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Mexico

Mexico is an ethnically diverse country, with a population composed of approximately 123 million in 2017. There is a wide variety of ethnic groups, the two major groups being Mestizos and Indigenous Mexicans.There are many other ethnic groups such as Arab Mexicans, Afro-Mexicans, Asian Mexicans and White Mexicans.

After the betrayal of Hernan Cortes to the Aztecs, the Spanish conquered the Aztec Empire and colonized indigenous people. They influenced the indigenous' religion, politics, culture and ethnicity. The Spanish opened schools in which they taught Christianity, and the Spanish language which it eventually surpassed the indigenous dialects and languages, making it the most spoken language in Mexico. Mestizo was also born from the conquest, which meant being half-Indigenous and half-Spanish. In today's world "Mestizo" has become an umbrella term to those that are non-indigenous, which would include Asian Mexicans and Afro-Mexicans.

Mexico is quickly becoming a melting pot, with many immigrants coming into the country. It is considered to be a cradle of civilization, which influences their multiculturalism and diversity, by having different civilizations influence them. From the year 2000 to 2010, the number of people in Mexico that were born in another country doubled, reaching an amount of 961,121 people. Mostly coming from Guatemala and the United States. A distinguishable trait of Mexico's culture is the mestizaje of its people, which caused the combination of Spanish influence, their indigenous roots while also adapting the culture traditions from their immigrants.

Mexico is the house to the world's busiest border, sharing it with the United States.

A distinguishable trait of Mexico's culture is the combination of Spanish, their indigenous roots while also adapting the culture traditions from their immigrants. Mestizaje,

Peru

Peru is an exemplary country of multiculturalism, in 2016 the INEI reported a total population of 31 million people. They share their borders with Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil and Bolivia, and have welcomed many immigrants into their country creating a diverse community.

Peru is the home to Amerindians but after the Spanish Conquest, the Spanish brought African, and Asian people as slaves to Peru creating a mix of ethnic groups. After slavery was no longer permitted in Peru, African-Peruvians and Asian-Peruvians have contributed to Peruvian culture in many ways. Today, Amerindians make up 45% of the population, mestizos 37%, white 15% and 3% is composed by Black, Chinese, and others.

In 1821, Peru's president Jose de San Martin gave foreigners the freedom to start industries in Peru's ground, 2 years after, foreigners that lived in Peru for more than 5 years were considered naturalized citizens, which then decreased to 3 years. Which attracted Italians, Portuguese, French and German people in look for some guano for their crops.

Venezuela

Venezuela is the home to a variety of ethnic groups, with an estimated population of 32 million. Their population is composed of approximately 68% Mestizo, which means of mixed race. Venezuelan culture is mainly composed by the mixture of their indigenous people, Spanish and African. There was a heavy influence of Spaniard culture due to the Spanish Conquest, which influence their religion, language, traditions. African influence can be seen on their music, with the drum usage. While Spanish is Venezuela's main language, there is more than 40 indigenous languages spoken til this day.

Border

Border Impacts

Tijuana-San Ysidro Border

San Ysidro Port of Entry through vehicle.

Mexico and the United States share the world's most transited border. The San Ysidro Port of Entry is located in between San Ysidro, California and Tijuana, Baja California. Approximately 50,000 vehicles and 25,000 pedestrians utilize this entry to the United States daily. Due to business of this entry port, it has influenced the every day life-style of people that live in these border towns.

Health Impact

Thousands of cars sit from fifteen minutes to two hours waiting to cross the border

There is a raising problem with the impact that the world's busiest border is causing in both sides of the border. The vehicle average wait time to cross into the United States is approximately an hour just to travel a few miles. Having thousands of vehicles transit through the border every day is causing an air-pollution concern in San Ysidro and Tijuana. The emission of carbon monoxide (CO) and other vehicle related air contaminants have been linked to health complications such as cardiovascular disease, lung cancer, birth outcomes, premature death and mortality, obesity, asthma and other respiratory diseases. Due to the high levels of traffic collusion and the extended wait times, mental health is also impacted by the border's business, affecting the person's stress levels and aggressive behavior.

Cultural Impact

The San Ysidro border is heavily militarized, separated by three walls, border patrol agents and the ICE police. However, this does not stop these two cultures from exchanging art, music, traditions, and language. In San Ysidro, 87.9% of the households speak Spanish, you can pay visits to the local mall and notice that many employees will be bilingual. While for Tijuana, it is not the same case, a lot of the slang is rooted from Spanglish, which a mix of both languages. On both sides of the border, the social dynamic among these two major cities is influenced by one another.