequate steps in order to investigate or prosecute anyone who abuses of migrants. Authorities also rarely inform migrants of the rights they have, becoming perpetrators of these abuses.

Personally, I think that the government should place stricter policies and laws, especially for the physical abuse found in most of Mexico. If these new policies and laws are not followed, these violators will be appropriately punished, serving incarceration or paying fines. Collaboration of citizens is completely necessary, if they wish to ameliorate conditions in their country, social and economically wise.
I also think that anyone who abuses of migrants passing through Mexico, should be properly punished for such brutal actions.

For more information on these topics, please visit these links:
Aljazeera
Human Rights Watch in Mexico

Brief Background of Mexico's History.

The Spanish conquest in Mexico made a huge impact on Mexican history and culture. Many early civilizations and cultures native to Mexico were oppressed for years. Though the colonization of Hernan Cortes, the conqueror, lasted for about three hundred years, Mexico finally gained its independence on September 16th in the year 1810.

There were five Pre-Columbian native civilizations who thrived most throughout the Mexican history: The Olmecs, Teotihuacan, The Toltecs, The Mayans, and The Aztecs. Nonetheless, all of these five civilizations contributed many of Mexico's unique traits, despite the circumstances brought with the Spanish conquest. The Olmecs were the first civilization known that settled in the Gulf Coast of Mexico. The Mayan civilization was vastly aware of their learning capacity and often experimented with it. They developed writing systems, a calendar, and often worked with mathematics. The Aztecs were the last native civilization and perhaps the most developed, influenced by earlier Mexican civilizations. The Aztecs conducted huge, important religious ceremonies that featured dances processions, and even sacrifices.

The Spaniard Hernan Cortes arrived at Mexico in 1519, where the conquistador was mistaken by a god by the Aztec King at the time. This brought troubles to the Aztecs, seeing as many believed Cortes to be a god, they actually helped him take over the Aztec empire. After colonizing the area, a large part of the indigenous population was enslaved by the Spaniards and many died after catching diseases from which the Spaniards were already immune to. Many missionaries began arriving in the year 1523, building monasteries and converting millions of people to Catholicism.

On September 16, 1810, a rebellion was started by a parish priest who believed in the rights of native Mexicans. Rebel leader Vicente Guerrero and royalist general, Agustin de Iturbide collaborated to gain Mexico's independence from Spain in 1821. A Mexican constitution was drafted by these two leaders, but shortly after, Iturbide declared himself emperor of Mexico. He was soon overthrown by Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna who drew up a new Mexican constitution, establishing a federal Mexican republic composed of nineteen states and four territories. Santa Anna served as Mexico's president for a period of thirteen years (1823-1836). Santa Anna was later defeated by American forces and forced into exile by the year 1855 after the Mexican-American War.

Porfirio Diaz served as the next Mexican president from 1876 to 1909. He was a dictator who favored only the higher social classes, nonetheless, he greatly improved the industry and the infrastructure of the country.

Another revolution was started in the year 1910, after the Mexican people grew tired of the unbalanced socio-economic status in the country. There was no balance in the distribution of wealth and power and this agitated many. After the revolution lasting around 10 years, Lazaro Cardenas came into power in the year 1934. He reestablished the an ancient system that established communally shared tracts of farmland, which benefited both, the citizens and the country. World War II greatly influenced the development of new roads and the building of new factories and irrigation systems.

The incrementation of Mexico's population has been huge since World War II, but the distribution of wealth still seems to be imbalanced.  The Zapatista National Liberation Army, or also known as the Zapatistas, recently rose up to defend the poor because they are generally unable to improve their socio-economic status.

Their rebellion was unsuccessful, but they continue to fights against injustices for the poor and imbalanced land ownership and land distribution.

Mexico suffers from the ever-growing problem of the trafficking of drugs, despite the already existing social divisions. This leads to a lot of political and police corruption, helping widening the gap of the elite and underprivileged classes.

Despite the political and social changes that have occurred over the centuries, the evidence of past cultures in Mexico is undeniable and apparent everywhere in the country. Much of Mexico's rural areas are still inhabited by indigenous people who have kept the culture and traditions of their direct ancestors.
History Channel
U.S. Department of State
Guide to Mexico

The Celebration of the Mexican Culture!

Language- 

Spanish is the official language in Mexico and is spoken by more than 95 percent of the population. The second most spoken language is Nahuatl, an indigenous language from the Aztecan times. Some words from the principal indigenous language, Nahuatl, have been incorporated into the Mexican Spanish and many other languages. The national culture of Mexico boasts sixty-two indigenous languages. As much as 85 percent of the population is bilingual in Mexico.

 Culinary Culture- 

Mexico possesses an extensive and sophisticated culinary culture, with a great variety of regional dishes. Three products constitute the heart of most Mexican dishes: corn, chiles, and beans. Corn is consumed in all possible forms: as a cooked or roasted corncob, cooked grain of corn, porridge, as wrapped and steamed dough with filling, also known as a tamal, but most importantly as a tortilla. Tortillas are made from corn dough and come in many sizes. When tortillas are filled with meat or other ingredients they are called tacos or quesadillas, which are especially popular in central Mexico. Much of the sophistication of Mexican cuisine comes from the use of more than one hundred different types of chiles, which range from the large and "sweet" chile ancho to the small and extremely hot chile habanero.

Mexicans have an interesting food schedule. They generally have a light breakfast before school or work and then halfway through the morning they have a tortilla-based snack or a bread roll.  Between the hours of two and four in the afternoon, the most important meal of the day is served. This is called La Comida and is composed of four courses: soup, rice or pasta, meat or chicken, accompanied by tortillas and refried beans, and dessert. Dinner is served between eight and ten at night and consists mainly of sweet rolls, coffee, and milk.

 National Holidays and Celebrations-

 Many celebrations include the Quinceanera and weddings. Other national holidays are El Dia de los Muertos, Cinco de Mayo, Independence Day, and the Day of the Revolution. Mexico's most significant religious rituals are determined by the Catholic calendar. Roman Catholicism is the dominant religion in Mexico. After the conquest by the Spanish, Mexico's native indigenous people accepted this religion, without too much trouble. 

A quinceanera is a celebration for young girls who turn fifteen and are considered women from that moment on. Usually, big, costly ceremonies are made for the quinceanera with family members and friends. The girl has a chance to look beautiful and have all the attention upon her for that day. El Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is a national holiday dedicated to the deceased. Family members of the deceased go to their graves to cherish their family members and give them offerings of food or basically anything they want. This is celebrated on November 2nd. Cinco de Mayo, or 5th of May, is also a national holiday and is celebrated for the remembrance of the Mexican forces in the battle against the French invaders near the city of Puebla in 1862. Cinco de Mayo is an important symbol of national sovereignty and parades are held throughout the country. Independence Day is celebrated on the 16th of September and celebrates the start of the struggle for independence in 1810.  The Day of the Revolution, 20th of November, commemorates the planned uprising of Francisco Madero against the dictator Porfirio Díaz in 1910 that marked the beginning of the Mexican Revolution. Mexicans marry after a period of formal engagement that may last for many years. They are free to choose their marriage partners. However, as their tradition, Mexicans marry according to some rules related to class and ethnicity. The basis for marriage is love, but many look for partners that can provide stable security economically or socially. A marriage ceremony consists of a civil registration and a religious wedding. Afterwards, the couple holds a huge and costly party with family and friends.

Etiquette-

Mexican etiquette is strongly informed by the culture of social hierarchies and distance. These can exist along the lines of race and gender, but class distinctions regulate social interaction most decisively. In general, Mexicans typically shake hands when they meet. In the case of two women meeting or a man and a woman meeting, they kiss each other on the cheek once. In the case of close friends and on special occasions, Mexican men and women embrace each other, pat each other gently on the back, and then shake hands. This  sometimes expresses confidentiality and the crucial value of trust. In the case of two people who belong to different socioeconomic status meeting, the individual with the inferior status will wait for the person with superior status to define the terms of the encounter. Mexicans are very keen on being addressed with their academic or professional title. Mexicans value the art of eloquence. Conversations will mostly begin with polite and informal exchanges and slowly move toward the subject matter.

Traditional Music- 

Throughout history, musical expressions have experienced a huge evolution, from the sound of the drums of a Mayan or Aztec ceremony to the modern expressions of Mexican rap. However, this evolution is additive more than destructive. That means that, far from replacing music style with another, Mexican music rather incorporates previous rhythms and styles into new ones. The most widely known product of the Mexican music history is The Mariachi.

The term mariachi comes from two of the many native languages of Mexico, the Nahuatl and the Coca. Originally the word mariachi was used to refer to a dance performed by a group of dancers on a wooden platform. This means that the Mexican term mariachi was an equivalent to the Spanish term “Fandango". Nowadays, however, Mariachi refers to a certain music style, and also to the band that plays that music. The Mariachi was originated in the region of Jalisco, more exactly in the city of Guadalajara. At first, the Mariachi traveled from town to town singing about very common subjects, but mostly love. This caused the Mariachi style to spread throughout all Mexico, and soon it was the highest representative of the Mexican music. A typical Mariachi ensemble was formed by four or five guitars, a guitarrón (a sort of a large bass guitar), violins, some vihuelas (a kind of guitar with a round back), and a harp with 28 to 40 strings. In some regions of Mexico a small snare drum was commonly included into the ensemble. The Mariachi has become largely known all over the world and fairly represents what Mexican music is all about. 

For further information, visit these websites:
http://www.mexonline.com/entertan.htm
http://www.everyculture.com/Ma-Ni/Mexico.html
http://www.geographia.com/mexico/mexicohistory.htm

Mexico - Country Overview

Mexico is a Northern American country located north of Belize and Guatemala and south of the United States. Its geography is composed of high, rugged mountains, low coastal plains, high plateaus, and deserts. Weather may vary from a very tropical weather to a desert climate.

The population of Mexico is mostly composed of mestizos, or Amerindian-Spanish, taking up to 60%. Another 30% of the population is composed of predominantly Amerindians, 9% are white-Caucasians, and the remaining 1% belong to other ethnic groups. As for religions, the most practiced is the Roman Catholic with a leading percentage of 76.5%, Protestant religion with 6.3%, other religions take up 0.3%, unspecified 13.8%, and the remaining population with no religion take up 3.1%. 

92.7% of the people in Mexico speak Spanish only, 5.7% speak Spanish and indigenous languages, 0.8% indigenous languages only, such as Mayan and Nahuatl, among other regional languages, and finally, 0.8% of the Mexican population have an unspecified language. More than eighty-six percent of the Mexican population fifteen and over can read and write. 

Mexico declared its independence in the 19th century, on September 16th, 1810. It is now a federal republic with administrative divisions of thirty-one states and one federal district. Aguascalientes, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Colima, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Michoacan de Ocampo, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro de Arteaga, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz-Llave, Yucatan, Zacatecas are all of the thirty-one states that compose the country of Mexico. Mexico City is the only federal district in the country and it is also the capital. The legal system in Mexico is a mixture of the United Sates constitutional theory, civil law system, and judicial review of legislative acts. The Mexican constitution was signed on the February 5, 1917. Suffrage in Mexico is given to those citizens who are eighteen years of age or older and is not enforced. 

Most Mexicans are proud of their country and wave their flag shamelessly. The flag is described as three vertical bands of green on the hoist side, white in the middle, and red on the far right end. Mexico's coat of arms, which is an eagle with a snake in its beak perched on a cactus, is placed on the white band. Green signifies hope, joy, and love, while white represents peace and honesty, and red stands for hardiness, bravery, strength, and valor. 

Mexico is rich in resources and has a rapidly increasing economy. Some agriculture products are corn, wheat, soybeans, rice, beans, cotton, coffee, fruit, tomatoes, beef, poultry, dairy products, and wood products. Many of the industries in Mexico provide a good economic boost. Some of these industries include food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, and most importantly, tourism. 

Although Mexico's economy is now increasing, it has had a history of it being very unstable. The unemployment rate is of 5.6% and the population below poverty line is of 18.2%, using a food-based definition of poverty. 

Mexico is quickly becoming one of the largest economically growing countries in America and perhaps the world...