General Information
Mexico City – or Ciudad de México in Spanish – is the Federal District (Distrito Federal), capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union, as well as one of the most important financial and cultural centres in North America. According to the most recent definition agreed upon by the federal and state governments, the Mexico City metropolitan area population is 21.2 million people, making it the largest metropolitan area in the western hemisphere, the fifth largest agglomeration and the largest Spanish-speaking city in the world. It is located in the Valley of Mexico (Valle de México), a large valley in the high plateaus at the center of Mexico, at an altitude of 2,240 metres (7,350 ft).
After years of demanding greater political autonomy, residents were given the right to directly elect the Head of Government and the representatives of the unicameral Legislative Assembly by popular vote in 1997. Ever since, the left-wing Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) has controlled both of them. In recent years, the local government has passed a wave of liberal policies, such as abortion on request, a limited form of euthanasia, no-fault divorce and same-sex marriage.
Going Back to the Beginning
The city currently known as Mexico City was founded by the Mexica people, later known as the Aztecs, in 1325. The old Mexica city is now referred to as Tenochtitlan. The Mexica were one of the last of the Nahuatl-speaking peoples who migrated to this part of the Valley of Mexico after the fall of the Toltec Empire. Their presence was resisted by the peoples who were already in the valley, but the Mexica were able to establish a city on a small island on the western side of Lake Texcoco. The Mexica themselves had a story about how their city was founded, after being led to the island by their principal god, Huitzilopochtli. According to the story, the god indicated the site where they were to build their home with a sign – an eagle perched on a nopal cactus with a snake in its beak. Between 1325 and 1521, Tenochtitlan grew in size and strength, eventually dominating the other city-states around Lake Texcoco, and in the Valley of Mexico. When the Spaniards arrived, the Aztec Empire reached much of Mesoamerica, touching both the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. Scholars estimate that between 200,000 and 250,000 people lived in Tenochtitlan in 1500, more than four times the population of London at that time.
Spanish Conquest
After landing in Veracruz, Hernán Cortés heard about the great city and the long-standing rivalries and grievances against it. Although Cortés came to Mexico with a very small army, he was able to persuade many of the other native peoples to help him destroy Tenochtitlan. The Spaniards marched along the causeway leading into the city from Iztapalapa. Although Moctezuma came out from the centre of Tenochtitlán to greet them and exchange gifts, the camaraderie did not last long. Cortés put Moctezuma under house arrest, hoping to rule through him. Tensions increased until, on the night of June 30, 1520 – during a struggle commonly known as ‘La Noche Triste’ – the Aztec revolted against the Spanish intrusion and managed to capture or drive out the Europeans and their Tlaxcalan allies. The Aztecs thought the Spaniards were permanently gone; however, Cortés only regrouped at Tlaxcala and decided to lay siege to Tenochtitlán in May 1521. For three months, the city suffered from the lack of food and water as well as the spread of smallpox brought by the Europeans. The disease even claimed the newly elected Aztec king, Cuitláhuac, and Cuauhtémoc was appointed as the new ruler. Cortés and his allies landed their forces in the south of the island and fought their way through the city, street by street, and house by house. Finally, Cuauhtémoc had to surrender in August 1521. The victorious Spaniards practically razed Tenochtitlán and decided to rebuild the Aztec site to erase all traces of the old order. Tenochtitlán was renamed ‘Mexico’, its alternative form name, only because the Spanish found this easier to say.
Colonial Age
Cortés did not establish an independent, conquered territory under his own personal rule, but remained loyal to the Spanish crown. The first viceroy of the new domain arrived in Mexico City fourteen years later. By that time, the city had again become a city-state, having power that extended far beyond the city’s established borders and prospering as a result of trade.
The Cry of Independence
The Grito de Dolores (‘Cry of Dolores’) also known as El Grito de la Independencia (‘Cry of Independence’), uttered from the small town of Dolores near Guanajuato on September 16, 1810, is the event that marks the beginning of the Mexican War of Independence and is the most important national holiday observed in Mexico. A Roman Catholic priest, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, and several others were planning a revolt against the Spanish rule. However, they were betrayed. On the night of September 15, Hidalgo commanded his brother Mauricio as well as Ignacio Allende and Mariano Abasolo to go with a number of other armed men to make the sheriff release the plotters who had been arrested. Around 6:00 am September 16, 1810, Hidalgo ordered the church bells to be rung and gathered his congregation. Flanked by Allende and Juan Aldama, he addressed the people in front of his church, encouraging them to revolt. The Battle of Guanajuato, the first major engagement of the insurgency, occurred four days later. Mexico’s independence from Spain was effectively declared in the Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire on September 27, 1821, after a decade of war.
Numerous Battles and Continued Growth
The Mexican-American War that raged from 1846 to 1848, came to a close after the United States deployed combat units deep into Mexico resulting in the American capture of Mexico City and Veracruz. The invasion culminated with the storming of Chapultepec Castle in the city itself. Following the fighting, the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed in what is now the far north of the city. Events such as the Reform War left the city relatively untouched and it continued to grow, especially during the rule of President Porfirio Díaz. During this time, the city developed a modern infrastructure, such as roads, schools, transportation, and communication systems. The fast-paced development eventually led to the Mexican Revolution.
The Tumultuous 20th Century
The 20th century was a period of rapid and multi-faceted growth for Mexico City. Between 1960 and 1980 the city’s population more than doubled to 8,831,079. Under relentless growth, the autocratic government of Mexico City could barely keep up with services. Villagers from the countryside who continued to pour into the city to escape poverty only compounded the city’s problems. With no housing available, they took over lands surrounding the city, creating huge shantytowns that extended for many miles. This caused serious air and water pollution in Mexico City. These problems have since been contained, but contributed to the continued upheaval that afflicted the country as a whole and culminated in the wake of a natural disaster.
On Thursday, September 19, 1985, at 7:19 am local time, Mexico City was struck by an earthquake of magnitude 8.1 on the Richter scale. Although this earthquake was not as deadly or destructive as many similar events in Asia and other parts of Latin America, it proved to be a disaster politically for the country’s one-party government. The government was paralyzed by its own bureaucracy and corruption, forcing ordinary citizens to create and direct their own rescue efforts and to reconstruct much of the housing that was lost as well. However, the last straw may have been the controverted elections of 1988. That year, the presidency was set between the P.R.I.’s candidate, Carlos Salinas de Gortari, and a coalition of left-wing parties led by Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, son of the former president Lázaro Cárdenas. The counting system ‘fell’ because coincidentally the light went out and suddenly, when it returned, the winning candidate was Salinas, even though Cárdenas had the upper hand. As a result of the fraudulent election, Cárdenas became a member of the Party of the Democratic Revolution. Discontent over the election eventually led Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas to become the first elected mayor of Mexico City in 1997. Cárdenas promised a more democratic government, and his party claimed some victories against crime, pollution, and other major problems. He resigned in 1999 to run for the presidency.