Mexico City

Mexico City is the capital and largest city of Mexico. It serves as a massive global hub for finance and culture. The city is classified as an Alpha world city by the GaWC. This means it is one of the most influential urban centers on Earth. It sits within the Valley of Mexico on the high Mexican central plateau. The city is located at an altitude of 2,240 meters.

The city is organized into 16 distinct boroughs, known as demarcaciones territoriales. These boroughs are further divided into smaller neighborhoods called colonias.

The city is massive in scale. The city proper covers 1,495 square kilometers of land. It is the primate city of Mexico. This means it is significantly larger than any other city in the country. It is also the second-largest Spanish-speaking city proper in the world, following Lima, Peru.

The scale of the population is even larger in the metropolitan area. Greater Mexico City has a population of 21,804,515 people. This makes it the sixth-largest metropolitan area in the world. It is the second-largest urban agglomeration in the Western Hemisphere, behind São Paulo, Brazil. The economic power of the city is also immense. In 2011, the metropolitan area had a GDP of $411 billion. The city itself generated 15.8% of Mexico's total GDP. The entire metropolitan area accounted for about 22% of the national GDP. If it were an independent nation, it would be the fifth-largest economy in Latin America.

The history of the area begins long before the modern city. Some of the oldest human remains in the Americas were found nearby. The Peñon woman is a famous discovery from San Bartolo Atepehuacan. A 2003 study placed her age at 12,700 years old. The Mexica people founded the city around 1325. They called their home Tenochtitlan. They built it on a group of islands in Lake Texcoco. Legend says a golden eagle on a prickly pear devouring a snake showed them the site.

Spanish explorers arrived in 1519. Hernán Cortés led the expedition toward Tenochtitlan. After a period of conflict and a struggle called La Noche Triste, the Spanish returned. They began a siege of the city in May 1521. The city suffered from a lack of food and water. Smallpox also spread among the people. Cuauhtémoc surrendered in August 1521. The Spanish rebuilt the city on the ruins of the Aztec site. They used many indigenous laborers for this massive task.

The Spanish redesigned the city using a grid pattern. They built Catholic churches directly over the old Aztec temples. The Zócalo became the central plaza and the seat of power. This square was the old ceremonial center for the Aztecs. During the colonial era, the city was the capital of New Spain. The viceroy lived in the viceregal palace on the Zócalo. The city also faced many challenges with water. Because it was built in a lake system, periodic flooding occurred. The Spanish implemented a massive drainage project called the desagüe. This was done to prevent floods and reduce mosquito-borne diseases.

Political structures in the city have changed significantly over time. In 1824, the area became the Mexican federal district, or Distrito Federal. Residents fought for many years to gain political autonomy. In 1997, they won the right to elect their own head of government. On 29 January 2016, the city officially became Ciudad de México, or CDMX. This reform gave the city more autonomy and changed its power structures. However, a clause in the Mexican Constitution prevents it from becoming a state. It must remain a federal entity as long as it is the capital.

People have given the city many different names and nicknames. In the 19th century, Baron Alexander von Humboldt called it the City of Palaces. He believed it could rival any major European city.

Locals are often called capitalinos, though many embrace the term chilango. While some use chilango as an insult, many residents use it with pride. Today, the city is a place of constant movement and growth.

It remains a vital center for the entire continent.