Mexico City
Mexican politicians want to change their country’s name. Congressmen have launched a campaign to drop the official appellation, the United Mexican States, and simply call the nation Mexico. The formal name was chosen at independence in 1824, partly to reflect respect for the country’s neighbor to the north, the United States of America. That fondness dwindled, however, beginning in the 1840s, when the U.S. took half of Mexico’s territory. Then America grew into a superpower, leaving many Mexicans feeling lost in its shadow. “Maybe we should just erase ‘Mexico’ and keep ‘United States,’” historian Lorenzo Meyer told The New York Times. “That’s the sad truth: We are an extension of that country.”
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
The rise of runcationsThe Week Recommends Lace up your running shoes and hit the trails on your next holiday
-
Amorim follows Maresca out of Premier League after ‘awful’ seasonIn the Spotlight Manchester United head coach sacked after dismal results and outburst against leadership, echoing comments by Chelsea boss when he quit last week
-
‘Jumping genes': How polar bears are rewiring their DNA to survive the warming ArcticUnder the radar The species is adapting to warmer temperatures
