The History of Mexico City, Essay Example

1.How did the Spanish reshape the Aztec capital?

By the time of the Spanish conquest led by Cortes on August 13, 1521, Tenochtitlan, which is near the present day site of Mexico City on a series of islands in Lake Texcoco, had a population of nearly 100,000 and was connected to the shore by a multiple causeways (City Data). It was a sophisticated city, described as having “pyramids, floating roads, mile-long aqueducts, and marketplaces” (Geographia). However, when Cortes conquered it, he burned it to the ground after expelling any of the remaining Aztecs and on its site began to build the Spanish-style city which he called Mexico and which was recognized by the Spanish government in 1522 (City Data), and went on to serve as an important center during the Spanish colonial rule (World Savvy Monitor).

2.How did Porfiro Diaz modernize Mexico City? What were the benefits v. the problems?

Porfiro Diaz, who ruled Mexico from 1876 to 1910, remains a controversial figure in Mexican history. On the one hand, he developed much of Mexico City’s infrastructure, including roads and schools and transportation and communication systems (City Data) as well as amenities like street cars, and gas and electric lighting (Geographia), all of which greatly aided Mexico City is becoming a more modern urban center. On the negative side of things, his regime concentrated wealth into the hands of small, elite upper class (City Data) and it is Porfiro who was also responsible for selling off many of Mexico City’s industries to foreigners (Geographia).

3.How did the socialism of the post Revolutionary ere reshape Mexico City? How did they try to create a modern city in the socialist style?

The social injustices and concentrated wealth of the Diaz era eventually led to the Mexican Revolution, which lasted from 1910 to 1917. In the period immediately after the revolution, the socialist, class-conscious views predominated the political landscape. One of the biggest changes in Mexico City in these period was the destruction of many palaces and colonial homes, which were considered symbols of the concentrated wealth that the revolution had sought to over throw in the first place (City Data). Looking at the Soviet Union for inspiration, politicians of this time sought to put a great deal of money into developing infrastructure (Wikipedia) and this investment led to the construction of modern buildings and roads, including the Avendia Insurgentes, constructed in 1924 and considered, in its time, to be one of the longest avenues in the world (City Data); part of this movement which changed the face of Mexico City – and the country as a whole – was the sweeping land reforms which enabled the government to take over haciendas and give approximately 20 millions hectares of land to Mexican peasants (Selfa).

4. What was the industrial policy of the modern ruling party and how did it impact Mexico City?

The Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) which dominated Mexican politics for a stretch of seventy years from the 1920’s to the 1990’s, centralized much of the nation’s power in Mexico City, which led to a population explosion: by 1930, the city had reached a population of one million (City Data); Cardenas, head of the PRI, further helped to change the landscape by instituting progressivist policies including land reform and the nationalization of Mexico’s petroleum industry (Geographia).

5. How have the poor found space near Mexico City? What kinds of settlements have they created?

Mexico City continued its population growth in the latter part of the twentieth century: villagers from neighboring, poorer areas of Mexico poured into the city in search of a new life and escape from poverty (City Data), and also an influx of refugees from various countries in Central America to help increase the population (Geographia). This rapid and uncontrolled growth led to the formation of barrios around the outskirts of Mexico City, the term given to the crowded settlements around the rim of city, mostly consisting of poorly-made houses that people have built for themselves (Wikipedia). Because the growth of the barrios was so rapid, the government was not able to keep up with providing services such as water, sewer or telephone service and the resulting poor living conditions have led to health problems, environmental degradation, and increased crime rates in these areas (World Savvy Monitor). A lack of waste/garbage disposal, extremely crowded conditions, and few opportunities for education or betterment are all hallmarks of Mexico City’s poorest neighborhoods (Wikipedia).

6.How has neoliberalism reshaped the city?

In his article, “Neoliberalism and Geography: Expansions, Variegation, and Formations”, Simon Springer defines neoliberalism as “a political, economic and social arrangement emphasizing market relations, minimal states, and individual responsibility” (Springer) and goes on to use concrete examples of neoliberalism in the Thackerism of Britain and the Reaganomics of the United States in the 1980’s (Springer). However, this was also happening in Mexico at the same time, and it was this philosophy which gave rise to institutions like the transnational corporation (TNC), that have shaped Mexico City in dramatic ways: in his paper on this subject, Afia Afenah of University College, London, discusses that when these TNC’s establish themselves, they lead their city into “redeveloping existing and building new consumer-oriented space” (Afenah), and cites things such as waterfront development, cultural spectacles, and enterprise and trading zones (Afenah), all of which are apparent in the wealthier portions of present-day Mexico City: portions, for instance, like Bosques de Santa Fe, an upscale., gated community whose wealthy residents will sometimes even commute via helicopter (World Savvy).

Video Questions

1. What were the problems and strengths identified in the two videos?

The two videos both clearly showed similar problems in Mexico City: it is a large, sprawling, densely packed urban area with congested traffic and a huge geographical distance to cover from one end of the city to the other. However, both videos also portrayed Mexico City as a vibrant, lively, sociable place with a strong communal street culture and sense of identity.

2. Why would bus rapid transit work better in Mexico City than in a city like Chicago?

A very densely-packed, populated area like Mexico City would like be a more likely place to develop a bus rapid transit system since there would be an incredibly large pool of potential customers to draw from (the commentator on the Chicago Times video noted that the urban population of Mexico City is around three times that of Chicago) and a culture that is less attached, perhaps, to cars as status symbols than residents of many American cities. There seems to be a growing trend in Mexico for automobile users to, as the video put it, “leave their cars at home”, and to take public transportation instead.

3. Why is a bus rapid transit system financially reasonable for a place like Mexico City?

One of the first things the Mexico City mayor pointed out, when he was interviewed on the second video, was that compared to maintenance of a subway system, the development and maintenance of a bus rapid transit system is far cheaper for municipal taxpayers. Part of this could also be that, because the BRT is privately owned, the owning companies will take on part of the expense of the line that would otherwise go to taxpayers. Also, the sheer number of customers in this vast metropolis could make it an attractive proposition, financially speaking, and the second video estimated that the Mexico City BRT has a whopping 700,000 customers a day.

Bibliography

Afenah, Afia. “Conceptualizing the Effects of Neoliberal Urban Policies on Housing Rights”. Development Planning Unit, University College, London, 2009.

“Barrio”. Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia. Web. April 7, 2013

“History of Mexico City”. City Data website. 2008: Advameg, Inc. Web. April 7 2013.

“Institutional Revolutionary Party”. Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia. Web. April 7, 2013

Mexico: History and Culture.” Geographia website. Interknowledge Corp. 1998. Web. April 7, 2013

“Mexico”. World Savvy Monitor. Issue 10, August 2009. Web. April 7, 2013.

Selfa, Lance. “Mexico after the Zapatista Uprising”. International Socialism. Issue 75. London: 1997

Springer, Simon. “Neoliberalism and Geography: Expansions, Variegations, and Formations”. Geography Compass. 4/8 (2008), 1025-38