MEXICO OF TODAY* 



By Senor Dr. Don Juan N. Navarro, Consul-General of 

 Mexico in New York City 



THANKS to intelligence and hon- 

 esty in the administration of our 

 finances, the continual annual 

 deficit that formerly affiicted Mexico, as 

 it afSicts at present other nations, dis- 

 appeared in the fiscal year 1 894-' 95, and 

 in its stead we have since had a surplus. 

 The surplus in that ^^ear was $2,373,- 

 434.42, and in the following year more 

 than doubled, rising to $5,451,347.29. 



These results are the more surprising 

 when it is remembered that a good part 

 of our revenue is derived from import 

 duties, and it might be supposed that 

 the rapid development and progress of 

 our industries would diminish that 

 source of revenue. 



The invoice value of our imports 

 for i896-'97 was $42,204,095 in gold. 

 Three years later, in 1 899-1 900, they 

 had increased by nearly one-half, reach- 

 ing $61,318,175. The invoice value of 

 our exports (in silver) amounted to $86,- 

 058,210 in 1892-93, to $104,741,443 in 

 i896-'97, and to $142,615,070 in 1899- 

 1900. The value of gold exported from 

 Mexico in 1 892-' 93 was $1,451,01 1, and 

 during the next seven years increased 

 many fold, reaching $7, 44 1,2 90 in 1899- 

 1900. 



At the end of the fiscal year 1 898-' 99 

 the federal treasury had a surplus in 

 cash of $2 7 , 535 , 602 . 62 . Because of this 

 prosperous condition of the treasury the 

 taxes were reduced, and a part of the 

 funds were applied to branches of public 

 service : 



For building primary schools in the 

 federal district and for the corre- ' 



spending departments |i, 000,000 



To finish the general- hospital 500,000 



For the building of the medical and 



geological institutes. 200,000 



For a new post-office in the capital 

 and for the post-offices of Vera 

 Cruz and Puebla $1 ,000,000 



For a cable between the peninstila 

 of California and the coast of So- 

 nera 300,000 



For the Navy Department 1,000,000 



Total. 



,000,000 



To prove the financial credit of Mex- 

 ico in the world, I will mention the con- 

 version of our public debt from an inter- 

 est rate of 6 per cent into another of 5 

 per cent. The contract for this opera- 

 tion, executed personally by our intel- 

 ligent minister of finance, and involving 

 a loan of 22,700,000 pounds, was signed 

 in Berlin by different banking-houses 

 from that city, lyOndon, New York, and 

 the national bank of Mexico, on Jul}^ i, 

 1 899. The conditions were as favorable 

 as could be offered to any nation of well- 

 established credit, and in the short time 

 open for subscriptions the public of lyOn- 

 don, Amsterdam, New York, and Berlin 

 subscribed for nearly twenty millions 

 of pounds instead of for the 13,000,000 

 offered in the markets of those cities. 

 The advantages for our treasury are not 

 only the reduction of the disbursements 

 for interest, a reduction amounting an- 

 nually to more than $1,800,000, but the 

 reentry into the treasury of values mort- 

 gaged before as securities. 



To give the last proof of the credit of 

 Mexico, I will add that the bonds of the 

 new loan began to be sold above par only 

 a few months after they were issued. 



The laws issued by the department on 

 institutions of credit have produced good 

 effects, and in November last we had 18 

 banks of emission, with a paid-up capi- 

 tal of $52,900,000, and with notes in 



* Concluded from the May number. 



