Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, Lee R. Blohm... Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, Harold G. Bretherton. Chihuahua, Chihuahua Chihuahua, Chihuahua, W. M. Parker Mitchell... Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Harry B. Ott.... Parral, Chihuahua Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua. Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, John W. Dye.. Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Oscar C. Harper. Ensenada, Lower California. Ensenada, Lower California, Leighton Hope. Ensenada, Lower California, Carney B. Lyle, Jr. Frontera, Tabasco, Robert L. Rankin. Guadalajara, Jalisco, Andrew J. McConnico. Guadalajara, Jalisco, Anthony Sherman. Guaymas, Sonora, Bartley F. Yost.... V. C. ...C. V. C. ...C. ....C. .V. C. Agt. .C. ....C. V. C. .C. .C. .C. V. C. .C. .C. .C. .V. C. ....C. Guaymas, Sonora, John A. McPherson. Manzanillo, Colima, Stephen E. Aguirre.. Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Harold Frederic Jones. Mexicali, Lower California, Henry C. von Struve. Mexico City, Claude I. Dawson.. Monterey, Nuevo Leon, Paul H. Foster... Monterey, Nuevo Leon, George D. FitzSimmons. Nogales, Sonora .C. V. C. .C. ..C. V. C. .Agt. . Agt. .C. .C. .C. V. C. ...C. V. C. ..C. Nogales, Sonora, Henry C. A. Damm. Agua Prieta, Sonora, William W. Young. Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas.. Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Harry L. Walsh. Salina Cruz, Oaxaca, George E. Seltzer. Saltillo, Coahuila, Fred R. Robinson.. San Luis Potosi, San Luis Potosi. Tampico, Tamaulipas... .... Tampico, Tamaulipas, James B. Stewart. Tampico, Tamaulipas, Thomas S. Horn... Lobos, Vera Cruz, Donald A. Mathers.. Vera Cruz, Vera Cruz. Vera Cruz, Vera Cruz, John Q. Wood.. V. C. .C. ..C. V. C. .C. .C. V. C. .C. G. ..C. V. C. .V. C. .V. C. V. C. .Agt. Agt. ..C. V. C. C. ...C. V. C. SECTION III-COMMERCE FOREIGN COMMERCE OF MEXICO IN FIRST HALF OF 1923, GENERAL INFORMATION SHEET. THE MEXICO CITY POPULATION, RACE AND STANDARDS OF LIVING This Consular District includes the Federal District, the States of Mexico, Queretaro, Hidalgo, Tlaxcala, Morelos and Puebla, and parts of the States of Michoacan and Oaxaca. The population, according to the 1921 census, is approximately six millions, or nearly one-half the population of the Republic. Most of the inhabitants outside of the cities are full-blood Indians. Of the total population at least 80% are illiterate and indigent having the lowest standards of living, consuming the barest necessities of clothing, food and shelter and no luxuries. Corn and beans constitute the staple articles of food. Scant cotton covering for the body with, perhaps, a native blanket for a winter coat and sandals for the feet supply the usual clothing. Four walls and a roof, with dirt floor and no heating or sanitary accommodations is the customary housing for a family of this numerous class. There is no middle class outside of the cities where clerks, small tradesmen and minor government officials form a limited class between the two extremes. AREA, CLIMATE AND TOPOGRAPHY The area of the Mexico City District is approximately 108,000 square miles. The greater part lies on the high plateau and is very mountainous but with many fertile valleys. Mexico City has an altitude of 7,434 feet above sea level. The climate is equable; the temperature ranging from 35 to 90 degrees, but rarely reaching either extreme. The mean temperature is 65 degrees. The rainy season is from May or June until October. The rest of the year is normally dry but precipitation is abundant for the successful cultivation of the land without irrigation. "The following report was prepared in the office of the American Consul General in Mexico City on December 17, 1923. It is here published with the permission of the Department of State and the Department of Commerce. To Mr. Claude I. Dawson, American Consul General in Mexico City, to Consul Clarence D. Bowman, and to Vice Consul Earnest E. Evans, who personally prepared the report, the editor is under many obligations. LANGUAGE, POSTAGE AND CUSTOMS POLICY The language of the district is Spanish. English and French are widely spoken in official and business circles. The postage rate for first-class mail from the United States to Mexico is the same as the domestic rate in the United States. From Mexico to the U. S., however, the rate is 5c per 20 grams. American stamps should not be sent to Mexico when it is desired to prepay a reply. International Reply Coupons, which may be purchased in United States Post-offices, should be used for this purpose. The Mexican Customs tariff is specific and based on the weight of the merchandise in most cases; being divided into three general classifications, viz., gross, legal and net weight. The gross weight includes all packing whatsoever; the legal weight includes only immediate containers, such as bottles, cans, etc.; the net weight is the actual weight of the product exclusive of all packing. In addition to the regular duty there are two surcharges prevailing at the date of this report, being 10% and 2% respectively, of the duty assessed. Imports by parcels post bear a surcharge of 25% of the duty assessed. An invoice certified by a Mexican Consular officer must be presented with each shipment. The Consular fee is 5% of the value of the merchandise. Care should be exercised in stating correct weights of merchandise, gross, net and legal, as the fines for misstatement of weights are very severe. The classification of the Mexican Customs Tariff is incomplete and it is often impossible to arrive at an advance estimate of the duty to be paid. The Mexican Customs Tariff is subject to change by presidential decree without previous notice. Except for parcels post shipments it is not practicable to ship merchandise into Mexico without the services of a competent customs broker at the port of entry. IMPORTS AND EXPORTS The principal articles of import into Mexico for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1922, in the order of their importance were: Corn, locomotives, lard, railway coaches, cotton piece goods, yellow pine lumber, petroleum products, eggs, flour, shoes, coal, machinery, preserved fruit products. The preponderance of these imports came from the United States. The total value of the imports from the U. S. for the calendar year 1921 was $198,325,568 U. S. currency. There are no sources of information from which can be determined the proportion of these imports destined for Mexico City but as this is the most important distributing center of the Republic it is believed that the classifications given above are representative of the local import trade. Mexico City, on the contrary, is not a relatively important export center. The articles of export from this district for the calendar year 1921, in the order of their importance are: Silver, gold, books, hides, broom straw, baskets, motion picture films, antiques, quicksilver, garlic, coffee and sarsaparilla root. total value of exports from this district to the United States for 1921 was $16,237,288 U. S. currency. Of this total $15,153,000 represented silver alone. TRANSPORTATION AND PACKING Mexico City is connected by rail with the seaports of Vera Cruz, and Tampico on the Gulf of Mexico and Manzanillo on the Pacific coast; and with the border points of Ciudad Juarez (El Paso), Piedras Negras (Eagle Pass), Nuevo Laredo (Laredo), and Matamoros (Brownsville). Preferred shipping routes are by steamship to Vera Cruz (or Manzanillo from Pacific coast points), thence by rail to Mexico City; or by all railway route through Laredo, from eastern points and through Ciudad Juarez (El Paso) or Piedras Negras (Eagle Pass) from western points. With regard to packing, the wishes of the importer should be consulted and followed strictly. Ordinarily, merchandise should be carefully packed for export, particularly when shipping by water route. However, merchants have complained of the extra cost of export packing when merchandise is shipped in carload lots from point of shipment to destination, this not being necessary since American freight cars may be billed through to Mexico City without transshipment. All boxes, crates and packages should be carefully numbered, accurate weights (metric measurement) stated, etc. It is necessary to bill goods to a broker at the port of entry, forwarding all necessary documents; but it is advisable to send a copy of all documents to the importer direct. LEADING INDUSTRIES AND OCCUPATIONS The leading manufacturing industries of the Mexico City District are: Steel, cigarettes, shoes, flour and crackers, textiles and candies. In the surrounding district, silver and gold mining and agriculture are important. MEXICO CITY AS A DISTRIBUTING CENTER The Republic of Mexico is roughly divided into three divisions with respect to foreign trade, viz.: The northern frontier and tributary territory supplied directly from the United States and from the distributors on the American side of the border; The Yucatan peninsula, supplied directly through the ports of New Orleans and New York, and the remainder of the Republic fed from Mexico City through Vera Cruz, Tampico and to some extent, the border towns of Nuevo Laredo and Piedras Negras. |