• Mexico gains independence from Spain after a decade-long struggle, ending nearly three centuries of Spanish rule.

  • The Mexican-American war, which started in 1846, ends. Mexico is required to cede present-day California, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah, to the United States.

  • President Lazaro Cardenas begins a program of oil nationalization, land reform, and industrial expansion.
  • Huge offshore oil reserves are discovered; the Cantarell field becomes the mainstay of Mexico's oil production.

  • Mexico's parliament ratifies the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with the United States and Canada.

  • The government passes a series of energy reforms because of a drop in domestic oil production. As part of the reform, private investors are controversially allowed to invest in Pemex, a state owned oil company.
  • In an effort to protect Mexico's economy from the recession in the US, the government releases a $150 million aid package to boost the economy.

  • The Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) candidate Enrique Pena Nieto wins presidential election.

  • The US, Canada and Mexico reach a new trade deal - the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) - to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta).

  • Andres Manuel López Obrador, is inaugurated president after winning an overwhelming victory

Sources:

BBC News open_in_new
Britannica open_in_new