Incorrect. The United States is the United States of America, (Estados Unidos de America, EUA). Mexico is the United Mexican States, (Estados Mexicanos Unidos, EMU).

And then you can forget about the European Union, (I have no idea how to say this in Spanish, other than that it's abbreviated EU.)

There seems to be some confusion as to how the folks living in Mexico refer to their own and other countries, both using full names and abbreviations. Previous writeups here (most now gone) have had different opinions, and one stated that the good ol' U S of A is EUA (for Estados Unidos de America)

I, however, have on many different occasions seen EEUU used as Mexico's canonical abbreviation for its northern neighbor.

I once asked my Spanish teacher why it was EEUU rather than EU as one would expect (for Estados Unidos). I was rather amazed that he didn't know, but he said he would find out. The next week, he told me that the doubling of each letter simply indicated that the word it stood for was in the plural.

I could believe that, though I've never seen any other that followed that rule. (Not that I know a lot of Spanish abbreviations.)

I was even more amazed when, after reading previous writeups in this node, I decided to go find out what the actual name of Mexico is. I had always thought it was The Republic of Mexico. Venturing onto various websites purporting to belong to various arms of the Mexican gobierno, I first seemed to be vindicated by one page that referred to that selfsame republica. Thinking the issue was settled, I kept on tiptoeing through the web, and quickly came upon another site that claimed to be the offical voice of los Estados Unidos Mexicanos -- the United Mexican States -- on all matters informational regarding the federal government. It had a seal and everything.

It was time to go to the horse's mouth. Figuring I couldn't go wrong, I called the Mexican consulate in Sacramento. I asked the lady who answered the phone what the official name of Mexico is. She said, "Mexico". (Was that a bit of derision I heard in her voice?) I said that I had heard both the la Republica and the los Estados stories, and was she sure it wasn't one of those? This caused her to reconsider, and after a pause she asked me to hold while she consulted a colleague.

A mellifluous voice assured me that
Your call is very important to us.

She returned after a short lacuna, and said it was actually the United States of Mexico. I thanked her and returned to work.

Given all the uncertainty about a question I thought would be simple, I decided at lunchtime to check her answer. This time, I called the consulate in San Diego, and after navigating through an excessive menu system, finally spoke with a lady in Cultural Affairs. I asked her the stumper, and, as with Ms. Sacramento, she immediately answered "Mexico". (This time the scorn was quite evident.) As is my occasional wont, I wimped out and didn't continue that conversation.

So, it looks like los Estados Unidos Mexicanos is the winner. But I still think La Republica Mexicana must be appropriate in some context.

Addendum, July 2015. Los Estados Unidos Mexicanos must be official, because I see that it is on the front cover of a Mexican passport, and on coins from La Casa de Moneda (government mint).

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