MÉXICO: EL BOTÍN

 VERACRUZ  FACE TO FACE WITH JAPAN

Japan's main island, Honshu, has 230,500 square kilometers and is three times larger in territorial proportions to the State of Veracruz in Mexico, which has 71 826 square kilometers, although different climate and soil quality and life of its inhabitants. In Honshu 100 million people live about high standard of living, ie all Mexico could live in Honshu, in Veracruz meanwhile, live an average of 8 million native and a million has been exported in the last 20 years as hand cheap labor to the United States. True, we lack tools to describe the shackles that we carry, to recognize, responsible for ourselves and find key releasing the true potential of what we really are as a people. From what we can not do or be due to indecision. Through that barrier that we refuse to break after five hundred years of that clash of cultures.

Since someone invented that ours is an eternally secondary in government budgets defeated, distant, spectral, unproductive culture has become failed communication tool and mirror ID to fully exercise hereditary rights of the marvelous ancient and enroll once all at the head of Mexico and the global community of nations. A sufficient sample button: Veracruz off Japan.

The similarities and differences that may exist between Veracruz and Japan are quibbles for such items fincar in economic and financial potential of their territory, although there could take advantage, because while the islands of Japan are the tops of chain of mountains which originally formed part of the Asian continent. His real territory, practically the main island, Honshu, with an elongated shape with a maximum width of 322km; situation that places the farthest sea just 161km point.

Our state instead romps along the Gulf of Mexico, in a coastline of 745 kilometers long, consisting of high mountains, mountain forests, cloud forests, rain forests, fertile plains, rivers, waterfalls, lakes and coasts. With an area of 72.826 square kilometers, Veracruz could be part of a strong economic region, for its great cultural diversity; borders seven states of Mexico: Tamaulipas to the north; San Luis Potosí, Hidalgo and Puebla west; Chiapas and Oaxaca to the south and southeast Tabasco. Share the basin of the Gulf of Mexico in the states of Tamaulipas, Tabasco, Campeche, Quintana Roo and Yucatan and five states in the United States. These economies represent a potential 50 million people market.

Japan, meanwhile, has to deal with a lot of accidents on the Pacific coast, is the result of the erosive action of the tides and strong coastal storms. The west coast of Kyushu, in the East China Sea, is the most irregular sector the Japanese coast. Because of the alternating sequence of mountain and valley since most soil is rocky, it is estimated that only 11% of Japan's land is arable, but has abundant waterways, no large navigable rivers. The longest river in Japan is the Shinano, on Honshu, with 370km. The largest lake covers about 685km2, is Biwa, on Honshu. The mountains of Japan are the most striking feature of its topography. The highest peak, with 3.776m, is the Fuji Yama, an extinct volcano located near Yokohama, exceptionally beautiful for being unique height and shape. The volcanoes are quite common; known about 200, of which about 50 are active. Almost two thirds of the total area of Japan are covered with forest, of which 40% are softwood. Although Japan has a leading position in the global timber production, the sudden increase in domestic demand for timber forces the country to import most of its consumption. The annual timber harvest was 37.6 million m3 in the early 1990s.

Eighty percent of the territory of Veracruz has warm weather, wet and humid sub, which becomes cooler in the plains and mountains, reaching freezing temperatures in the highlands. As exceptional we have a powerful and fantastic water world because 35% of Mexico's surface waters traverse the territory of Veracruz. Astronauts identify us easily from their space missions when circle the Earth, precisely because a dense cluster of streamers cabrillean from its 41 rivers covering a length of 1,118 kilometers that make up 14 watersheds among which are those of the river Panuco, Tuxpan , Cazones, Nautla, Jamapa, Papaloapan and Coatzacoalcos. The most important is to Chicayán dam, located in the town of Panuco, in the northern state with a capacity of 340 million cubic meters. The lagoons of the entity are of great beauty and natural wealth. Among the most important are: Tamiahua, which is the largest in the state, with an area of 2,112 square kilometers; Mandinga, in the center; and Catemaco, approximately 108 square kilometers in the south.

The main railway lines in Japan were nationalized in 1907; In the early 1990s Japan was about 27.450km of roads, of which about 55% were electrified. In 1970 the construction of a new network of high-speed railway began, with a length of 7,000km aimed at uniting the major cities. Veracruz plays an important role in the history of Mexican railroad since General Anastasio Bustamante in August 1837, as President of the Republic, gave Francisco de Arrillaga, wealthy businessman based in the port of Veracruz, exclusive privilege to build and establish a railroad from Veracruz to Mexico City. Today nothing remains, because Mexico denationalized their rail networks at the beginning of the XXI century.

Japan has 1.120.460km of roads, of which 67% are paved. Since 1990 has 40 million vehicles to 21.1 million cars and commercial vehicles. Japan is one of the leading countries of the world merchant fleet, with more than 7,400 vessels, which together accounted for a total of 24 million tonnes tare. The company Japan Air Lines, established in 1951, offers services from Tokyo to Europe, USA, Canada, Mexico, the Middle East and Southeast countries. The state of Veracruz has no local airlines, only has an international airport located in the city of Veracruz, and two airports for domestic flights, El Tajin located between Poza Rica and Tuxpan, and Canticas in Minatitlan. The local movement is supported by about 15 regional airports and nationwide today's leading airline passengers "Mexicana" is in bankruptcy and no flies from a year ago.

Veracruz has a highway system just over 19 thousand kilometers, representing 5.1% of the national total, of which 5400 kilometers are paved roads and 539 kilometers to the road network of high specifications. Two main routes cross the state from north to south: the coastal axis, which starts at Pueblo Viejo and ends in Tonala, and Veracruz backbone, which connects to the entity in the western part, from Panuco to Jesus Carranza. The interstate communication is done through ten transverse axes. The Veracruz-Xalapa-Veracruz-Acatzingo and Córdoba-Maltrata axes communicate both the center of the state with the cities of Mexico and Puebla

Japan in 1990, about 124 daily newspapers are published; their combined circulation exceeds 72 million. However in Veracruz not exceed 10 the number of major newspapers around the state and the printing and circulation checked all of them does not exceed 400,000 copies a day for a population of around 8 million. Japanese newspapers have one of the largest total runs the world. The newspaper with the highest circulation are Tokyo's Asahi Shimbun and the Yomiuri Shimbun. The basic telecommunications infrastructure in Veracruz is composed of more than 379,000 telephone lines. All urban centers of the state have telephone lines. In rural areas it serves the 57.8% of the towns and rural telephony satellite Pursuing the 20.1% of the communities. There are 15 television stations and 10 relay stations and 102 radio stations. Veracruz Broadcasting, Government newly established company expanded its facilities and modernized its equipment to carry their signals to all the territory of Veracruz. By early 1990, Japan had more than 56 million phones and about 97 million radios and 100 million television receivers were used.

After World War II, Japanese unions experienced an increase. In 1946, more than 12,000 trade unions had a total of 3.7 million members. In the late 1970s, the number had increased to 70,000. In the early 1990s had a membership of 12.5 million, which accounted for around 29% of the working population. In 1987 the main union federations agreed to join as the National Federation of Private Sector, known as Rengo. Because tourism ago, in 1990, more than 4 million foreigners visited Japan annually, while 12 million Japanese traveled outside their borders. Annual tourism revenues in Japan totaled 3,400 million, while expenditures of Japanese travelers exceeded 22,500 million.

Currently operating in our state eight ports, which are registered as height and cabotage ports, Tuxpan, Veracruz, Coatzacoalcos and Pajaritos: Tecolutla, Nautla, Alvarado and Tlacotalpan operating cabotage only and are dedicated to fishing and tourism. In 2005, the ports of Tuxpan, Veracruz and Coatzacoalcos operated 28.4% of coastal cargo and height of the country. The annual cargo volume stood at around 15.9 million tonnes. Veracruz, is the main commercial port in the country, starting the 21st century mobilizes more than 12.1 million tonnes, ie 21.6% of the national cargo movement. The port of Coatzacoalcos plays a strategic role in the petroleum and petrochemical industries. The port of Tuxpan has a regional industrial profile will be consolidated when the four-lane highway that is a project that takes nearly a decade communicates with the city of Mexico is concluded.

In recent decades, the Japanese economy has expanded rapidly. The industrial base of the country, which before was based on light industries, now lies in the heavy, chemical and electronic industries, which together constitute at least two thirds of the total value of annual exports. In 1994, gross domestic product (GDP) in Japan was 4.59 billion dollars, one of the largest in the world. The national budget for 1994 estimated revenues of $ 730,143,380,000 established and a figure similar expenses. Before and during World War II, the Japanese economy was controlled by a dozen wealthy families, called: zaibatsu ('rich cliques'). The most important were Mitsui, Iwasaki (Mitsubishi company), Sumitomo and Yasuda; they controlled the coal, iron, and aluminum pulp. In 1945 and 1946, the Allied authorities dissolved these industrial consortia, although businesses remained intact and increased the economic power to include other activities such as transport by sea, banking and other industries.

The agricultural population has declined in recent years, but the importance of agriculture has not diminished. Over 40% of the cultivated land is devoted to rice production, which, in the mid-1990s, accounted for about one third of total revenues produced by agricultural crops. Rice remains the basis of the Japanese diet. In the early 1990s, annual production in metric tons were rice (10.6 million), potatoes or potatoes (3.8 million), sugar beets (3.7 million), sugarcane (2, 2 million), radishes (2.5 million), mandarins (1.6 million), cabbage (1.6 million), sweet potatoes (1.3 million), Chinese cabbage (1.3 million), onions (1.3 million) and cucumbers (980,000). Melons, tomatoes, apples, wheat, soybeans, tea, snuff and other fruits and vegetables are also grown. Due to the scarcity of arable land and consequent value, little land is dedicated to feedlot cattle. However, in the early 1990s, Japan had 11 million heads of pigs, five million cattle and 336 million poultry. Arable land is divided into small farms and almost 70% of these lands consist of farms 1ha or less. Many farmers also work part-time in the industry. The land is tilled intensively; almost all farms have electricity and many use modern machinery. Japanese farmers get two or more crops in a year; although most of the soils are exhausted, the high use of chemical fertilizers, improved varieties and technical advances have made Japanese farms are among the most productive in the world.

The fish is second in importance in the Japanese diet, so that fish production is one of the most important, both for the internal market and outdoors. The Japanese fishing fleet is one of the largest in the world. Fishing can be divided into three main categories: coastal, inshore and offshore. The seaside is performed in medium size boats and get a substantial amount of the total catch, but only 25% of the value of total production. Deep sea fishing, performed with large vessels in international waters, gets a similar coastal fisheries catch while fishing inshore, small boats, nets or slightly modernized techniques, represents almost half of the total industrial production. In the early 1990s the annual catch reached 10 million tons, mainly sardines, bonito, crab, pike, shrimp, salmon, mackerel, squid, clams, sea bream, scallops and tuna among others. In addition, Japan is among the few remaining whaling countries and collect lots of seaweed and other marine plants.

Almost two thirds of the total area of Japan are covered with forest, of which 40% are softwood. Although Japan has a leading position in the global timber production, the sudden increase in domestic demand for timber forces the country to import most of its consumption. The annual timber harvest was 37.6 million m3 in the early 1990s The fish is second in importance in the Japanese diet, so that fish production is one of the most important, both for internal market and outdoors. The Japanese fishing fleet is one of the largest in the world. Fishing can be divided into three main categories: coastal, inshore and offshore. The seaside is performed in medium size boats and get a substantial amount of the total catch, but only 25% of the value of total production. Deep sea fishing, performed with large vessels in international waters, gets a similar coastal fisheries catch while fishing inshore, small boats, nets or slightly modernized techniques, represents almost half of the total industrial production. In the early 1990s the annual catch reached 10 million tons, mainly sardines, bonito, crab, pike, shrimp, salmon, mackerel, squid, clams, sea bream, scallops and tuna among others. In addition, Japan is among the few remaining whaling countries and collect lots of seaweed and other marine plants.

Veracruz stands out for its agriculture, forestry and fishing vocation, but also has industrial structure that places him as a national leader in basic petrochemicals, representing 80% of the national total, and power generation. Veracruz economy occupies the fifth place nationally. In 1998 the state's GDP was 148.5 billion pesos (US $ 16,243,000), representing a contribution of 4.2% to the national GDP. The GDP of Veracruz is, for example, 2.5 times larger than the GDP of Paraguay. 60.3% of GDP is generated in the service sector, followed in importance by the industrial and manufacturing sector with 30.3% and the primary sector generates 9.4%. This structure is similar to that of domestic production, although in Veracruz is greater the contribution of the primary sector. In 1998, the economically active population of the entity represented 40.6% of total population with 2.9 million people, of which 98.1% was occupied. 35.8% of the employed population was working at the primary sector, 34.2% in the secondary sector, 24.1% in services, 3.2% in communications and transportation, and 2.6% in government.

The mineral resources of Japan are varied but limited in quantity. Limestone is the most exploited rock. Other minerals such as coal, copper, lead, zinc and other rocks such as quartzite are also removed, but in insufficient quantities to meet domestic demand. Japanese industries were severely damaged in World War II. Then, the country undertook a reconstruction that resulted in the complete modernization of industrial plants, with emphasis on the chemical and petrochemical industries and heavy equipment industry. In the mid 1950s, industrial production had exceeded prewar levels; industrial growth reached 9.4% annually during the period between 1965 and 1980 and 6.7% per year during the period 1980 to 1988. In the mid 1990s, Japan was the country boatbuilder the world and was among the leading world producers of electrical and electronic products, steel and motor vehicles. Production of crude steel in the same period was about 109.7 million tons; and the production of pig iron, 80 million tons. The Japanese industry also produced 9.8 million cars, 7.6 million trucks and cranes, clocks 47.7 million, 28.2 million videos, 14.3 million color TV sets, 18 million 35mm cameras , 6.1 million microwave ovens, refrigerators 5.2 million, 4.3 million faxes, computers 2.6 million, 2.3 million copiers and many other electrical and electronic equipment for home and for work . Thanks to the strength of the yen, Japanese companies have invested increasingly in industrial plants outside Japan.

The forced opening of the country to Western trade in 1853, meant a great humiliation for the Japanese and in order to regain its prestige (honor) need to beat the West at its own game. Hence the social revolution and the importance given to economic and industrial power as well as the military is simply the Bushido spirit adapted to modern circumstances. The honor and self-respect were the primary reasons, and wealth was considered a very secondary place; but certainly, it has now become a symbol of success, which was mainly pursued recovery prestige.

Bushido means appropriate behavior for Fighter gentleman, to live according to this code, a Samurai should be courageous, honorable, motivated by a desire to do righteousness and justice, should be merciful, truthful, courteous, loyal, possessor of a large self-control and capable of self-sacrifice. The emphasis of the Bushido in the military under the bravura is inevitable and requires no further discussion. However it is narrowly linked to the virtue of honor, it is still a powerful motivating force in modern Japan. With the recent phenomenal economic development of Japan, Western may believe that the main motivation of this country is money, but wrong.

Why Japan occupies that place in the comity of nations?

Just understand his samurai spirit.

From the twelfth century the Japanese have clear destination when looking in the mirror of their culture and the samurai spirit in his ethics ... in his Bushido. "Those who cling to life die, who survived death-defying"