Mexican Units of measurement - wikipedia Mexican Units of measurement A number of units of measurement were used in Mexico to measure length, mass, area, capacity, etc. The Metric system was optional from 1857, and has been compulsory since 1896. Contents 1 System before metric system 2 Length 3 Mass 4 Area 5 Capacity 5.1 Dry 5.2 Liquid 6 References System before metric system The Units of the system ( from Spanish, Castillian ) were legally defined during the transition period of the metric system. Length A number of units were used. One vara ( lit. `` pole '' ) was equal to 0.838 m ( 32.99 inches ) as it was legally defined. Some other units and legal equivalents are given below : 1 linea ( lit. `` line '' ) = 1 / 432 vara 1 pulgada ( lit. `` thumbful '', `` inch '' ) = 1 / 86 vara 1 pie ( lit. `` foot '' ) = 1 / 3 vara 1 milla ( lit. `` mile '' ) = 5000 pie 1 legua ( lit. `` league '' ) = 5000 vara. Mass A number of units were used. One libra was equal to 0.460 246 34 kg as it was legally defined. Some other units and legal equivalents are given below : 1 tomin = 1 / 768 libra 1 adarme = 1 / 256 libra 1 ochava = 1 / 128 libra 1 onza = 1 / 16 libra 1 arroba = 25 libra 1 quintal = 100 libra 1 terco = 160 libra Area A number of units were used. One fanega was equal to 35662.8 m as it was legally defined. Some other units and legal equivalents are given below : 1 caballeria = 12 fanega 1 labor = 18 fanega 1 sitio = 492.28 fanega. Capacity Two systems, dry and liquid, were used. Dry Several units were used. One cuartillo was equal to 1.891 8 l as it was legally defined. Some other units and legal equivalents are given below : 1 almud = 4 cuartillo 1 fanega = 48 cuartillo 1 carga = 96 cuartillo. Liquid Several units were used. Some units and legal equivalents are given below : 1 cuartillo ( for wine ) = 0.456 264 l 1 cuartillo ( for oil ) = 0.506 162 l 1 jarra = 18 cuartillos. One frasco was equal to 2 1 / 2 quarts, and baril was equal to 20 gallons, with local variations. References ^ Jump up to : Washburn, E.W. ( 1926 ). International Critical Tables of Numerical Data, Physics, Chemistry and Technology. 1. New York : McGraw - Hil Book Company, Inc. p. 9. Retrieved 8 February 2015. Jump up ^ Cardarelli, F. ( 2003 ). Encyclopaedia of Scientific Units, Weights and Measures. Their SI Equivalences and Origins. London : Springer. p. 7. ISBN 978 - 1 - 4471 - 1122 - 1. ^ Jump up to : Cardarelli, F. ( 2003 ). Encyclopaedia of Scientific Units, Weights and Measures. Their SI Equivalences and Origins. London : Springer. pp. 164 -- 165. ISBN 978 - 1 - 4471 - 1122 - 1. Jump up ^ Clarke, F.W. ( 1891 ). Weights Measures and Money of All Nations. New York : D. Appleton & Company. p. 51. Systems of measurement Current General International System of Units ( SI ) UK imperial system US customary units Myanmar Indian Specific Apothecaries ' Avoirdupois Troy Astronomical Electrical Temperature Natural atomic geometrised Gaussian Lorentz -- Heaviside Planck quantum chromodynamical Stoney Background Metric Overview Introduction Outline History Metrication UK / US Overview Comparison Foot -- pound -- second ( FPS ) Historic Metric metre -- kilogram -- second ( MKS ) metre -- tonne -- second ( MTS ) centimetre -- gram -- second ( CGS ) gravitational quadrant -- eleventh - gram -- second ( QES ) ( hebdometre -- undecimogramme -- second ( HUS ) ) Europe Byzantine Cornish Cypriot Czech Danish Dutch English Estonian Finnish French ( Trad. Mesures usuelles ) German Greek Hungary Icelandic Irish Scottish Italian Latvia Luxembourgian Maltese Norwegian Ottoman Polish Portuguese Romanian Russian Serbian Slovak Spanish Swedish Switzerland Welsh Winchester measure Asia Afghan Cambodian Chinese Hindu Hong Kong India Indonesian Japanese Korean Mongolian Omani Philippine Pegu Singaporean Sri Lankan Syrian Taiwanese Tatar Thai Vietnamese Africa Algerian Ethiopian Egyptian Eritrean Guinean Libyan Malagasy Mauritian Moroccan Seychellois Somalian South African Tunisian Tanzanian North America Costa Rican Cuban Haitian Honduran Mexico Nicaraguan Puerto Rican South America Argentine Brazilian Chilean Colombian Paraguayan Peruvian Uruguayan Venezuelan Ancient Arabic Biblical and Talmudic Egyptian Greek Hindu Indian Mesopotamian Persian Roman List articles Humorous ( FFF system ) Obsolete Unusual Other N - body Modulor Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mexican_units_of_measurement&oldid=756992222 '' Categories : Mexican culture Units of measurement by country Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 28 December 2016, at 03 : 17. About Wikipedia

Question: what unit of measurement is used in mexico
Answer: The Metric system