vertically striped green-white-red national flag with a central coat of arms featuring an eagle, a cactus, and a serpent. The flag has a width-to-length ratio of 4 to 7.The struggle for Mexican independence took place under a number of flags, but, when it was finally achieved in 1821 under the conservative Iguala Plan, a tricolour of green-white-red was officially established. This design may have been influenced by the French Tricolor, but the colours were distinctively Mexican. Green symbolizes independence, white is for the Roman Catholic religion, and red is for union—the “Three Guarantees” of Iguala. That political compromise allowed Mexico