Squires are a step below the Mexican Strats.
AFAIK, the Mexican Strats have exactly the same parts as the American ones, but are assembled in Mexico. I think my Mex. Strat is as nice as any American Strat. I sanded the neck down to bare wood and changed the guts. But after I sold the old guts, I have less than $250 into that guitar and it screams. They sounds and play better the more you abuse them. Remember, a set of strings costs about $4, whether you put them on a $200 Squire or a $200k '53 Strat. The difference is not something an inexperienced player will ever recognize. I took lessons from age 13-15 and my teacher was super. He taught me how to teach myself by ear. Back then there was no Internet and TAB books were not real common. The best I could hope for was waiting for the new Guitar World to come out each month. But I was still able to figure out just about anything I heard. Now I just Google the TAB and then it's just a matter of playing through it.