Editing Mexico City (section)

== History ==
{{Main|History of Mexico City}}
{{For timeline}}
The oldest signs of human occupation in the area of Mexico City are those of the "[[Peñon woman|Peñón woman]]" and others found in San Bartolo Atepehuacan ([[Gustavo A. Madero, Mexico City|Gustavo A. Madero]]). They were believed to correspond to the lower Cenolithic period (9500–7000 BC).<ref>The evidence consists of a burial in the first case, and of [[lithic flake]]s associated with remains of extinct fauna. They were estimated to be about 10 000 years old. ''Cfr. Acosta Ochoa'', 2007: 9.</ref> However, a 2003 study placed the age of the Peñon woman at 12,700 years old (calendar age),<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gonzalez |first1=Silvia |last2=Jiménez-López |first2=José Concepción |last3=Hedges |first3=Robert |last4=Huddart |first4=David |last5=Ohman |first5=James C |last6=Turner |first6=Alan |last7=Pompa y Padilla |first7=José Antonio |title=Earliest humans in the Americas: new evidence from México |journal=Journal of Human Evolution |date=March 2003 |volume=44 |issue=3 |doi=10.1016/s0047-2484(03)00004-6 |page=381 |pmid=12674097 |bibcode=2003JHumE..44..379. |url=https://doi.org/10.1016/s0047-2484(03)00004-6 |access-date=30 June 2022 |archive-date=18 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231018204608/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0047248403000046?via%3Dihub |url-status=live | issn = 0047-2484 }}</ref> one of the oldest human remains discovered in the Americas. Studies of her mitochondrial DNA suggest she was either of Asian<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cronica.com.mx/notas/2003/65456.html |title=El ADN de La Mujer del Peñón confirma el origen asiático del hombre americano |website=www.cronica.com.mx |access-date=28 September 2019 |archive-date=12 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012073700/http://www.cronica.com.mx/notas/2003/65456.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> or European<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=44lXDwAAQBAJ&q=pe%C3%B1on+woman+european&pg=PT91|title=Scattered Skeleton in Our Closet|author=Karen Mutton|year=2011|isbn=978-1-935487-41-8|publisher=Adventures Unlimited Press|access-date=19 October 2020|archive-date=18 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231018204606/https://books.google.com/books?id=44lXDwAAQBAJ&q=pe%C3%B1on+woman+european&pg=PT91#v=snippet&q=pe%C3%B1on%20woman%20european&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> or Aboriginal Australian origin.<ref>{{Cite news |author=David Epstein |author-link=David Epstein (journalist) |title=First Americans May Have Come From Australia |url=https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/28-first-americans-may-have-come-from-australia |work=[[Discover (magazine)|Discover]] |date=2 January 2005 |access-date=17 October 2020 |archive-date=18 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201018065929/https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/28-first-americans-may-have-come-from-australia |url-status=live }}</ref>

The area was the destination of the migrations of the [[Chichimeca|Teochichimecas]] during the 8th and 13th centuries, people that would give rise to the [[Toltec]], and [[Aztecs|Mexica]] (Aztecs) cultures. The latter arrived around the 14th century to settle first on the shores of the lake.

=== Aztec period ===
{{Main|Mexico-Tenochtitlan}}
[[File:Painting_of_Tenochtitlan-Tlatelolco_on_Lake_Texcoco_(9755215791).jpg|thumb|left|The city was the place of [[Mexico-Tenochtitlan]], the Aztec capital.]]

The city of [[Mexico-Tenochtitlan]] was founded by the [[Mexica]] people in 1325 or 1327.<ref>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Mexico City |volume=18 |page=346|quote=The City of Mexico dates, traditionally, from the year 1325 or 1327}}</ref> The old Mexica city that is now referred to as [[Tenochtitlan]] was built on an island in the center of the inland lake system of the [[Valley of Mexico]], which is shared with a smaller city-state called [[Tlatelolco (altepetl)|Tlatelolco]].<ref>Frances F. Berdan, ''The Aztecs of Mexico: An Imperial Society'', New York: Holt, Rinehart, Winston 1982, pp. 10–14.</ref> According to legend, the Mexicas' principal god, [[Huītzilōpōchtli|Huitzilopochtli]], indicated the site where they were to build their home by presenting a [[golden eagle]] perched on a [[Opuntia|prickly pear]] devouring a [[rattlesnake]].<ref name="Frances F. Berdan 1982, p. 14">Frances F. Berdan, ''The Aztecs of Mexico: An Imperial Society'', New York: Holt, Rinehart, Winston 1982, p. 14.</ref>

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 had reached much of [[Mesoamerica]], touching both the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean.<ref name="Frances F. Berdan 1982, p. 14" />

=== Spanish conquest ===
[[File:Cortez & La Malinche.jpg|left|thumb|The panel dedicated to the Tenochtitlan campaign, as depicted in the 1552 ''[[Canvas of Tlaxcala]]''. Hernando Cortés and [[La Malinche|Malintzin]] (right) meet [[Moctezuma II]] in [[Tenochtitlan|Mexico-Tenochtitlan]], 8 November 1519.]]
After landing in [[Veracruz]], Spanish explorer [[Hernán Cortés]] advanced upon Tenochtitlan with the aid of many of the other native peoples,<ref name="Ciudad Mexico">{{cite web |url = http://www.ciudadmexico.com.mx/historia.htm |title = Historia de la Ciudad de México |language = es |access-date = 14 October 2008 |archive-date = 1 May 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190501144358/http://ciudadmexico.com.mx/historia.htm |url-status = live }}</ref>
arriving there on 8 November 1519.<ref name="Marroqui">{{Cite book |title = La Ciudad de Mexico |last = Marroqui |first = Jose Maria |year = 1969 |publisher = Ayuntamiento del Distrito Federal |location = Mexico City |pages = 21–25 }}</ref> Cortés and his men marched along the causeway leading into the city from [[Iztapalapa]] (Ixtapalapa), and the city's ruler, [[Moctezuma II]], greeted the Spaniards; they exchanged gifts, but the camaraderie did not last long.<ref name="pbs1">{{cite web |url = https://www.pbs.org/conquistadors/cortes/cortes_e00.html |title = Conquistadors – Cortés. November 1519, The Most Beautiful Thing in the World |publisher = PBS |access-date = 17 April 2011 |archive-date = 26 April 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190426165811/http://www.pbs.org/conquistadors/cortes/cortes_e00.html |url-status = live }}</ref> Cortés put Moctezuma under [[house arrest]] at his [[Palace of Axayacatl|father's palace]], hoping to rule through him.<ref name="pbs2">{{cite web |url = https://www.pbs.org/conquistadors/cortes/cortes_f00.html |title = Conquistadors – Cortés. November, 1519 – Montezuma Arrested |publisher = PBS |access-date = 17 April 2011 |archive-date = 18 April 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190418033417/http://www.pbs.org/conquistadors/cortes/cortes_f00.html |url-status = live }}</ref>

Tensions increased until, on the night of 30 June 1520 – during a struggle known as "[[La Noche Triste]]" – the Aztecs rose up against the Spanish intrusion and managed to capture or drive out the Europeans and their [[Tlaxcaltec|Tlaxcalan]] allies.<ref name="pbs4">{{cite web |url = https://www.pbs.org/conquistadors/cortes/cortes_g00.html |title = Conquistadors – Cortés. June 1520 – Massacre at Tenochtitlán |publisher = PBS |access-date = 17 April 2011 |archive-date = 22 April 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190422021242/http://www.pbs.org/conquistadors/cortes/cortes_g00.html |url-status = live }}</ref> Cortés regrouped at Tlaxcala. The Aztecs thought the Spaniards were permanently gone, and they elected a new king, [[Cuitláhuac]], but he soon died; the next king was [[Cuauhtémoc]].<ref name="pbs6">{{cite web |url = https://www.pbs.org/conquistadors/cortes/cortes_h00.html |title = Conquistadors – Cortés. December 1520 – Siege, Starvation & Smallpox |publisher = PBS |access-date = 17 April 2011 |archive-date = 28 May 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190528141631/http://www.pbs.org/conquistadors/cortes/cortes_h00.html |url-status = live }}</ref> Cortés began a [[siege of Tenochtitlan]] 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.<ref name="Ciudad Mexico" /> Cortés and his allies landed their forces in the south of the island and slowly fought their way through the city.<ref name="pbs7">{{cite web |url = https://www.pbs.org/conquistadors/cortes/cortes_i00.html |title = Conquistadors – Cortés. The Last Stand: An Aztec Iliad |publisher = PBS |access-date = 17 April 2011 |archive-date = 20 April 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190420100622/http://www.pbs.org/conquistadors/cortes/cortes_i00.html |url-status = live }}</ref> Cuauhtémoc surrendered in August 1521.<ref name="Ciudad Mexico" /> The Spaniards practically razed Tenochtitlan during the final siege of the conquest.<ref name="Marroqui" />

Cortés first settled in [[Coyoacán]], but decided to rebuild the Aztec site to erase all traces of the old order.<ref name="Marroqui" /> He did not establish a territory under his own [[Sovereignty|personal rule]], but remained loyal to the Spanish crown. The first Spanish [[viceroy]] arrived in Mexico City fourteen years later. By that time, the city had again become a [[city-state]], having power that extended far beyond its borders.<ref name="Enc Mex 2000">{{cite encyclopedia |last = Alvarez |first = Jose Rogelio |encyclopedia = Enciclopedia de Mexico |language=es |title = Mexico, Ciudad de |year = 2000 |publisher = Encyclopædia Britannica |volume = 9 |pages = 5242–5260 }}</ref> Although the Spanish preserved Tenochtitlan's basic layout, they built [[Catholic Church|Catholic churches]] over the old Aztec temples and claimed the imperial palaces for themselves.<ref name="Enc Mex 2000" /> Tenochtitlan was renamed "Mexico" because the Spanish found the word easier to pronounce.<ref name="Marroqui" />

=== Growth of colonial Mexico City ===
[[File:Ignacio Serrano - Catedral de México.jpg|thumb|left|[[Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral]]'s (1571–1813) 18th century painting. The cathedral was built by the Spaniards over the ruins of the main Aztec temple.]]

The city had been the capital of the [[Aztec Empire]] and in the colonial era, Mexico City became the capital of [[New Spain]]. The [[viceroy of Mexico]] or vice-king lived in the viceregal palace on the main square or [[Zócalo]]. The [[Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral]], the seat of the Archbishopric of New Spain, was constructed on another side of the Zócalo, as was the archbishop's palace, and across from it the building housing the city council or ''ayuntamiento'' of the city. A late seventeenth-century painting of the Zócalo by [[Cristóbal de Villalpando]] depicts the main square, which had been the old Aztec ceremonial center. The existing central plaza of the Aztecs was effectively and permanently transformed to the ceremonial center and seat of power during the colonial period, and remains to this day in modern Mexico, the central plaza of the nation. The rebuilding of the city after the siege of Tenochtitlan was accomplished by the abundant indigenous labor in the surrounding area. Franciscan friar [[Toribio de Benavente Motolinia]], one of the [[Twelve Apostles of Mexico]] who arrived in New Spain in 1524, described the rebuilding of the city as one of the afflictions or plagues of the early period:

<blockquote>The seventh plague was the construction of the great City of Mexico, which, during the early years used more people than in the construction of Jerusalem. The crowds of laborers were so numerous that one could hardly move in the streets and causeways, although they are very wide. Many died from being crushed by beams, or falling from high places, or in tearing down old buildings for new ones.<ref>Toribio de Benavente Motolinia, ''Motolinia's History of the Indians of New Spain'', translated and edited by Elizabeth Adnros Foster. Wesport: Greenwood Press, (1950) 1973, pp. 41–42</ref></blockquote> 
[[File:Atlas Van der Hagen-KW1049B13 078-Panorama van- NOVA MEXICO.jpeg|thumb|Mexico City in 1690. Atlas Van der Hagen.]]

Preconquest Tenochtitlan was built in the center of the inland lake system, with the city reachable by [[canoe]] and by wide causeways to the mainland. The causeways were rebuilt under Spanish rule with indigenous labor. Colonial Spanish cities were constructed on a grid pattern, if no geographical obstacle prevented it. In Mexico City, the Zócalo (main square) was the central place from which the grid was then built outward. The Spanish lived in the area closest to the main square in what was known as the ''traza'', in orderly, well laid-out streets. Indigenous residences were outside that exclusive zone and houses were haphazardly located.<ref>Edmundo O'Gorman, ''Reflexiones sobre la distribución urbana coloinal de la ciudad de México'', Mexico 1938, pp. 16ff.</ref> Spaniards sought to keep indigenous people separate but since the Zócalo was a center of commerce for Amerindians, they were a constant presence in the central area, so strict segregation was never enforced.<ref>Magnus Mörner and Charles Gibson, "Diego Muñoz Camargo and the Segregation Policy of the Spanish Crown," ''Hispanic American Historical Review'', vol. 42, pp. 558ff.</ref> At intervals Zócalo was where major celebrations took place as well as executions. It was also the site of two major riots in the seventeenth century, one in 1624, the other in 1692.<ref>Ida Altman, Sarah Cline, and Javier Pescador, ''The Early History of Greater Mexico'', Pearson 2003, pp. 246–249.</ref>

The city grew as the population did, coming up against the lake's waters. As the depth of the lake water fluctuated, Mexico City was subject to periodic flooding. A major labor draft, the [[desagüe]], compelled thousands of indigenous over the colonial period to work on infrastructure to prevent flooding. Floods were not only an inconvenience but also a health hazard, since during flood periods human waste polluted the city's streets. By draining the area, the mosquito population dropped as did the frequency of the diseases they spread. However, draining the wetlands also changed the habitat for fish and birds and the areas accessible for indigenous cultivation close to the capital.<ref>Noble David Cook, ''Born to Die: Disease and New World Conquest, 1492–1650.'' New York: Cambridge University Press 1998.</ref> The 16th century saw a proliferation of churches, many of which can still be seen today in the [[Historic center of Mexico City|historic center]].<ref name="Enc Mex 2000" />
Economically, Mexico City prospered as a result of trade. Unlike Brazil or [[Peru]], Mexico had easy contact with both the Atlantic and Pacific worlds. Although the Spanish crown tried to completely regulate all commerce in the city, it had only partial success.<ref name="Hamnett 1998">{{Cite book |title = Concise History of Mexico. |last = Hamnett |first = Brian R. |year = 1998 |publisher = Cambridge University Press |location = Port Chester, NY |isbn = 978-0-521-58120-2 |url-access = registration |url = https://archive.org/details/concisehistoryof0000hamn }}</ref>
[[Image:Palacio de mineria.jpg|thumb|left|[[Palacio de Minería]], Mexico City. The elevation of silver mining as a profession and the ennoblement of silver miners was a development of the eighteenth-century [[Bourbon Reforms]].]]

The concept of [[nobility]] flourished in New Spain in a way not seen in other parts of the Americas. Spaniards encountered a society in which the concept of nobility mirrored that of their own. Spaniards respected the indigenous order of nobility and added to it. In the ensuing centuries, possession of a [[Mexican nobility|noble title in Mexico]] did not mean one exercised great political power, for one's power was limited even if the accumulation of wealth was not.<ref name="Ladd 1998">{{Cite book |title = Artes deMexico Palacios de la Nueva España The Mexican Nobility |last = Ladd |first = Doris M |year = 1998 |publisher = Artes de Mexico y del Mundo |location = Mexico City |isbn = 978-968-6533-61-3 |pages = 84–86 }}</ref> The concept of nobility in Mexico was not political but rather a very conservative Spanish social one, based on proving the worthiness of the family. Most of these families proved their worth by making fortunes in New Spain outside of the city itself, then spending the revenues in the capital, building churches, supporting charities and building extravagant palatial homes. The craze to build the most opulent residence possible reached its height in the last half of the 18th century. Many of these palaces can still be seen today, leading to Mexico City's nickname of "The city of palaces" given by [[Alexander von Humboldt|Alexander Von Humboldt]].<ref name="Marroqui" /><ref name="Enc Mex 2000" /><ref name="Ladd 1998" />

The [[Grito de Dolores]] ("Cry of Dolores"), also known as El Grito de la Independencia ("Cry of Independence"), marked the beginning of the [[Mexican War of Independence]]. The Battle of Guanajuato, the first major engagement of the insurgency, occurred four days later. After a decade of war, Mexico's independence from Spain was effectively declared in the Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire on 27 September 1821.<ref name="Iturbide">{{cite web |url = http://www.casaimperial.org/augustin.htm |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20040411084151/http://www.casaimperial.org/augustin.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date = 11 April 2004 |title = Don Agustín de Iturbide |access-date = 20 October 2008 }}</ref> [[Agustín de Iturbide]] is proclaimed Emperor of the [[First Mexican Empire]] by Congress, crowned in the [[Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral|Cathedral of Mexico]]. 

The Mexican Federal District was established by the new government and by the signing of their new constitution, where the concept of a [[federal district]] was adapted from the [[United States Constitution]].<ref name="Countries of the World">{{Cite book |first = Thomas E. |last = Weil |chapter = Mexico: Chapter 3B. Evolution of a Nation |title = Countries of the World |publisher = Bureau Development, Inc. |date = 1 January 1991 }}</ref> Before this designation, Mexico City had served as the [[seat of government]] for both the [[State of Mexico]] and the nation as a whole. [[Texcoco de Mora, State of Mexico|Texcoco de Mora]] and then [[Toluca]] became the capital of the State of Mexico.<ref>{{Cite book |first = Ashoka |last = Mody |chapter = Infrastructure Delivery |title = Countries of the World |publisher = World Bank Publications |year= 1996 |page = 187 |isbn = 978-0-8213-3520-8 }}</ref>

=== Battle of Mexico City in the U.S.–Mexican War of 1847 ===
[[File:Nebel Mexican War 11 Chapultepec Quitman (cropped).jpg|thumb|''The American assault on the [[Chapultepec Castle]]'', 1847 by [[Carl Nebel|Nebel]] and [[Adolphe Jean-Baptiste Bayot|Bayot]]]]
During the 19th century, Mexico City was the center stage of all the political disputes of the country. It was the imperial capital on two occasions (1821–1823 and 1864–1867), and of two [[Federalism|federalist]] states and two [[Unitary state|centralist]] states that followed innumerable coups d'états in the space of half a century before the triumph of the Liberals after the [[Reform War]]. It was also the objective of one of the two French invasions to Mexico ([[Second French intervention in Mexico|1861–1867]]), and occupied for a year by American troops in the framework of the [[Mexican–American War]] (1847–1848).

The [[Battle for Mexico City]] was the series of engagements from 8 to 15 September 1847, in the general vicinity of Mexico City during the [[Mexican–American War|U.S. Mexican War]]. Included are major actions at the battles of [[Battle of Molino del Rey|Molino del Rey]] and [[Battle of Chapultepec|Chapultepec]], culminating with the fall of Mexico City. The U.S. Army under Winfield Scott scored a major success that ended the war. The American invasion into the Federal District was first resisted during the [[Battle of Churubusco]] on 8 August, where the [[Saint Patrick's Battalion]], which was composed primarily of Catholic Irish and German immigrants but also Canadians, English, French, Italians, Poles, Scots, Spaniards, Swiss, and Mexicans, fought for the Mexican cause, repelling the American attacks. After defeating the [[Saint Patrick's Battalion]], the Mexican–American War came to a close after the United States [[Deployments of the United States Military|deployed]] [[Military organization|combat units]] deep into [[Mexico]] resulting in the capture of Mexico City and [[Veracruz, Veracruz|Veracruz]] by the [[United States Army|U.S. Army]]'s 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th [[Division (military)|Divisions]].<ref name="Cerro">{{cite web |url = https://www.pbs.org/kera/usmexicanwar/war/cerro_gordo.html |title = The Battle of Cerro Gordo |website = [[PBS]] |access-date = 18 October 2008 |archive-date = 23 October 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071023110409/https://www.pbs.org/kera/usmexicanwar/war/cerro_gordo.html |url-status = live }}</ref> The invasion culminated with the storming of [[Chapultepec Castle]] in the city itself.<ref name="Storming of Chapultepec">{{cite web |url = https://www.pbs.org/kera/usmexicanwar/war/chapultepec_pillows_attack.html |title = The Storming of Chapultepec (General Pillow's Attack) |website = [[PBS]] |access-date = 18 October 2008 |archive-date = 2 September 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170902101312/https://www.pbs.org/kera/usmexicanwar/war/chapultepec_pillows_attack.html |url-status = live }}</ref>

During this battle, on 13 September, the 4th Division, under [[John A. Quitman]], spearheaded the attack against Chapultepec and carried the castle. Future [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] generals [[George E. Pickett]] and [[James Longstreet]] participated in the attack. Serving in the Mexican defense were the cadets later immortalized as ''[[Niños Héroes|Los Niños Héroes]]'' (the "Boy Heroes"). The Mexican forces fell back from Chapultepec and retreated within the city. Attacks on the Belén and San Cosme Gates came afterwards. The [[treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo]] was signed in what is now the far north of the city.<ref name="treaty">{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/kera/usmexicanwar/war/wars_end_guadalupe.html |title=Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo |author=Richard Griswold del Castillo |website=[[PBS]] |access-date=18 October 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100213210803/http://www.pbs.org/kera/usmexicanwar/war/wars_end_guadalupe.html |archive-date=13 February 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Mexican Revolution (1910–1920) ===
[[File:Dead_outside_National_Palace_during_one_of_the_outbreaks,_Mexico_City.jpg|thumb|Corpses in front of the National Palace during the [[Ten Tragic Days]]. Photographer, Manuel Ramos.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://digitalcollections.smu.edu/cdm/search/collection/mex/searchterm/Ag1996.1039/mode/exact |title=Album, Mexican Revolution |access-date=19 March 2022 |archive-date=29 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200129211250/http://digitalcollections.smu.edu/cdm/search/collection/mex/searchterm/Ag1996.1039/mode/exact |url-status=live }}</ref>]]

The capital escaped the worst of the violence of the ten-year conflict of the [[Mexican Revolution]]. The most significant episode of this period for the city was the [[Decena trágica|Decena Trágica]] ("Ten Tragic Days") of February 1913, when forces counter to the elected government of [[Francisco I. Madero]] staged a successful coup. The center of the city was subjected to artillery attacks from the army stronghold of the ''ciudadela'' or citadel, with significant civilian casualties and the undermining of confidence in the Madero government. [[Victoriano Huerta]], chief general of the [[Huerta's Federal Army|Federal Army]], saw a chance to take power, forcing Madero and Pino Suarez to sign resignations. The two were murdered later while on their way to [[Palacio de Lecumberri|Lecumberri prison]].<ref name="redescolar">{{cite web |url = http://redescolar.ilce.edu.mx/redescolar/act_permanentes/historia/histdeltiempo/mexicana/sigloxx/xx_dece.htm |title = La Decena Trágica, febrero de 1913 |language = es |access-date = 19 October 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130620151846/http://redescolar.ilce.edu.mx/redescolar/act_permanentes/historia/histdeltiempo/mexicana/sigloxx/xx_dece.htm |archive-date = 20 June 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Huerta's ouster in July 1914 saw the entry of the armies of [[Pancho Villa]] and [[Emiliano Zapata]], but the city did not experience violence. Huerta had abandoned the capital and the conquering armies marched in. [[Venustiano Carranza]]'s [[Constitutionalist]] faction ultimately prevailed in the revolutionary civil war and Carranza took up residence in the presidential palace.

=== 20th century to present ===

[[File:Casa_Estudio_Diego_Rivera_y_Frida_Kahlo_(2566206309).jpg|thumb|left|Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera house in [[San Ángel]] designed by [[Juan O'Gorman]]]]

In the 20th century the phenomenal growth of the city and its environmental and political consequences dominate. In 1900, the population of Mexico City was about 500,000.<ref name="LaRosa 2005">{{Cite book |title = Atlas and Survey of Latin American History. |editor-last = LaRosa |editor-first = Michael J. |year = 2005 |publisher = M.E. Sharpe, Inc. |pages = 118–125 |isbn = 9780765615978 }}</ref> The city began to grow rapidly westward in the early part of the 20th century<ref name="Enc Mex 2000" /> and then began to grow upwards in the 1950s, with the [[Torre Latinoamericana]] becoming the city's first skyscraper.<ref name="Ciudad Mexico" />

The rapid development of Mexico City as a center for [[modernist architecture]] was most fully manifested in the mid-1950s construction of the [[Ciudad Universitaria, Mexico City]], the main campus of the [[National Autonomous University of Mexico]]. Designed by the most prestigious architects of the era, including [[Mario Pani]], [[Eugenio Peschard]], and [[Enrique del Moral]], the buildings feature murals by artists [[Diego Rivera]], [[David Alfaro Siqueiros]], and [[José Chávez Morado]]. It has since been recognized as a [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Central University City Campus of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1250/ |publisher=UNESCO |access-date=11 November 2023 |archive-date=29 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231029064104/https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1250 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[1968 Summer Olympics|1968 Olympic Games]] brought about the construction of large sporting facilities.<ref name="Enc Mex 2000" /> In 1969, the [[Mexico City Metro]] was inaugurated.<ref name="Ciudad Mexico" /> Explosive growth in the population of the city started in the 1960s, with the population overflowing the boundaries of the Federal District into the neighboring State of Mexico, especially to the north, northwest, and northeast. Between 1960 and 1980 the city's population more than doubled to nearly 9&nbsp;million.<ref name="Enc Mex 2000" />

In 1980, half of all the industrial jobs in Mexico were located in Mexico City. Under relentless growth, the Mexico City government 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 [[shanty town]]s.

The inhabitants of Mexico City faced serious [[air pollution in Mexico City|air pollution]] and [[water pollution]] problems, as well as [[groundwater-related subsidence]].<ref name="water">{{Cite book |title = Mexico City's Water Supply: Improving the Outlook for Sustainability. |author = National Research Council Staff |year = 1995 |publisher = National Academies Press |location = Washington, DC |page = 4 }}</ref> Air and water pollution has been contained and improved in several areas due to government programs, the renovation of vehicles and the modernization of public transportation.
[[Image:Estudiantes sobre cammión quemado (A68).JPG|thumb|Students in a burned bus during the [[Tlatelolco massacre]] 1968]]
 
The autocratic government that ruled Mexico City since the Revolution was tolerated, mostly because of the continued economic expansion since World War II. This was the case even though this government could not handle the population and pollution problems adequately. Nevertheless, discontent and protests began in the 1960s leading to the [[Tlatelolco massacre|massacre of an unknown number of protesting students]] in [[Tlatelolco (Mexico City)|Tlatelolco]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Doyle |first=Kate |date=May 29, 2023 |title=TLATELOLCO MASSACRE: DECLASSIFIED U.S. DOCUMENTS ON MEXICO AND THE EVENTS OF 1968 |url=https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB10/nsaebb10.htm |url-status=live |publisher=National Security Archive |access-date=30 May 2023 |archive-date=3 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203130342/https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB10/nsaebb10.htm }}</ref>

Three years later, a demonstration in the Maestros avenue, organized by former members of the 1968 student movement, was violently repressed by a paramilitary group called "[[Los Halcones]]", composed of gang members and teenagers from many sports clubs who received training in the US.
[[File:Paloma Cordero Nancy Reagan Mexico City 1985 earthquake.jpg|right|thumb|First ladies [[Paloma Cordero]] of Mexico (left) and [[Nancy Reagan]] of the United States (right) with U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, [[John Gavin]] observing the damage done by the [[1985 Mexico City earthquake|1985 earthquake]]]]

On 19 September 1985, at 7:19am [[Central Standard Time|CST]], the area was struck by the [[1985 Mexico City earthquake]].<ref name="Campus">{{Cite news |first = Yunnven |last = Campus |title = A 20 años del sismo del 85 |url = http://www.esmas.com/noticierostelevisa/terremoto/475688.html |publisher = Televisa |location = Mexico City |date = 19 September 2005 |access-date = 4 October 2008 |language=es |url-status=dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080922025641/http://www.esmas.com/noticierostelevisa/terremoto/475688.html |archive-date = 22 September 2008 }}</ref> The earthquake proved to be a disaster politically for the [[one-party state]] government. The Mexican 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.<ref name="haber">{{cite encyclopedia |last = Haber |first = Paul Lawrence |encyclopedia = Concise Encyclopedia of Mexico |title = Earthquake of 1985 |year = 1995 |publisher = Taylor & Frances Ltd. |pages = 179–184 }}</ref>

In 1987, the [[Historic center of Mexico City]], a central neighborhood of Mexico City was enlisted as [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]] for its large collection of ancient Aztec and colonial architecture.

However, the last straw may have been the controversial elections of 1988. That year, the presidency was set between the [[Institutional Revolutionary Party|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 power 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 [[mayor|elected mayor]] of Mexico City in 1997. Cárdenas promised a more [[democracy|democratic government]], and his party claimed some victories against crime, pollution, and other major problems. He resigned in 1999 to run for the presidency.