-"nation" is defined in terms of ethnicity.

- always includes some element of descent from previous generations

- implied claim of ethnic essentialism, i.e. the understanding of ethnicity as an essence that remains unchanged over time.

- Served as President of Mexico

- Considered by Historians to be a Dictator

- leadership was marked by significant internal stability (known as the "paz porfiriana"), modernization, and economic growth

- lost power during Mexican Revolution