When was Mexico City founded?

According to the National Institute for Federalism and Municipal Development (INAFED), this metropolis was founded in the year 1325 when the Mexica people were guided by the god Huitzilopochtli. When they arrived in this territory they baptized it as Mexico-Tenochtitlan. Nevertheless, during all these centuries the Mexico City has gone through a great historical, social and cultural transition. The name "Mexico City" was first used by the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés, who also made this area the capital of New Spain.

The modification of the name was mainly due to the complications that the Spaniards had with the original pronunciation since they used to say "Mexico Tenustitan". For this reason, in 1585 the formal change was made in the minutes of the town council to "Mexico City". This was how the Spaniards were in charge of designing the new public and political spaces of the new capital that had been established on what had been the Mexica Empire, one of the largest and most important governments in Mesoamerica.

On the other hand, the Government of Mexico City establishes that the official foundation was given until November 18, 1824, by the Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States. The Congress baptized it as the Federal District, the name by which the seat would house the three powers of the union: the executive, legislative and judicial. It is worth mentioning that Mexico City was for a time the capital of the State of Mexico; however, due to conflicts with the Federal Congress, in 1827 it was decided that the capital of the State of Mexico would be Texcoco; a fact that would change three years later when Toluca became the central seat of this state.

Subsequently, after a long bureaucratic and political process in the public administration, in 2016 the Federal District recovered its former name of Mexico City. The main objective of this change was to give a new identity to the region that included the dissemination of the social and cultural aspects characteristic of the capital. In this way, the merely political perception evoked by the name of Distrito Federal was annulled. Currently, Mexico City is under the administration of Mexican scientist and politician Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo.

The territory has an area of 1,485 km² which are divided into 16 alcaldías -formerly called delegaciones-. According to the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), in the 2020 census, 2 million 756 thousand 319 inhabited private homes were registered, "with a total of 9 million 209 thousand 944 people residing in Mexico City, 52.2% are women and 47.8% men". According to these figures, the capital city ranks second in the population at the national level. In cities such as New York, Paris, or London, its name echoes worldwide and every year it receives a large number of tourists, even, 2016 The New York Times ranked it as the number 1 tourist destination to travel.

Also, according to data from Mexico City, it is one of the most important financial and cultural centers of the American continent and the world. It is characterized by its iconic monuments such as the Angel of Independence, the Palace of Fine Arts, the Latin American Tower, among a large number of museums and cultural activities.