Final answer:
Social conditions causing discontent in Mexico were multifaceted, involving economic troubles, political instability, sharp ideological divides, and significant racial discrimination and land dispossession following the Mexican Cession.
Step-by-step explanation:
Various social conditions led to widespread discontent in Mexico over different periods. In the early 19th century, a combination of bad harvests, economic recession, and the Act of Consolidation of 1804, which strained the finances of Creole merchants and landowners, stirred social unrest.
This period in Mexican history culminated in a multiethnic uprising seeking independence from Spanish rule. The 19th and early 20th centuries saw sharp divisions between liberals and conservatives, which dominated political life and contributed to instability and conflict.
Furthermore, the issue of land and racial antagonism post the Mexican Cession significantly impacted social dynamics, leading to the despoilment and disempowerment of Mexicans and Mexican-Americans' land holdings and rights in newly American territories such as Texas and California.
Legislation like the Greaser Act of 1885, which targeted Hispanics, exemplified the legal discrimination faced by the community.
This pattern of racial discrimination and land loss created a cycle of violence and marginalization that echoed throughout Mexico's history and into its present.