Madero's reign did not last long and he was brutally murdered at the hands of General Victoriano Huerta. For decades after, the country suffered through civil wars and revolutions championing the cause of the common man. Some of these objectives were fulfilled by Lazaro Cordenas, who was President between 1934 and 1940, and divided many of the great estates into smaller communal lands. The present leader of PRI is President Ernesto Zedilla, who will remain in office until 1998. Mexico Today, Mexico, with massive mountain ranges in the inlands and mostly flatlands along the coastlines, is the third largest nation in Latin America after Brazil and Argentina.
Primary education is compulsory and a public education is free.
Life expectancy is 73 years and the leading causes of death are infections, parasitic diseases, respiratory and circulatory system failures. The Government Mexico is a federal republic of 31 states and a Federal District that includes the country's capital, Mexico City. The president is elected for just one six year term and appoints the ministers. The government consists of a Congress made up of 64 Senate seats, of which half are elected every three years. A 500 seat Chamber of Deputies is also elected every three years.