Juárez, << HWAHR ehz >> (pop. 1,501,551), is Mexico’s largest city on the border with the United States. It is on the Rio Grande, opposite El Paso, Texas. The city’s official name is Ciudad Juárez. Founded as El Paso del Norte in 1662, it was renamed in 1888 for President Benito Juárez (see Juárez, Benito Pablo ).
For most of its history, Juárez was a quiet border-crossing town with a small population engaged in cattle raising and commerce. During the 1950’s, the town began to grow. Developing industries were attracted to Juárez because of its location on the border with the United States. The city became a major industrial center and an important gateway for travel and commerce between the two countries. During the early 2000’s, Juárez became a center of violence related to Mexico’s illegal drug trade. Thousands of people died in fighting between rival drug cartels (associations formed by suppliers to control the market for their product).
