This is an accepted version of this page
139-461: Modern militia: In Mexico, the term Rurales ( Spanish ) is used to refer to two armed government forces. The historic Guardia Rural ('Rural Guard') was a rural mounted police force, founded by President Benito Juárez in 1861 and expanded by President Porfirio Díaz (r. 1876–1911). Under Díaz, it served as an effective force of repression and a counterweight to the Mexican Army during
278-421: A subtropical highland climate ( Köppen climate classification Cwb ), due to its tropical location but high elevation. The lower region of the valley receives less rainfall than the upper regions of the south; the lower boroughs of Iztapalapa , Iztacalco , Venustiano Carranza and the east portion of Gustavo A. Madero are usually drier and warmer than the upper southern boroughs of Tlalpan and Milpa Alta ,
417-580: A Spanish-based creole language called Chavacano developed in the southern Philippines. However, it is not mutually intelligible with Spanish. The number of Chavacano-speakers was estimated at 1.2 million in 1996. The local languages of the Philippines also retain significant Spanish influence, with many words derived from Mexican Spanish , owing to the administration of the islands by Spain through New Spain until 1821, until direct governance from Madrid afterwards to 1898. Mexico City This
556-478: A certain extent the regime saw the Rurales as a counterweight to the much larger Federal army and in the later years of the regime they were increasingly used to control industrial unrest, in addition to the traditional task of patrolling country areas. While in theory a centralized organisation, the rural guards often came under the direct control of local politicians ( Jefes ) or landowners. The Rurales achieved
695-603: A considerable number of words from Arabic , as well as a minor influence from the Germanic Gothic language through the period of Visigoth rule in Iberia. In addition, many more words were borrowed from Latin through the influence of written language and the liturgical language of the Church. The loanwords were taken from both Classical Latin and Renaissance Latin , the form of Latin in use at that time. According to
834-406: A decisive role. After the overthrow of Díaz in 1911, the Rurales continued in existence under Presidents Francisco I. Madero (1911–1913) and Victoriano Huerta (1913–1914). Madero left the force essentially unchanged, although introducing legislation intended to prevent corpsmen, other than senior officers, from carrying out summary executions without due trial process. In practice
973-522: A dramatic change in the pronunciation of its sibilant consonants , known in Spanish as the reajuste de las sibilantes , which resulted in the distinctive velar [x] pronunciation of the letter ⟨j⟩ and—in a large part of Spain—the characteristic interdental [θ] ("th-sound") for the letter ⟨z⟩ (and for ⟨c⟩ before ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩ ). See History of Spanish (Modern development of
1112-482: A first language by Spaniards and educated Filipinos ( Ilustrados ). Despite a public education system set up by the colonial government, by the end of Spanish rule in 1898, only about 10% of the population had knowledge of Spanish, mostly those of Spanish descent or elite standing. Spanish continued to be official and used in Philippine literature and press during the early years of American administration after
1251-584: A high profile internationally, rather like that of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police or the Texas Rangers , whose roles they paralleled. They wore a distinctive dove grey uniform braided in silver, which was modelled on the national charro dress and included wide felt sombreros , bolero jackets, tight fitting trousers with silver buttons down the seams, and red or black neckties. Senior officers wore elaborate rank insignia in
1390-478: A long history in the territory of the current-day United States dating back to the 16th century. In the wake of the 1848 Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty , hundreds of thousands of Spanish speakers became a minoritized community in the United States. The 20th century saw further massive growth of Spanish speakers in areas where they had been hitherto scarce. According to the 2020 census, over 60 million people of
1529-503: A low proportion that may have been influenced by slow and limited promotion. Never numbering more than about 4,000 men and located in small detachments, the Rurales were too thinly spread to ever completely eliminate unrest in the Mexican countryside. They did however impose a superficial order, especially in the central regions around Mexico City , which encouraged the foreign investment sought by Díaz and his científico advisers. To
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#17327730311741668-665: 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
1807-609: A member of the Party of the Democratic Revolution . Discontent over the election eventually led Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas to become the first elected mayor of Mexico City in 1997. Cárdenas promised a more democratic government , and his party claimed some victories against crime, pollution, and other major problems. He resigned in 1999 to run for the presidency. Mexico City is located in the Valley of Mexico, sometimes called
1946-469: A mountainous region of pine and oak trees known as the range of Ajusco . The average annual temperature varies from 12 to 16 °C (54 to 61 °F), depending on the altitude of the borough. The temperature is rarely below 3 °C (37 °F) or above 30 °C (86 °F). At the Tacubaya observatory, the lowest temperature ever registered was −4.4 °C (24 °F) on 13 February 1960, and
2085-626: A new king, Cuitláhuac , but he soon died; the next king was Cuauhtémoc . 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. Cortés and his allies landed their forces in the south of the island and slowly fought their way through the city. Cuauhtémoc surrendered in August 1521. The Spaniards practically razed Tenochtitlan during
2224-520: A number of bandit groups. Following his accession to power in 1877, President Porfirio Díaz expanded the Rurales to nearly 2,000 by 1889 as part of his programme of modernization and (eventually) repression. Initially some captured guerrilleros were forcibly inducted into the Rurales , as had been the case under Juárez. The system of recruitment however subsequently became a more conventional one of volunteer enlistment. Officers were either seconded from
2363-508: A primarily Hassaniya Arabic -speaking territory, Spanish was officially spoken as the language of the colonial administration during the late 19th and 20th centuries. Today, Spanish is present in the partially-recognized Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic as its secondary official language, and in the Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf ( Algeria ), where the Spanish language is still taught as
2502-617: A second language features characteristics involving the variability of the vowel system. While far from its heyday during the Spanish protectorate in Morocco , the Spanish language has some presence in northern Morocco , stemming for example from the availability of certain Spanish-language media. According to a 2012 survey by Morocco's Royal Institute for Strategic Studies (IRES), penetration of Spanish in Morocco reaches 4.6% of
2641-531: A second language, largely by Cuban educators. The number of Spanish speakers is unknown. Spanish is also an official language of the African Union . Spanish was an official language of the Philippines from the beginning of Spanish administration in 1565 to a constitutional change in 1973. During Spanish colonization , it was the language of government, trade, and education, and was spoken as
2780-543: A third of those in 1992. The levels of signature pollutants in Mexico City are similar to those of Los Angeles . Despite the cleanup, the metropolitan area is still the most ozone -polluted part of the country, with ozone levels 2.5 times beyond WHO -defined safe limits. To clean up pollution, the federal and local governments implemented numerous plans including the constant monitoring and reporting of environmental conditions, such as ozone and nitrogen oxides . When
2919-541: 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 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. The concept of nobility in Mexico
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#17327730311743058-472: 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 U.S. Mexican War . Included are major actions at the battles of Molino del Rey and Chapultepec , culminating with the fall of Mexico City. The U.S. Army under Winfield Scott scored
3197-416: Is cognate to the root word of satisfacer ("to satisfy"), and hecho ("made") is similarly cognate to the root word of satisfecho ("satisfied"). Compare the examples in the following table: Some consonant clusters of Latin also produced characteristically different results in these languages, as shown in the examples in the following table: In the 15th and 16th centuries, Spanish underwent
3336-642: Is an accepted version of this page Mexico City is the capital and largest city of Mexico , and the most populous city in North America . It is one of the most important cultural and financial centers in the world. Mexico City is located in the Valley of Mexico within the high Mexican central plateau , at an altitude of 2,240 meters (7,350 ft). The city has 16 boroughs or demarcaciones territoriales , which are in turn divided into neighborhoods or colonias . The 2020 population for
3475-486: Is colloquially known as Chilangolandia after the locals' nickname chilangos . Chilango is used pejoratively by people living outside Mexico City to "connote a loud, arrogant, ill-mannered, loutish person". For their part those living in Mexico City designate insultingly those who live elsewhere as living in la provincia ('the provinces', 'the periphery') and many proudly embrace the term chilango. Residents of Mexico City are more recently called defeños (deriving from
3614-454: Is estimated that about 486 million people speak Spanish as a native language , making it the second most spoken language by number of native speakers . An additional 75 million speak Spanish as a second or foreign language , making it the fourth most spoken language in the world overall after English, Mandarin Chinese, and Hindi with a total number of 538 million speakers. Spanish is also
3753-761: Is heavily influenced by Venezuelan Spanish. In addition to sharing most of its borders with Spanish-speaking countries, the creation of Mercosur in the early 1990s induced a favorable situation for the promotion of Spanish language teaching in Brazil . In 2005, the National Congress of Brazil approved a bill, signed into law by the President , making it mandatory for schools to offer Spanish as an alternative foreign language course in both public and private secondary schools in Brazil. In September 2016 this law
3892-732: Is related to Castile ( Castilla or archaically Castiella ), the kingdom where the language was originally spoken. The name Castile , in turn, is usually assumed to be derived from castillo ('castle'). In the Middle Ages , the language spoken in Castile was generically referred to as Romance and later also as Lengua vulgar . Later in the period, it gained geographical specification as Romance castellano ( romanz castellano , romanz de Castiella ), lenguaje de Castiella , and ultimately simply as castellano (noun). Different etymologies have been suggested for
4031-844: Is spoken by very small communities in Angola due to Cuban influence from the Cold War and in South Sudan among South Sudanese natives that relocated to Cuba during the Sudanese wars and returned for their country's independence. Spanish is also spoken in the integral territories of Spain in Africa, namely the cities of Ceuta and Melilla and the Canary Islands , located in the Atlantic Ocean some 100 km (62 mi) off
4170-540: Is the oldest capital city in the Americas and one of two founded by Indigenous people . The city was originally built on a group of islands in Lake Texcoco by the Mexica around 1325, under the name Tenochtitlan . It was almost completely destroyed in the 1521 siege of Tenochtitlan and subsequently redesigned and rebuilt in accordance with the Spanish urban standards . In 1524, the municipality of Mexico City
4309-813: Is the de facto national language of the country, Spanish is often used in public services and notices at the federal and state levels. Spanish is also used in administration in the state of New Mexico . The language has a strong influence in major metropolitan areas such as those of Los Angeles , Miami , San Antonio , New York , San Francisco , Dallas , Tucson and Phoenix of the Arizona Sun Corridor , as well as more recently, Chicago , Las Vegas , Boston , Denver , Houston , Indianapolis , Philadelphia , Cleveland , Salt Lake City , Atlanta , Nashville , Orlando , Tampa , Raleigh and Baltimore-Washington, D.C. due to 20th- and 21st-century immigration. Although Spanish has no official recognition in
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4448-676: The Alameda Central , it is recognized as the oldest public park in the Americas . Parque México and Parque España in the hip Condesa district; Parque Hundido and Parque de los Venados in Colonia del Valle , and Parque Lincoln in Polanco . There are many smaller parks throughout the city. Most are small "squares" occupying two or three square blocks amid residential or commercial districts. Several other larger parks such as
4587-542: The Bosque de Tlalpan [ es ; no ] and Viveros de Coyoacán , and in the east Alameda Oriente [ es ] , offer many recreational activities. Northwest of the city is a large ecological reserve, the Bosque de Aragón [ ceb ; es ; no ] . In the southeast is the Xochimilco Ecological Park and Plant Market , a World Heritage Site . West of Santa Fe district are
4726-664: The Ecobici bike-sharing were among efforts to encourage alternate, greener forms of transportation. Chapultepec , the city's most iconic public park, has history back to the Aztec emperors who used the area as a retreat. It is south of Polanco district, and houses the Chapultepec Zoo the main city's zoo, several ponds and seven museums, including the National Museum of Anthropology . Other iconic city parks include
4865-656: The Federal Army or promoted through the Rurale ranks. The Rurales were heavily armed; carrying cavalry sabers, Remington carbines , lassos and pistols. They were divided into ten corps, each comprising three companies of about 76 men. The Porfirian regime deliberately fostered the image of the Rurales as a ruthless and efficient organization which – under the notorious ley fuga ("law of flight") – seldom took prisoners and which inevitably got its man. However research by Professor Paul J. Vanderwood, during
5004-597: The Federal District (Spanish: Distrito Federal or D.F. ) and is now officially known as Ciudad de México (or CDMX ), with a greater degree of autonomy. A clause in the Constitution of Mexico , however, prevents it from becoming a state within the Mexican federation, as long it remains the capital of the country. Mexico City was traditionally known as La Ciudad de los Palacios ("the City of
5143-559: The Porfiriato . They were variously described as "the world's most picturesque policemen" and "mostly bandits". The former may have been true but the latter was a distorted memory of the rough-and-ready early days of the corps. Some of the Mexican states maintained their own rural mounted police forces and a separate city police force operated in Mexico City, but none matched the Federal Rurales in notoriety or glamour. During
5282-498: The Saint Patrick's Battalion , the Mexican–American War came to a close after the United States deployed combat units deep into Mexico resulting in the capture of Mexico City and Veracruz by the U.S. Army's 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Divisions . The invasion culminated with the storming of Chapultepec Castle in the city itself. During this battle, on 13 September, the 4th Division, under John A. Quitman , spearheaded
5421-568: The Spanish as a First Foreign Language (SAFFL) initiative in March 2005. Spanish has historically had a significant presence on the Dutch Caribbean islands of Aruba , Bonaire and Curaçao ( ABC Islands ) throughout the centuries and in present times. The majority of the populations of each island (especially Aruba) speaking Spanish at varying although often high degrees of fluency. The local language Papiamentu (Papiamento on Aruba)
5560-508: The Spanish–American War but was eventually replaced by English as the primary language of administration and education by the 1920s. Nevertheless, despite a significant decrease in influence and speakers, Spanish remained an official language of the Philippines upon independence in 1946, alongside English and Filipino , a standardized version of Tagalog . Spanish was briefly removed from official status in 1973 but reimplemented under
5699-509: The Toltec , and Mexica (Aztecs) cultures. The latter arrived around the 14th century to settle first on the shores of the lake. The city of Mexico-Tenochtitlan was founded by the Mexica people in 1325 or 1327. 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 . According to legend,
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5838-706: 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: 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. Preconquest Tenochtitlan
5977-641: The Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe . Today, it is a global language with about 500 million native speakers, mainly in the Americas and Spain , and about 600 million when including second language speakers. Spanish is the official language of 20 countries , as well as one of the six official languages of the United Nations . Spanish is the world's second-most spoken native language after Mandarin Chinese ;
6116-486: The city proper was 9,209,944, with a land area of 1,495 square kilometers (577 sq mi). According to the most recent definition agreed upon by the federal and state governments, the population of Greater Mexico City is 21,804,515, which makes it the sixth-largest metropolitan area in the world, the second-largest urban agglomeration in the Western Hemisphere (behind São Paulo , Brazil ), and
6255-608: The collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century. The oldest Latin texts with traces of Spanish come from mid-northern Iberia in the 9th century, and the first systematic written use of the language happened in Toledo , a prominent city of the Kingdom of Castile , in the 13th century. Spanish colonialism in the early modern period spurred the introduction of the language to overseas locations, most notably to
6394-566: The massacre of an unknown number of protesting students in Tlatelolco . 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. On 19 September 1985, at 7:19am CST ,
6533-462: The 18th Corps were ambushed by rebel machine gunners in the centre of Mexico City, losing 67 dead and wounded. It is uncertain whether the destruction of the 18th Corps was the result of a tactical blunder or a measure deliberately arranged by General Huerta to weaken the Madero forces. Huerta then proposed to expand the existing Rurale units into a field force of over ten thousand men serving alongside
6672-426: The 1970s involving detailed examination of the records of the corps, indicated that the Rurales were neither as effective nor as brutal as regime publicists had suggested. The daily pay of 1.30 pesos was not high and up to 25% of recruits deserted before completing their four-year enlistments. This term of service was extended to five years after 1890. Only one rurale in ten re-enlisted after completing his first term;
6811-404: The 2021–2022 school year alone. The local business process outsourcing industry has also helped boost the language's economic prospects. Today, while the actual number of proficient Spanish speakers is around 400,000, or under 0.5% of the population, a new generation of Spanish speakers in the Philippines has likewise emerged, though speaker estimates vary widely. Aside from standard Spanish,
6950-595: The 20th century, Spanish was introduced to Equatorial Guinea and the Western Sahara , and to areas of the United States that had not been part of the Spanish Empire, such as Spanish Harlem in New York City . For details on borrowed words and other external influences upon Spanish, see Influences on the Spanish language . Spanish is the primary language in 20 countries worldwide. As of 2023, it
7089-409: The Americas. As a Romance language, Spanish is a descendant of Latin. Around 75% of modern Spanish vocabulary is Latin in origin, including Latin borrowings from Ancient Greek. Alongside English and French , it is also one of the most taught foreign languages throughout the world. Spanish is well represented in the humanities and social sciences . Spanish is also the third most used language on
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#17327730311747228-538: The Basin of Mexico. This valley is located in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt in the high plateaus of south-central Mexico. It has a minimum altitude of 2,200 meters (7,200 feet) above sea level and is surrounded by mountains and volcanoes that reach elevations of over 5,000 meters (16,000 feet). This valley has no natural drainage outlet for the waters that flow from the mountainsides, making
7367-572: The City of Lakes . If approved by the government the project will contribute to the supply of water from natural sources to the Valley of Mexico , the creation of new natural spaces, a great improvement in air quality, and greater population establishment planning. By the 1990s Mexico City had become infamous as one of the world's most polluted cities; however, the city has since become a model for drastically lowering pollution levels. By 2014 carbon monoxide pollution had dropped drastically, while sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide were at levels about
7506-654: The Equatoguinean education system and is the primary language used in government and business. Whereas it is not the mother tongue of virtually any of its speakers, the vast majority of the population is proficient in Spanish. The Instituto Cervantes estimates that 87.7% of the population is fluent in Spanish. The proportion of proficient Spanish speakers in Equatorial Guinea exceeds the proportion of proficient speakers in other West and Central African nations of their respective colonial languages. Spanish
7645-511: The Federal Army when called upon, and ensuring security when local elections were held. By 1875 the corps numbered about one thousand members, organized in forty-two squads primarily responsible for patrolling the Mexico valley region. While their performance was uneven - with charges being made of both aggressive behavior against the public and slackness in enforcing their responsibilities - the rural guards had been successful in eliminating
7784-633: The Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. After landing in Veracruz , Spanish explorer Hernán Cortés advanced upon Tenochtitlan with the aid of many of the other native peoples, arriving there on 8 November 1519. 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
7923-577: The Iberian Peninsula. These languages included Proto-Basque , Iberian , Lusitanian , Celtiberian and Gallaecian . The first documents to show traces of what is today regarded as the precursor of modern Spanish are from the 9th century. Throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era , the most important influences on the Spanish lexicon came from neighboring Romance languages — Mozarabic ( Andalusi Romance ), Navarro-Aragonese , Leonese , Catalan/Valencian , Portuguese , Galician , Occitan , and later, French and Italian . Spanish also borrowed
8062-520: The Mexican wolf. Other guests are the golden eagle, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, caracara, zebras, African elephant, macaw, hippo, among others. Zoo Los Coyotes is a 27.68-acre (11.2 ha) zoo located south of Mexico City in the Coyoacan. It was inaugurated on 2 February 1999. It has more than 301 specimens of 51 species of wild native or endemic fauna from the area, featuring eagles, ajolotes, coyotes, macaws, bobcats, Mexican wolves, raccoons, mountain lions, teporingos, foxes, white-tailed deer. Mexico City has
8201-444: The Mexicas' principal god, Huitzilopochtli , indicated the site where they were to build their home by presenting a golden eagle perched on a prickly pear devouring a rattlesnake . 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
8340-403: The Miguel Hidalgo. It was opened in 1924. Visitors can see about 243 specimens of different species including kangaroos, giant panda, gorillas, caracal, hyena, hippos, jaguar, giraffe, lemur, lion, among others. Zoo San Juan de Aragon is near the San Juan de Aragon Park in the Gustavo A. Madero. In this zoo, opened in 1964, there are species that are in danger of extinction such as the jaguar and
8479-424: The Old Spanish sibilants) for details. The Gramática de la lengua castellana , written in Salamanca in 1492 by Elio Antonio de Nebrija , was the first grammar written for a modern European language. According to a popular anecdote, when Nebrija presented it to Queen Isabella I , she asked him what was the use of such a work, and he answered that language is the instrument of empire. In his introduction to
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#17327730311748618-412: The Palaces"), a nickname attributed to Baron Alexander von Humboldt when visiting the city in the 19th century, who, sending a letter back to Germany, said Mexico City could rival any major city in Europe. But it was English politician Charles Latrobe who really penned the following: "... look at their works: the moles, aqueducts, churches, roads—and the luxurious City of Palaces which has risen from
8757-399: The Spanish Guardia Civil had quickly won a reputation as an effective but often oppressive force. On May 6, 1861 four corps of Rural Police were authorized by the Juárez government; each having an establishment of 20 officers and 255 other ranks. Recruitment was intended to be by voluntary enlistment. Pay was set at a higher level than that of the conscript based army. Control of the new force
8896-421: The Spanish preserved Tenochtitlan's basic layout, they built Catholic churches over the old Aztec temples and claimed the imperial palaces for themselves. Tenochtitlan was renamed "Mexico" because the Spanish found the word easier to pronounce. 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
9035-424: The Spanish-speaking world, Spanish is called not only español but also castellano (Castilian), the language from the Kingdom of Castile , contrasting it with other languages spoken in Spain such as Galician , Basque , Asturian , Catalan/Valencian , Aragonese , Occitan and other minor languages. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 uses the term castellano to define the official language of
9174-502: The U.S. population were of Hispanic or Hispanic American by origin. In turn, 41.8 million people in the United States aged five or older speak Spanish at home, or about 13% of the population. Spanish predominates in the unincorporated territory of Puerto Rico , where it is also an official language along with English. Spanish is by far the most common second language in the country, with over 50 million total speakers if non-native or second-language speakers are included. While English
9313-399: The administration of Ferdinand Marcos two months later. It remained an official language until the ratification of the present constitution in 1987, in which it was re-designated as a voluntary and optional auxiliary language. Additionally, the constitution, in its Article XIV, stipulates that the Government shall provide the people of the Philippines with a Spanish-language translation of
9452-426: 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. 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. At intervals Zócalo
9591-446: The area was struck by the 1985 Mexico City earthquake . 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. However, the last straw may have been the controversial elections of 1988. That year,
9730-451: 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. In the 20th century the phenomenal growth of the city and its environmental and political consequences dominate. In 1900,
9869-404: 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 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 Lecumberri prison . Huerta's ouster in July 1914 saw the entry of
10008-485: The attack against Chapultepec and carried the castle. Future Confederate generals George E. Pickett and James Longstreet participated in the attack. Serving in the Mexican defense were the cadets later immortalized as 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
10147-501: The camaraderie did not last long. Cortés put Moctezuma under house arrest , hoping to rule through him. 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 Tlaxcalan allies. Cortés regrouped at Tlaxcala. The Aztecs thought the Spaniards were permanently gone, and they elected
10286-501: The capital. The 16th century saw a proliferation of churches, many of which can still be seen today in the historic center . 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. The concept of nobility flourished in New Spain in
10425-413: The city vulnerable to flooding. Drainage was engineered through the use of canals and tunnels starting in the 17th century. Mexico City primarily rests on what was Lake Texcoco . Seismic activity is frequent there. Lake Texcoco was drained starting from the 17th century. Although none of the lake waters remain, the city rests on the lake bed's heavily saturated clay. This soft base is collapsing due to
10564-684: The classic hispanus or hispanicus took the suffix -one from Vulgar Latin , as happened with other words such as bretón (Breton) or sajón (Saxon). Like the other Romance languages , the Spanish language evolved from Vulgar Latin , which was brought to the Iberian Peninsula by the Romans during the Second Punic War , beginning in 210 BC. Several pre-Roman languages (also called Paleohispanic languages )—some distantly related to Latin as Indo-European languages , and some that are not related at all—were previously spoken in
10703-478: The clay-built ruins of Tenochtitlan...", on page 84 of the Letter V of The Rambler in Mexico . During the colonial period, the city's motto was "Muy Noble e Insigne, Muy Leal e Imperial" (Very Noble and Distinguished, Very Loyal and Imperial). During Andrés Manuel López Obrador 's administration a political slogan was introduced: la Ciudad de la Esperanza ( lit. ' The City of Hope ' ). This motto
10842-438: 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
10981-801: The concept of a rural mounted police force had become well established. Following the Republican victory, Los Cuerpos Rurales were re-established. Described as "well-mounted active men ... in handsome uniform" the rurales were reconstituted in 1869 as part of the reconstruction of the Mexican Republic following the Franco/Maximilian episode. The corps was placed under the Ministro de Gobernación and specifically tasked with providing mounted patrols for rail and road links, escorting gold and other valuable shipments, providing support for
11120-500: The consonant written b (a bilabial with plosive and fricative allophones). In modern Spanish, there is no difference between the pronunciation of orthographic b and v . Typical of Spanish (as also of neighboring Gascon extending as far north as the Gironde estuary , and found in a small area of Calabria ), attributed by some scholars to a Basque substratum was the mutation of Latin initial f into h- whenever it
11259-506: The construction of large sporting facilities. In 1969, the Mexico City Metro was inaugurated. 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 million. In 1980, half of all
11398-404: The country's constitution. In recent years changing attitudes among non-Spanish speaking Filipinos have helped spur a revival of the language, and starting in 2009 Spanish was reintroduced as part of the basic education curriculum in a number of public high schools, becoming the largest foreign language program offered by the public school system, with over 7,000 students studying the language in
11537-429: The draining of Lake Texcoco and global warming have greatly reduced snowfalls after the snow flurries of 12 February 1907. Since 1908, snow has only fallen three times, snow on 14 February 1920; snow flurries on 14 March 1940; and on 12 January 1967, when 8 centimeters (3 in) of snow fell on the city, the most on record. The 1967 snowstorm coincided with the operation of Deep Drainage System that resulted in
11676-523: The early stages of the Mexican Revolution of 1910, detachments of Rurales served alongside Federal troops against the rebel forces. While retaining an elite image (one revolutionary fighter commented to a US writer that Rurales never surrendered "because they are police", and a report to the U.S. Army rated them as individually superior to any of Pancho Villa 's irregulars), the force was too weak in numbers and dispersed in deployment to play
11815-498: The final siege of the conquest. Cortés first settled in Coyoacán , but decided to rebuild the Aztec site to erase all traces of the old order. He did not establish a territory under his own 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. Although
11954-683: The following table: Spanish is marked by palatalization of the Latin double consonants ( geminates ) nn and ll (thus Latin annum > Spanish año , and Latin anellum > Spanish anillo ). The consonant written u or v in Latin and pronounced [w] in Classical Latin had probably " fortified " to a bilabial fricative /β/ in Vulgar Latin. In early Spanish (but not in Catalan or Portuguese) it merged with
12093-448: The form of Austrian knots and sombrero braiding, which cost hundreds of pesos . The corps number appeared in silver on both the headdress and a leather carbine cross-belt. Protective leather chaps and canvas fatigue clothing were often worn as field service dress. The grey and silver dress, the frequent involvement of Rurales in ceremonial parades and their general reputation, drew the attention of foreign visitors to Mexico during
12232-466: The former British colony of Belize (known until 1973 as British Honduras ) where English is the sole official language, according to the 2022 census, 54% of the total population are able to speak the language. Due to its proximity to Spanish-speaking countries and small existing native Spanish speaking minority, Trinidad and Tobago has implemented Spanish language teaching into its education system. The Trinidadian and Tobagonian government launched
12371-604: The grammar, dated 18 August 1492, Nebrija wrote that "... language was always the companion of empire." From the 16th century onwards, the language was taken to the Spanish-discovered America and the Spanish East Indies via Spanish colonization of America . Miguel de Cervantes , author of Don Quixote , is such a well-known reference in the world that Spanish is often called la lengua de Cervantes ("the language of Cervantes"). In
12510-581: The highest temperature on record was 34.7 °C (94.5 °F) on 25 May 2024. Overall precipitation is heavily concentrated in the summer months, and includes dense hail . Snow falls in the city scarcely, although somewhat more often on nearby mountaintops. Throughout its history, the Central Valley of Mexico was accustomed to having several snowfalls per decade (including a period between 1878 and 1895 in which every single year—except 1880—recorded snowfalls ), mostly lake-effect snow . The effects of
12649-501: The induction of large numbers of Maderista fighters on a temporary basis while awaiting discharge simply diluted such efficiency as the corps had retained. Huerta saw a more central role for the Rurales and directed officers of the Corps to murder Madero after the " Ten Tragic Days " of 1913. During the fighting that marked this internecine conflict, part of the rurales remained loyal to the Madero government. Three hundred rural guardsmen of
12788-610: 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 towns . The inhabitants of Mexico City faced serious air pollution and water pollution problems, as well as groundwater-related subsidence . Air and water pollution has been contained and improved in several areas due to government programs,
12927-655: 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. Agustín de Iturbide is proclaimed Emperor of the First Mexican Empire by Congress, crowned in the Cathedral of Mexico . The Mexican Federal District was established by the new government and by
13066-450: The internet by number of users after English and Chinese and the second most used language by number of websites after English. Spanish is used as an official language by many international organizations , including the United Nations , European Union , Organization of American States , Union of South American Nations , Community of Latin American and Caribbean States , African Union , among others. In Spain and some other parts of
13205-549: The language's hegemony in an intensely centralising Spanish state were established from the 18th century onward. Other European territories in which it is also widely spoken include Gibraltar and Andorra . Spanish is also spoken by immigrant communities in other European countries, such as the United Kingdom , France , Italy , and Germany . Spanish is an official language of the European Union . Today,
13344-517: The largest Spanish-speaking city (city proper) in the world. Greater Mexico City has a GDP of $ 411 billion in 2011, which makes it one of the most productive urban areas in the world . The city was responsible for generating 15.8% of Mexico's GDP, and the metropolitan area accounted for about 22% of the country's GDP. If it were an independent country in 2013, Mexico City would be the fifth-largest economy in Latin America . Mexico City
13483-465: 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 . 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
13622-452: The levels of these two pollutants reached critical levels, contingency actions were implemented which included closing factories, changing school hours, and extending the A day without a car program to two days of the week. The government also instituted industrial technology improvements, a strict biannual vehicle emission inspection and the reformulation of gasoline and diesel fuels . The introduction of Metrobús bus rapid transit and
13761-408: The long rule of President Porfirio Díaz (1876–1911). As originally constituted under President Juárez the Rurales lacked the numbers and organization to effectively control the banditry widespread in Mexico during the 1860s and 1870s. The concept of an armed and mobile rural police organized on military lines, was derived from Spain's Civil Guard (" Guardia Civil "). Established in 1844
13900-564: The lower Cenolithic period (9500–7000 BC). However, a 2003 study placed the age of the Peñon woman at 12,700 years old (calendar age), one of the oldest human remains discovered in the Americas. Studies of her mitochondrial DNA suggest she was either of Asian or European or Aboriginal Australian origin. The area was the destination of the migrations of the Teochichimecas during the 8th and 13th centuries, people that would give rise to
14039-489: 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 . The 1968 Olympic Games brought about
14178-694: The majority of the Spanish speakers live in Hispanic America . Nationally, Spanish is the official language—either de facto or de jure —of Argentina , Bolivia (co-official with 36 indigenous languages), Chile , Colombia , Costa Rica , Cuba , Dominican Republic , Ecuador , El Salvador , Guatemala , Honduras , Mexico (co-official with 63 indigenous languages), Nicaragua , Panama , Paraguay (co-official with Guaraní ), Peru (co-official with Quechua , Aymara , and "the other indigenous languages"), Puerto Rico (co-official with English), Uruguay , and Venezuela . Spanish language has
14317-424: The metropolitan area. The area receives about 820 millimeters (32 in) of annual rainfall, which is concentrated from May through October with little or no precipitation for the remainder of the year. The area has two main seasons. The wet humid summer runs from May to October when winds bring in tropical moisture from the sea, the wettest month being July. The cool sunny winter runs from November to April, when
14456-550: The nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The rurales were dissolved during the Mexican Revolution . The modern Cuerpo de Defensa Rural ('Rural Defense Corps') is a modern part-time voluntary militia, generally used to support Federal forces. The Guardia Rural was established as a federal constabulary by the Liberal regime of Benito Juárez in 1861. This mounted rural police force became best known during
14595-734: The northwest of the African mainland. The Spanish spoken in the Canary Islands traces its origins back to the Castilian conquest in the 15th century , and, in addition to a resemblance to Western Andalusian speech patterns, it also features strong influence from the Spanish varieties spoken in the Americas, which in turn have also been influenced historically by Canarian Spanish. The Spanish spoken in North Africa by native bilingual speakers of Arabic or Berber who also speak Spanish as
14734-455: 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
14873-654: The other hand, currently uses the term español in its publications. However, from 1713 to 1923, it called the language castellano . The Diccionario panhispánico de dudas (a language guide published by the Royal Spanish Academy) states that, although the Royal Spanish Academy prefers to use the term español in its publications when referring to the Spanish language, both terms— español and castellano —are regarded as synonymous and equally valid. The term castellano
15012-419: The over-extraction of groundwater, called groundwater-related subsidence . Since the beginning of the 20th century the city has sunk as much as nine meters (30 feet) in some areas. On average Mexico City sinks 20 inches (1 foot and 8 inches) or 50 centimetres (1/2 meters ) every year. This sinking is causing problems with runoff and wastewater management, leading to flooding problems, especially during
15151-650: The pine forests of the Desierto de los Leones National Park . Amusement parks include Six Flags México , in Ajusco neighborhood which is the largest in Latin America. There are numerous seasonal fairs present in the city. Mexico City has three zoos. Chapultepec Zoo , the San Juan de Aragon Zoo [ es ; no ] and Los Coyotes Zoo . Chapultepec Zoo is located in the first section of Chapultepec Park in
15290-516: The political disputes of the country. It was the imperial capital on two occasions (1821–1823 and 1864–1867), and of two federalist states and two 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 ( 1861–1867 ), and occupied for
15429-568: The population of Mexico City was about 500,000. The city began to grow rapidly westward in the early part of the 20th century and then began to grow upwards in the 1950s, with the Torre Latinoamericana becoming the city's first skyscraper. 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 ,
15568-533: The population. Many northern Moroccans have rudimentary knowledge of Spanish, with Spanish being particularly significant in areas adjacent to Ceuta and Melilla. Spanish also has a presence in the education system of the country (through either selected education centers implementing Spain's education system, primarily located in the North, or the availability of Spanish as foreign language subject in secondary education). In Western Sahara , formerly Spanish Sahara ,
15707-636: The postal abbreviation of the Federal District in Spanish: D.F., which is read "De-Efe"). They are formally called capitalinos (in reference to the city being the capital of the country), but "[p]erhaps because capitalino is the more polite, specific, and correct word, it is almost never utilized". The oldest signs of human occupation in the area of Mexico City are those of the " Peñón woman " and others found in San Bartolo Atepehuacan ( Gustavo A. Madero ). They were believed to correspond to
15846-432: The presidency was set between the 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
15985-576: The regular Federal troops. Recruiting problems and desertions prevented this ever becoming a realistic project. The remains of the Guardia Rural were finally disarmed and disbanded during July–August 1914, along with the old Federal Army, when Huerta fled into exile. Cuba also maintained the Cuban Rural Guard ( Spanish : Guardia Rural Cubana ) from 1898 until the revolution of 1959. A militarized and mounted constabulary, it performed
16124-472: The renovation of vehicles and the modernization of public transportation. 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
16263-593: The right to elect both a head of government and the representatives of the unicameral Legislative Assembly by election in 1997. Ever since, left-wing parties (first the Party of the Democratic Revolution and later the National Regeneration Movement ) have controlled both of them. The city has several progressive policies, such as elective abortions , a limited form of euthanasia , no-fault divorce , same-sex marriage , and legal gender change . On 29 January 2016, it ceased to be
16402-467: The same rural policing functions as its Mexican and Spanish counterparts. [REDACTED] This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain . Country Studies . Federal Research Division . Spanish language Spanish ( español ) or Castilian ( castellano ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from
16541-417: The siege of Tenochtitlan, and during colonial times the Spanish regularly drained the lake to prevent floods. Only a small section of the original lake remains, located outside Mexico City, in the municipality of Atenco , State of Mexico . Architects Teodoro González de León and Alberto Kalach along with a group of Mexican urbanists, engineers and biologists have developed the project plan for Recovering
16680-595: The signing of their new constitution, where the concept of a federal district was adapted from the United States Constitution . 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 and then Toluca became the capital of the State of Mexico. During the 19th century, Mexico City was the center stage of all
16819-462: The summer. The entire lake bed is now paved over and most of the city's remaining forested areas lie in the southern boroughs of Milpa Alta , Tlalpan and Xochimilco . Originally much of the valley lay beneath the waters of Lake Texcoco , a system of interconnected salt and freshwater lakes. The Aztecs built dikes to separate the fresh water used to raise crops in chinampas and to prevent recurrent floods. These dikes were destroyed during
16958-537: The term español (Spanish). According to the Royal Spanish Academy, español derives from the Occitan word espaignol and that, in turn, derives from the Vulgar Latin * hispaniolus ('of Hispania'). Hispania was the Roman name for the entire Iberian Peninsula . There are other hypotheses apart from the one suggested by the Royal Spanish Academy. Spanish philologist Ramón Menéndez Pidal suggested that
17097-444: The theories of Ramón Menéndez Pidal , local sociolects of Vulgar Latin evolved into Spanish, in the north of Iberia, in an area centered in the city of Burgos , and this dialect was later brought to the city of Toledo , where the written standard of Spanish was first developed, in the 13th century. In this formative stage, Spanish developed a strongly differing variant from its close cousin, Leonese , and, according to some authors,
17236-768: The third most used language on the Internet , after English and Chinese. Spanish is the official language of Spain . Upon the emergence of the Castilian Crown as the dominant power in the Iberian Peninsula by the end of the Middle Ages, the Romance vernacular associated with this polity became increasingly used in instances of prestige and influence, and the distinction between "Castilian" and "Spanish" started to become blurred. Hard policies imposing
17375-417: The total draining of what was left of Lake Texcoco. After the disappearance of Lake Texcoco, snow has never fallen again over Mexico City. The region of the Valley of Mexico receives anti-cyclonic systems. The weak winds of these systems do not allow for the dispersion, outside the basin, of the air pollutants which are produced by the 50,000 industries and 4 million vehicles operating in and around
17514-541: 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
17653-533: The whole of Spain, in contrast to las demás lenguas españolas (lit. "the other Spanish languages "). Article III reads as follows: El castellano es la lengua española oficial del Estado. ... Las demás lenguas españolas serán también oficiales en las respectivas Comunidades Autónomas... Castilian is the official Spanish language of the State. ... The other Spanish languages shall also be official in their respective Autonomous Communities... The Royal Spanish Academy ( Real Academia Española ), on
17792-506: The world's fourth-most spoken language overall after English , Mandarin Chinese, and Hindustani ( Hindi - Urdu ); and the world's most widely spoken Romance language. The country with the largest population of native speakers is Mexico . Spanish is part of the Ibero-Romance language group , in which the language is also known as Castilian ( castellano ). The group evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin in Iberia after
17931-423: 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
18070-634: Was developed in the cities of Toledo , in the 13th to 16th centuries, and Madrid , from the 1570s. The development of the Spanish sound system from that of Vulgar Latin exhibits most of the changes that are typical of Western Romance languages , including lenition of intervocalic consonants (thus Latin vīta > Spanish vida ). The diphthongization of Latin stressed short e and o —which occurred in open syllables in French and Italian, but not at all in Catalan or Portuguese—is found in both open and closed syllables in Spanish, as shown in
18209-622: Was distinguished by a heavy Basque influence (see Iberian Romance languages ). This distinctive dialect spread to southern Spain with the advance of the Reconquista , and meanwhile gathered a sizable lexical influence from the Arabic of Al-Andalus , much of it indirectly, through the Romance Mozarabic dialects (some 4,000 Arabic -derived words, make up around 8% of the language today). The written standard for this new language
18348-732: Was divided between the Ministers of the Interior and of War - a policy intended to maintain a balance of power within the government. The existing Corps of Rurales was absorbed into the Republican Army and irregular forces opposing the French intervention of 1862–1867. However the Imperial regime of Emperor Maximilian (1862–1867) created a parallel force known as the Resguardo , which by October 1865 numbered 12,263; indicating that
18487-424: Was established, known as México Tenochtitlán , and as of 1585, it was officially known as Ciudad de México (Mexico City). Mexico City played a major role in the Spanish colonial empire as a political, administrative, and financial center. Following independence from Spain , the federal district was established in 1824. After years of demanding greater political autonomy , residents were finally given
18626-713: Was followed by a vowel that did not diphthongize. The h- , still preserved in spelling, is now silent in most varieties of the language, although in some Andalusian and Caribbean dialects, it is still aspirated in some words. Because of borrowings from Latin and neighboring Romance languages, there are many f -/ h - doublets in modern Spanish: Fernando and Hernando (both Spanish for "Ferdinand"), ferrero and herrero (both Spanish for "smith"), fierro and hierro (both Spanish for "iron"), and fondo and hondo (both words pertaining to depth in Spanish, though fondo means "bottom", while hondo means "deep"); additionally, hacer ("to make")
18765-418: 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
18904-554: Was quickly adopted as a city nickname but has faded since the new motto, Capital en Movimiento ("Capital in Movement"), was adopted by the administration headed by Marcelo Ebrard , though the latter is not treated as often as a nickname in media. Up until 2013, it was common to refer to the city by the initialism "DF" from "Distrito Federal de México". Since 2013, the abbreviation "CDMX" (Ciudad de México) has been more common, particularly in relation to government campaigns. The city
19043-462: Was revoked by Michel Temer after the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff . In many border towns and villages along Paraguay and Uruguay, a mixed language known as Portuñol is spoken. Equatorial Guinea is the only Spanish-speaking country located entirely in Africa, with the language introduced during the Spanish colonial period . Enshrined in the constitution as an official language (alongside French and Portuguese), Spanish features prominently in
19182-498: Was signed in what is now the far north of the city. 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 ("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
19321-403: 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. 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
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