Mexico City is the capital of Mexico and one of the largest cities in the world. Over 9 million people live in Mexico City. About 22 million live in the city’s metropolitan area. Mexico City is the chief city in one of the world’s most populous urban centers (see City (table: The 100 largest urban centers in the world)). The city is Mexico’s center of commerce, higher education, industry, culture, and transportation.
Mexico City lies in central Mexico, about halfway between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. The city has the same official boundaries as the Federal District of Mexico. The Federal District is a separate political area, similar to the District of Columbia in the United States. The built-up part of Mexico City occupies the northern section of the Federal District, and the rest of the district is rural. The metropolitan area has spread north into the state of Mexico.
Mexico City has long dominated the country economically, politically, and culturally. It was the site of Tenochtitlan << tay nohch TEE tlahn >> , the capital of the indigenous (American Indian) Aztec Empire in the 1400’s. Spain conquered the Aztec in the 1500’s, and the city became the capital of Spain’s colony in the Americas. Since Mexico became independent in 1821, Mexico City has served as the nation’s capital.
As a political and economic center, the city is a magnet for ambitious Mexicans from all walks of life. Its attractions have contributed to its rapid growth and also to its problems. As more and more people moved from rural Mexico and other cities to the capital, government services could not keep pace with the growing population. In addition, the increase in the number of factories and automobiles in Mexico City created one of the world’s worst air pollution problems.
The city
Mexico City is built on ground that once was the lakebed of Lake Texcoco << tay SKOH koh >> . Surrounded by mountains, the city sits in a natural basin that is 7,349 feet (2,240 meters) above sea level. Mexico City covers 571 square miles (1,479 square kilometers). The metropolitan area extends over about 900 square miles (2,330 square kilometers).
Downtown
is the heart of Mexico City. Spanish architecture from the city’s colonial period mixes with modern buildings in this section. The center of the downtown section has a layout common to Spanish colonial cities, with a major cathedral and government buildings surrounding a public square. The official name of the central square is Plaza de la Constitucion (Constitution Plaza). But the square, as in many other cities in Mexico, is usually called the Zocalo (Pedestal). The name came from a pedestal erected in the square in the 1840’s to hold a monument that was never built. Facing the Zocalo are the City Hall; the Metropolitan Cathedral, Mexico’s largest church; and the National Palace, which houses national executive departments and cabinet offices. Major government agencies with headquarters near the Zocalo include the Supreme Court of Justice and the Bank of Mexico.
The commercial areas downtown fill with people day and night. Some parts have been closed to automobiles, and pedestrians overflow the sidewalks onto the narrow streets. Historic churches, schools, and museums give the area a colonial flavor. Alameda Park, the downtown section’s central park, lies about 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) west of the Zocalo along Avenida (Avenue) Juarez. This street, like several other places in Mexico City, was named for Mexico’s President Benito Juarez, who enacted sweeping reforms in the 1850’s and 1860’s. A few blocks northeast of Alameda Park is Plaza de Garibaldi, where people come to hear the famous mariachis, strolling groups of musicians.
Residential and commercial centers
have shifted from downtown to the city’s southwest section. West of Alameda Park, Avenida Juarez crosses the city’s major street, the Paseo de la Reforma (Boulevard of the Reform), named in honor of Juarez’s reforms. Reforma is a wide, busy boulevard with beautifully landscaped circles at major intersections. The boulevard crosses the city on a northeast-southwest diagonal for most of its length. At one of its famous intersections stands the Monument to Independence, a golden angel on a tall column.
Reforma passes through Mexico City’s largest and most popular park, Chapultepec << chuh PUHL tuh pehk >> Park. The park includes some of Mexico’s leading art and history museums and Chapultepec Castle, the residence of some former Mexican presidents. In the southern section of the park is Los Pinos (The Pines), which once served as the presidential residence and working office. It is now open to tourists. A tower called the Estela de Luz (Pillar of Light) stands about 340 feet (104 meters) tall at the east end of the park. This monument commemorates the beginning of Mexico’s independence movement in 1810.
Mexico City has many neighborhoods, called colonias. Some wealthy residential colonias lie west of the park, along the Paseo de la Reforma. Beautiful mansions line Reforma and shady streets in the Lomas de Chapultepec (Hills of Chapultepec) neighborhood. Exclusive shopping districts in the city include the Zona Rosa (Pink Zone), south of Reforma, and Polanco, a colonia near Chapultepec Park. Suburban commercial centers line Reforma as it extends west.
Working-class and low-income residential areas sprawl in every direction from downtown Mexico City. Heavy industry is found in the city’s northern regions.
The city’s south side
has become a center of culture. The National Autonomous University of Mexico and the College of Mexico are there. A wealthy colonia called Pedregal (Stony Ground) originated in the 1970’s near the university on a field of lava rock left by a now-extinct volcano. Nearby is Perisur, a huge shopping center. Shopping and restaurants are also found along Avenida de los Insurgentes Sur (Avenue of the Insurgents South), a major commercial artery.
Metropolitan area.
The Federal District of Mexico is bordered on three sides by the state of Mexico and along its southern boundary by the state of Morelos. Rapid population growth along the Mexico state border has greatly expanded border cities since the 1960’s. One of these is Netzahualcóyotl << `nay` tsah wahl KOH `yoht` uhl >> , which lies east of Mexico City. Netzahualcóyotl has many poor people and serious environmental and health problems, and it lacks basic city services.
West of Mexico City, Reforma joins the highway to Toluca, capital of the state of Mexico. Houses are built on steep hillsides along the highway. Mexico City’s growth has spilled over most heavily into the state of Mexico to the northwest, where many factories produce a wide variety of goods. North along the highway to Queretaro lies a middle-class suburb called Ciudad Satelite (Satellite City).
People
Ethnic groups.
Most of Mexico City’s people are mestizos, people of mixed ancestry who are descended from Spanish settlers and the indigenous people who were Mexico’s original inhabitants. Some mestizos also have African ancestors. The residents of Mexico City mainly speak Spanish. Two percent of the city’s people speak an indigenous language, usually in addition to Spanish.
Immigrants from Europe, the Middle East, and Asia give Mexico City an international flavor. These ethnic groups contribute greatly to the intellectual, commercial, and cultural life of Mexico City.
About 85 to 90 percent of Mexico City’s people are Roman Catholic. The city also has many Jews, Mormons, and Protestants.
Housing.
A lack of affordable, good-quality housing is one of Mexico City’s most serious problems. People have streamed into the city faster than homes could be built to accommodate them. Federally funded housing for low-income workers, begun in the 1970’s, has eased the problem only slightly. Many residences lack safe drinking water, underground sewers, or utilities. Many homes are cardboard shacks, providing little protection. Many others are made from sheets of steel, tin, or other metal, or from asbestos panels. The city also has many middle-class areas with comfortable homes.
Most of Mexico City’s buildings—private and public—are made of concrete blocks and cement. Wood is seldom used because it is scarce and expensive.
Education
in Mexico City’s public school system extends from the elementary grades through the university level. It is supervised by the national government. Most of the schools are seriously underfunded. Many parents who can afford to do so send their children to private schools. The city has many private schools. Most of them are operated by the Roman Catholic Church, though some immigrant groups also have schools.
The capital has more institutions of higher education than anywhere else in the country. Mexico’s oldest and largest university is the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Other important schools are the College of Mexico, the National Polytechnic Institute, the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico, and the Ibero-American University.
Cultural life and recreation.
Mexico City is Mexico’s intellectual and cultural center. Many of the country’s leading artists and writers live there. The city’s most internationally famous group of performers is the Ballet Folklorico. This dance company performs traditional dances in colorful costumes at the Palacio de Bellas Artes (Palace of Fine Arts). The Bellas Artes, a majestic building near Alameda Park, is a performance and exhibition center. The Bellas Artes and many other public buildings in the city are decorated with large murals. The National Palace features a series of murals by Diego Rivera, one of Mexico’s most famous painters.
The National Museum of Anthropology, in Chapultepec Park, is one of the world’s greatest museums. It displays artworks of the Aztec, Maya, and other ancient Mexican cultures. Also in the park are the Museum of Modern Art and the Tamayo Museum, named for the famous Mexican painter Rufino Tamayo. The Museum of the City of Mexico, near the Zocalo, offers a history of the capital. The Museo Soumaya, in the southwestern part of the city, has an extensive collection of European art. It occupies a striking building of curved aluminum designed by the Mexican architect Fernando Romero.
Mexico’s National Archives are downtown. The city’s two most important libraries are at the College of Mexico and the National Autonomous University of Mexico.
Mexico City has baseball, boxing, bullfighting, football, horse racing, jai alai, soccer, swimming, tennis, and many other sports. Soccer is the most popular team sport. In any neighborhood, rich or poor, adults and children can be seen playing the game.
Many people leave the city on weekends. They seek clean air and lush vegetation in such places as Cuernavaca << `kwehr` nuh VAHK uh >> , a beautiful city to the south, or Valle de Bravo, a mountain retreat to the west. At the archaeological site of Teotihuacan, people climb towering pyramids for a spectacular view of the ancient city.
Social problems.
Mexico City has great difficulty providing adequate schools, transportation, and other public services for its huge and growing population. The city also has a serious crime problem, especially in low-income neighborhoods. In addition, many police and other government officials have been accused of corrupt practices, such as accepting bribes and engaging in criminal activities themselves. Alcoholism, drug addiction, and juvenile delinquency are other serious difficulties in the city.
The city’s large number of people creates transportation difficulties. Many workers live far from their jobs and travel an average of about two hours per day to and from work. Because few highways bypass the city, long-distance travelers must drive through it, adding to overcrowded streets. A beltway system to separate local traffic from through traffic has been started.
Environmental problems.
Air pollution is Mexico City’s most dangerous environmental problem. It is so serious that sometimes children must stay indoors when the government announces air-quality warnings. Many people suffer from breathing problems and eye irritation. The city lies in a bowl-shaped valley. The surrounding mountains keep the wind from blowing away factory smoke, automobile exhaust, and other pollutants. The government has tried to control pollution from cars by closing some downtown streets to traffic. The city also bans about one-fifth of its cars from the road each day of the workweek, with the day a car cannot be driven determined by its license number. In the 1990’s, the government began to impose even stricter pollution controls.
Economy
The Mexico City area ranks first in the country in manufacturing activities and in retail business. It is also the leading center of financial and professional services. The city is the center for Mexico’s commercial activity and a major tourist area. In fact, the country’s economic development is so concentrated in the Mexico City area that the federal government wants to draw business and industry to other parts of Mexico.
Industry.
Mexico City accounts for about half of Mexico’s manufacturing activity and almost half of its factory workers. Other major employers are petroleum and mineral refineries and construction companies. About 40 percent of Mexico’s technical and research specialists live in Mexico City.
The federal government
ranks as one of the city’s chief employers. Many college graduates in architecture, economics, engineering, law, and other fields pursue careers in government. To relieve crowding in Mexico City, the government sought in the 1980’s to move federal agencies away from the capital. But few agencies actually relocated.
Finance.
Mexico City is the financial center of the nation. More than half of all the country’s bank transactions take place there. In 1982, the government took control of all Mexican banks, but it began selling them back to private owners in 1991.
Transportation.
Mexico City’s location has made it the hub of Mexico’s transportation system. Railroads and highways radiate from the city like spokes of a wheel. It is hard to travel north or south in Mexico without passing through the capital. Passenger rail service is extensive in Mexico, but most travel is done by bus. Benito Juarez International Airport, east of downtown, handles direct flights to and from many countries and other Mexican cities. The Federal District has many local bus routes and one of the best subway systems in the world. Although new subway and bus routes are added continually, the huge population causes buses and subways to be crowded.
Communication.
Mexico City is the country’s radio and television broadcast center. Televisa, which has offices in the downtown area, ranks as one of the largest privately owned television networks in Latin America. It broadcasts on various channels in the city and throughout the country and even reaches many parts of the United States. Mexico City publishes more daily newspapers than many other cities do. The competition for readership is fierce. A well-read resident of Mexico City may subscribe to half a dozen papers representing various political viewpoints.
City government
The mayor of Mexico City is also the chief official of the Federal District. The mayor’s official title is Jefe de Gobierno—that is, head of government. The office of Mexico City mayor is considered to be the second most important political office in Mexico, after the president. Voters elect the mayor to a six-year term.
Voters in Mexico City also elect a legislative assembly made up of 66 deputies from the various wards of the city. The mayor may present laws or decrees for consideration by the assembly. The voters of the Federal District elect senators and deputies to serve in the two houses of Mexico’s General Congress, as do the voters of Mexico’s 31 states.
History
City of the Aztec.
By 2000 B.C., farm villages had developed in the Lake Texcoco region. The Aztec founded their capital, Tenochtitlan, on an island in the middle of the lake. According to Aztec tradition, Tenochtitlan was founded in 1325. But modern scholars believe it was founded somewhat later. From this magnificent city, the Aztec ruled a vast empire during the 1400’s. By the early 1500’s, the city and its suburbs had a population of about 200,000.
In 1519, the Spanish explorer Hernán Cortés marched on Tenochtitlan. He and his men were welcomed into the city by the Aztec emperor, Montezuma, who may have thought Cortés was a god or the representative of a god. Cortés imprisoned Montezuma and took control of the city. In 1520, the Aztec forced the Spaniards out. Cortés returned with a larger force, conquered the city, and destroyed it in 1521.
Spanish rule.
Cortés rebuilt the city, creating a Spanish capital over the ruins. Almost all traces of Aztec architecture were destroyed. Mexico City became the capital of a Spanish colony called New Spain. The colony at its peak extended from present-day Central America to the state of Kansas in the United States. The city regained its former size and grew into the largest city in the Western Hemisphere. After about 30,000 people died in floods in 1629, the Spaniards improved the canal and dike system for draining Lake Texcoco. 
Independence.
Mexico became independent from Spain in 1821. In 1846, Mexico went to war with the United States over disputed territories. In 1847, Mexico City was captured by U.S. troops after the Battle of Chapultepec. In that battle, six military students jumped from Chapultepec Castle to their deaths rather than surrender. The Monumento a los Ninos Heroes (Monument to the Boy Heroes) stands in Chapultepec Park in their honor. United States troops occupied the city until the war ended in 1848. See Mexican War.
In 1863, Mexico City fell to invading French troops. From 1864 to 1867, Mexico was governed by an Austrian-born monarch, Maximilian, who gained the throne with the support of France and of Mexican conservatives. Maximilian had the Paseo Imperial (Imperial Boulevard) built to link the National Palace at the Zocalo with his residence, Chapultepec Castle. The Paseo Imperial was later renamed the Paseo de la Reforma.
General Porfirio Diaz came to power in 1876 and ruled as a dictator. He modernized Mexico City and added many architectural landmarks. One of the most dramatic of these landmarks began as his legislative palace but became the Monument to the Revolution, honoring his overthrow in 1911. Diaz also began the Palacio de Bellas Artes in 1904, though it was not completed until 1934.
Revolution and growth.
The Mexican Revolution began in 1910 in opposition to Diaz, forcing him out of office the next year. In February 1913, Mexico City again became the scene of fighting as troops rebelled against the elected president, Francisco I. Madero. This period of fighting became known as the Decena Tragica, the Tragic Ten Days. Madero was murdered, and Victoriano Huerta ruled as a dictator until he too was overthrown. For the next several years, revolutionary leaders struggled among themselves for power.
From the 1940’s to about 1970, Mexico had an economic boom. Large-scale public works contributed to this boom and to Mexico City’s modernization. About 3 million Mexicans migrated to the capital. This steady flow of people contributed to the city’s rapid growth but also to its social and economic problems. After several years of slower economic growth in the early 1970’s, the discovery of vast petroleum deposits in Mexico brought a brief return to prosperity.
The late 1900’s and early 2000’s.
In the 1980’s, world oil prices and the demand for oil began to drop, triggering a major economic crisis that severely affected Mexico City. The Mexican government had trouble paying its debts. Many residents of Mexico City lost their jobs because of government cutbacks.
In 1985, a major earthquake with strong aftershocks struck south-central Mexico, including Mexico City, causing about 10,000 deaths. Damage was especially severe because the city had been built on the moist clay soil of a former lakebed. During an earthquake, such soil transmits powerful vibrations and acts like jelly, causing buildings to collapse. About 400 buildings in Mexico City were destroyed, and thousands of others suffered damage. After the quakes, the city enacted tougher building codes and safety standards.
In 1991, the government stepped up efforts to improve the city’s air quality. It closed dozens of firms for violating environmental laws. 
In 1995, Mexico faced another economic crisis after the value of the country’s currency fell sharply. Mexico City’s crime rate increased dramatically during this time.
In 1997, voters in Mexico City elected a mayor for the first time. Previously, the district had been governed by an official called the regente, who was appointed by Mexico’s president and functioned as a mayor. Mexico City’s first woman mayor, Claudia Sheinbaum, was elected in 2018.
In 2017, a powerful earthquake struck nearby Puebla state, collapsing buildings and killing more than 80 people in Mexico City. In 2021, an overpass carrying a rapid transit train collapsed onto traffic below in southeastern Mexico City. At least 26 people died as a result and dozens of others were injured.
