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Anuario de Esoac o> Urbano�
-l,s1ori2 • Cu tura • Diseño 1 9 9 7
Urbanistas, ambulantes and mendigos: ■ the dispute for urbanspace in Mexico City, 1890-19301
Pablo Piccato Universityof Texas at Austin
ANUARIO DE ESPACIOS URBANOS, HISTORIA, CULTURA Y DISEÑO ISSN digital: 2448-8828 No. 4 enero-diciembre de 1997. ANUARIO DE ESPACIOS URBANOS, HISTORIA, CULTURA Y DISEÑO ISSN digital: 2448-8828 No. 4 enero-diciembre de 1997. n
Our v1ews of Porfinan Mex1co C1ty are heavily influ enced by the grandeur of the buildings and ave nues and the elegance of coloniasbuilt dunng that period. lt is easy to share the nostalgia for los tiem pos de don Porfirio, when Mexican society seerned as peaceful and well-organized as the walkways under the shady trees of the Paseo de la Reforma and the Alameda. Th1s essay, however, contends that such 1mages of civilization were only the pre carious result of a negot1at1on between the regime's projects of urban modernization and the everyday practices of the majority of the urban population. As the Porf1nan and post-revolut1onary elites tried to shape the city according to the1r des1res and eco nomic interests, they turned to the poiice to punish the lower-class public behaviors which did not mold to those projects. The urban poor, on the other hand, developed a sceptical v1ew of justice and ar der. They used the city in drfferent ways, walkmg accross the social boundaries between rich and marginal areas, challenging the authonty of the pollee, and even subverting the "official" d1ctates about street nomenclature. Turn-of-the century Mexico City embraced all the symbols of nat,onalism and many remarkable examples of colonial architecture. By the end of the first century of national lite. the city was also the locus of progress and the capital of Porfirio Díaz' long-lasting regime.Railroads, tramways, paved and illuminated streets, broad avenues, parks, new res idential areas and high buildings appeared as d1st-
1.lhts pape,is pan oí mydoctorald is;ertauona, 1he HIS!ory Departmento of lhe Unive ofJ onatr'klnBrOYm, RicardoBracamonte, Fanny Cabre;O, Xóchi:tiMeoina, Maunoo Tenor,o, Pamela Voekeland Elhott Young ANUARIO DE ESPACIOS URBANOS, HISTORIA, CULTURA Y DISEÑO ISSN digital: 2448-8828 No. 4 enero-diciembre de 1997. ANUARIO DE ESPACIOS URBANOS, HISTORIA, CULTURA Y DISEÑO ISSN digital: 2448-8828 No. 4 enero-diciembre de 1997. 78 hi s1011 a urbana pablo piccato 79 tInct1ve sIgns of material advance. The end of the other side. l w ll analyzethe unwanted consequenc l an·s attempt to turn MexIco Into i Emperor Max1mi i dian communities from valuable lands. Far the ben troubled nineteenth century meant important es of late-nineteenth-century growth on the city's a modern European nation, and accelerated rn the eficiaries of th1s displacement, it was part of the changes in the design and use of urban space. These structure and, more 1mportantly, on the everyday late Porfmato. The ideal city the 1910 centennial of "c1vil1zing process" by which the countryside and changes were conceived on the understanding that lives of the urban majorities. A second section will celebrat1on of independence epitomized the unify Its uses would be transformed according to the 2 the nch and poor were not to m1ngle , in order to describe the demographic and technological chang Ing myths of progress and nationhood. The colo needs of a cosmopolitan city. Of all the cycles of separate the safe and beautiful areas of the mod es that caused the model to fail and the city to grow nial center of the city. around the Zócalo or Plaza change that Mexico City had experienced after the ern city from the dangerous and unhealthy mar at an unprecedented rhythm.Then, 1 will probe into Mayor, extended Its elegant arch1tecture toward the Spanish conquest, the one which peaked during thy classes who ginal zones. The state and the weal everyday practices and living conditions in the mar west on Avenida Juárez. reached the Alameda park the late Porfiriato was perhaps the most disruptive lead modernization wanted to translate the physi ginal city-the one growing around and within the and turned southwest onto the elegant Paseo de la because it combined population growth, land dis cal changes of the city into a new culture among Its Porfirian ideal city. Those pages will emphasize the Reforma (see diagram). The Alameda was partof 3 possession and heightened cultural conflrct. inhabitants. behaviors which authorities tried to reform because the colonial design of the city but became an up The urban des1gn that Porfirian planners intro But the elites' idea of urban renewal faced the they deemed them to be a threat to progress. The per-class place of le1 sure during the nineteenth cen duced corresponded with a more or less conscious challenge of growing and untamed population. f nal searon w ll iackle the urban pohcres that sought a i i tury. The Paseo de la Reforma linked Chapultepec attempt to re-organize society within the city The urban lower classes, so distan! from the aspIra to preserve the social geography of the city and the Castle and the presidential residence with the Around the Paseo de la Reforma, prívate compa t1ons oí wealth and comfort assoc1ated with collect1ve reaaions to those polic1es. Alameda. lts wide design and execution followed nies were licensed by city authorities to develop progress, used the city in their own way, deíying In sum, 1 w1II look at the cultural articulation of the aesthet1c and urbanistic ideas that had trans upper -and middle- class residential areas, such as tne class structured organizat on of the Porfü1an demograph:c and spatial growth under an authori formed Pans and other European capitals since the i the colonias Juárez, Cuauhtémoc, Roma and Conde capital. As tensIons arose about the use of the tarian regIme. Th1s desrnptionof a d,sputed cIty ques 1850s. The projects of modernization of the cIty sa. The word colonias designated these new neigh streets and other pubhc areas, the government and tIons contemporary historiograpny in íts comention meant the displacement of the urban poor and In- borhoods-as if they represented the colonization elites rehed on the police and penal 1nstitut1ons to that elite projects of urban renewal wem unchal instill appropriate conduct among the people. Crim lenged and succeeded. As the urban poor used the · inal behav1or (whetner a genuine transgression of city rn ways that contradicted those pro¡ects, ,he ehte s 2. �ece�t s.-:ho ars havee x.;-nined th e outlInes and oo,ecti;es beh,nd 200. On the ·ae ot che city asan advemsement of :he reg me'sprogress , thoeayout of !he Paseo de a R eforma, the monumer1s ti"at stn.. c.tured a e n n . social norms. or simply a break of the many laws perceptions of "dangerous" areas identified poverty l l • s e Paolo R19uzz1, "MéxKo próspero; las dime sio es de la 1rrage . narra, ve of nation-bw Id ng,and :he pcb ,c ce ebr.;t ons rha,appropnated and regulations generated dunng the penod) ac w1th rnminalrty. The consequence was, on the ene i l ' nac,onal en el porf.-,ato." H;Srorias20 (A¡Jt ANUARIO DE ESPACIOS URBANOS, HISTORIA, CULTURA Y DISEÑO ISSN digital: 2448-8828 No. 4 enero-diciembre de 1997. ANUARIO DE ESPACIOS URBANOS, HISTORIA, CULTURA Y DISEÑO ISSN digital: 2448-8828 No. 4 enero-diciembre de 1997. 80 hJlt0lla u•bana p a b l o pIccato 81 of the city's wild countryside.� The developrnent of bility of this civilized space. In order to protect the 9 rnodern city. During the Porfirian period, however, geois household. The plans drawn by the city plan In a avilized, controlled environrnent re integrity of new upper-class ne ghborhoods, mu colonias i these areas generated conflim with the expected ners and followed by developers shared the tacit ce1ved special attention frorn city authorities, who nicipal and health authorities planned the growth reorganization of urban society. Areas of lower-cl ass premise that business, le1sure and product,on should often ordered the elirnination ofundeserving or ill of industries and working-cl ass neighborhoods sep 5 hous1ng, characterized by overcrowded tenements be clearly separated, and that men and women had looking buildmgs. The designers and builders of erate from upper-class suburbs. The Conseio Supe near downtown and squatters· shacks in the out unmistakably different roles in public and domestic th1s aty had a clear idea of the social rneaning of rior de Salubridad (Public Health Council) defined a skirts of the city, surrounded downtown in a eres environments. The new colon ias organized the liv modernization: the poor had to be displaced frorn "zone which has the goal of maintainmg certain cent moon that wrapped the Zócalo and Alameda ing accommodations of the upper classes in single the elegant quarters, while city servtCes were to be types of industries at a distance from the only ave 7 by 1ts north, east and south sides, closer near the house lots afforded with ali the amenities of modern concentrated only in the well-kept d1stncts. nue of the capital," i.e., the Paseo de la Reforma. National Palace and further away at itsextremes. The life, including eleetrici ty, sewage, running water and Prívate developers believed that separatmg cus The cosmopohtan oty would expand from the axi s rnoon had its further points m the colonia Guerrero telephones. These services implied that the inhab tomers accord1ng to their socioeconornic status Zócalo-Alameda-Reforma toward the west and 10 in the northwest, and Bel én Jail in the southwest. itants of the house did not have to rely on old-fash would create a stronger real-estate market. This southwest. The east was discarded, because of its i Th1s ierr tory included the colonias More/os and la ioned devices to satisfy their da1ly needs. They did strategy rneant a clear departure from the rnulti proximity to Texcoco Lake and unfavorable ecolog Bolsa, respect1vely located north and northeast of not face the trouble of manual/y bri nging water to class dwellings around downtown dating back to ical condit1ons. The des,gners of the new Peniten the old barrio Te pito, and the colonia Obrera, none the household or gettmg rid of human waste in the colonial times. Porfirian Investors, often closely as tiary located It on the San Lázaro plams, to mark of which received adequate infrastructural investment street. I2 The ideal of an autonomous and elegant sociated with city officials, bought and partitioned the eastern limit of the city and to send the prison 8 from developers. Urbanization in these areas did not resi dence pushed well-to-do families away from lands for the wealthiest classes in privileged areas, ers· "miasma" away from the center. mean access to sewage, electricity and pavement, downtown, which had become increasingly onent whi e reservIng other zones for working-class ho The development of modern residential a reas was l as it did for more aff uent lmages of ne l colonias. ed to bussiness use. This migration westward took meowners. In many cases, land grants meant the not the only change brought by modernization. On glect and poverty here contrasted with the protect severa/ years to conclude. An enhanced, city-wide dispossess1on of community properties or the evic the margins of the central city, authorities and de 11 ed envi ronment of the central area. transportat on system sought to facilitate the move tion of poor settlers. Prívate interests and public velopers had to deal with the existence of popular i Life in the wealth1est colonias followed the mod ment of people from the new residential areas to policies worked together In seeking to preserve the res1dential areas: lower-classcolonias and old barri 13 6 els of privacy and autonomy of the European bour- theír work-places. spatial separation between classes. os, as the popular nei ghborhoods were called. Al Hyg,ene and security, both symbolically achieved though barrios had always existed close to with the inauguration of great sewage works and downtown, their poverty had preserved what An the Penitentiary in 1900. were requisites for the sta- drés Lira properly calls a "social distance" from the 9. LJra, Comunidades indígenas. 264. contact w1th the street. Sandra Lauderda e-Graham. H<:Juseand Srreet 10. See Lear. "Mex•co C1¡y· Space and Class, .. 48"-.i 82. I w 11 return to a The [k;mes11c World of Selvants and Masrers ,n Ninereemh-Cemury Rio descnption oí the.se areas in the last s.ect,on of th1s r:ssay For ,he deJane/ro (Aust in: Univers1ty of Texas Press, 1992). 4. The name col oni a cenves from the n,neteenth· ce-muryco on1zat'/on among the rnhab tants of the (1ty, see María Dolores Mo(ales. "la l i emergence of barrios out of lnd1an commun t1es, se-eI.Jra. Comunkiacies 13. Mori'1es defmed th1s process of segrega non In • La expansión de a o a e (1858-1910)", i l leg,slat.on J rge H. J.rrénez Muñoz, la rr za del Poder H�toria d la expanS16n de la ciudad de Méx co in Atlas de la ciudad de 66 i indígenas, oudad deMéxico, • p. 64. 8y the early twenneth century. according to politicey los negoe;os utllanos en el Disuiro Federaldesde sus of/genes México (Mexico Cty· Departamemo del D strto Federal-Coeg o ae i i i l i 11. On the trregutar deve1 opment oí the colonia Obrera and i;.sl ad:: of Joon Lear, elite iamilies l iving in dC>Mltownwould be seen •as consr;cuous a la desapanción del Ayunram,emo (1824-1928) ('Aex co Cty. Cooex, Mé>oco, 1 987), 64 For the zone protected from mdusmes see Governor 1 1 sanrtation, see "Informe general" by the Medical Inspector of the Fourth except,ons. • Lear, ·worl:ers, Vednos and C1t,zens, • 48 íhe move cou d 199 9 l 3), of the Federal D1S1nct to the C ty Counc l, 2 Feb. 1897, A>-A, Po«la en s 1924, AlSA, a a a s as a i l l D, trKt, 31 Dec Fondo Salubnd d Públ,c . Si'ccioo Salu'ondad take se.,.,ral dec de . however, with the Gómez f mily. see Lar,ssa 5. fcrexamp e. publc baths and ficnsy construc�ons had to be damoyed General, 3640, 1 156 Fo, the commerc,al Interests and ponica mfluence l 1 l l l del Distrito Federal, box2, 28 Ad er Lom n1tz and Manso! Pérez Lizaur. Una familia de laélite mexkana. s a colonia l to embell h nd imorO\•e the entrance to Roma, Report by CJty that, rather than planning, guded the developmem of new colonias. 12. the a o s 1 For old uses, nd 1he importance oi wa1er-sell ersand f unta n . Parentesco, claseycuirura 1820-1980 (MexicoC1ty Alianza, 1993), 91, CounCII ne"T!berLu is E. Ruiz about the E1ght Distriet, 19 Jan. 1904 , '"'• see Jm€nez Muñoz. La rraza delPoder. i see Antonio García Cubas. EJ libro de mis recuerdos. Narra,iones 105 Lear sees theproce-ss oi specializat on 1n the use ot urban space a> Polic,a en general. 3644. 1691. B. Boledndel AKhivo General de JaNación l.;¡Pen itenct.,r/a de Méxko 5: 4 : h1srórica5. anecdórka.sy decosrumbres mexicanas anteriores al actual concom,tant to the ·segregauon of wealth,• ·Nhich led to subsequent l.;¡ (1981-1982) o o s 6. For the development of colonias, see J1ménez, traza del poder and For eco og1ca c nd1t, ns 1ha1 made the ea t of thecity a o c l l estado social ilustradas con mJs áetre�ientos f tograbados. IMexi o social inStab liry and increaseá class consciousness.Lear, "Mel(ICO Clry L a a o! s a s ,r , Comunidades, ndlgenas. For the class u-np�c lJOns these changes ·zone... crossed by ,nfected cana aragg.ng li type of t1T• pontes" and a o e l 1 Crty: fdnon l P rrúa, 1986 1Sted., Imprenta d Arturo García Cubas, Space and Class," 467. 486. 1 con1end, as It will beclear l ater, that this seeLear, • MeXJCO C,ty Space and C ass· a a co l bad smell s, seeMorales, 'La exp ns,ón de oudad de Méxi ." 191 1904). 207-2 14. s o s a oi l s.,, the ca e f R1O de J ane,ro, where runn.ng water seg,e;¡atIon was not lully accompli hed nd the results urban reform 7. for the relat s 0 between urban gmwth 2nd socal segregaton l 1on h1 i I a s a s mean: not on y be1ter hyg1ene. but sh1elded upper-class t mil.e frcm nad mult,ple cultural and poln,cal me l1ing ANUARIO DE ESPACIOS URBANOS, HISTORIA, CULTURA Y DISEÑO ISSN digital: 2448-8828 No. 4 enero-diciembre de 1997. ANUARIO DE ESPACIOS URBANOS, HISTORIA, CULTURA Y DISEÑO ISSN digital: 2448-8828 No. 4 enero-diciembre de 1997. 82 h1 s1or,a urbana pab o pI c,ato 83 The separatio n of the pub lic a n d p rIvate p laces us e o f �h te tr ouse r s a n d shirts inst e ad o f darl ANUARIO DE ESPACIOS URBANOS, HISTORIA, CULTURA Y DISEÑO ISSN digital: 2448-8828 No. 4 enero-diciembre de 1997. ANUARIO DE ESPACIOS URBANOS, HISTORIA, CULTURA Y DISEÑO ISSN digital: 2448-8828 No. 4 enero-diciembre de 1997. 84 s.10,1,a urbana. pablo p1Cca10 85 Saturat1on also had affected other instituttons, such Despite the rural origm of most mIgrants. Mex- trasts with the prof1le of the rap1dly devel op1ng needs revis1 on. Male and female workers played a as orphanages and asylums.20 northern regIons of the country,where the tendency much more s gntficant role than what tradit onal 1co C1ty's popul atmn was not what we can call a i i Populat1on coums reveal the unprececiented rate conventional "tradt1 onal" society. Ltteracy figures, was the opposIte. Accordmg to Frarn;o1s-Xavier accounts portray. Recent research has argued that of th1s growth. Since 1895, date of the first national for example, suggest that the cap1tal's population Guerra, the sex imbalance of certa1 n regions dur women·s part1cipat1on in the Revolution was more the Porfir1ato partly explains revolutionary mo- census, the populat1on of Mexico C1ty had not only was m ore educated than the nat1onal average at Ing important than tradrt1onally acknowledged, and that grown at a faster pace than the national total, but the end of the Porfinato, and cont1nued to be so 01I zation. Men. Guerra argues. outnumbered Mexico C1ty·s lower-dass women "provided the in1- a also faster than in other citíes in the country. While durmg the following decades. Whlie In 1900 the women by up to ten per cent in the mining reas of tIatIve ano pnmaryparncIpatI on for a series of mo in 1895 Mexico City had 329,774 1nhabitants, by nation·s rate of hteracy was 17.9 per cent, in the the north, and In sorne parts of the state of More b1lizati ons" in 1915, when the civil war hit the 615,327. 1.1 a 191 O it had grown to Table compares Federal District the percentage was 44.8. In 1930 los. Male predominance was symptom, in Guer capital in full force and scarcity and inflation tng 28 the growth of populat1on nationw1de, in state capi the percentages were 38.5 and 75.1. respective ra's view, of modernizat1on and social changes, gered food ro ts. tals and in Mexico City, between 1895 and 1930. ly.23 Alth ough schooling was more accessible In the generatIng tensions w1th trad1t1onal uses and, thus, Mexico City offered the condit1ons for women 27 Table 1.2 d1splays the growth relative to 1895. These capital, many migrants carnet o the capital already poht1cal participation. This vI ew coincides with to expl ore beyond the1r trad,tional gender roles figures suggest that the concentratIon of populat on 1 895, contemporary revolu11onary 1nterpretations of Mex Census data for workmg women sh ows a sharp 1 educated. In the largest age group in Mexico e in the capital to ok off during the late Porfiriato, and C1ty were those between 21 and 30 years old, mak ico ity as a territory of conservatIvIsm, decadence contrast between nat1onal figures and those of 39.22 and lack of masculin1ty. In 1914, Heriberto Frías stat 1900 16.35 was not a feature of the post-revoluti onary period. ing for per cent of the city's total populat. on MexicoCity: while in women were only Although the percentage of urban populat1on Meanwhile, the country's largest group was com ed that: per cent of the nat.onal employed population, in 29 d1d not surpass that of the rural populat on until 10 Mex co City they were 47.48 per cent. Th1s dtd i pnsed of pe ople years old or less, accountIng 1 1960, 24 most changes associated w1th urbanization for 30.76 per cent. People carne to the capital "The Porfin'an dic1arorship, sanmoned and supported by the not mean, however, that women invaded tradit1onal were already present in Mexico City sInce the turn searching forj obs. but they did not necessanly lack ndi. themrlrtar¡ ond che clergy, sy,rema11cal/y med 10 ab011sh male areas of work. Certa1n ¡obs seemed to attract of the century. Interna! m1gration was the ma1n fac education and sorne degree of status. che vm/,ry of che m,ddJe class. pamcularly in che Federal female labor more than others. According to the tor of urban growth, and was probably larger than Other areas of the country received 1mmigrants Disrricr, where employees and profess,onals formed a 1895 census, the trades favored by women were census figures, due to the large number of people dunng these years. M grauon to Mexico C ity disun corruptedcoun /,vmg in a srate ol serfdom caused by atavisms those of seamstress (5,505 women and no men list wh ose stay in the capital was only temporary. In gu1shed ttself In that the sex ratio favored women. an de �xico" . Bole1/n del ArchNO General de l.! N�ión: La Penitenciaria i Retos" m JoséJoaquln Blanco and J� Woldenberg, eds • México a fnes v. 15 d• mayo de 1930 (Mexico C1ty Ta eresGráf,cos de a r-.acon, · 9341 c:leMéxico S.4 (1981-19821· 33, 36. Se<:retaryof Gobernaoon toSec.rel.MJI de siglo, 1 (�ex,co C.ty: Foodo ele Cultura Ecoo6lt'1Ca. 1993). 133 : l l , y Revolución, 1900-1917IMexico Clty lns:1tLto �ac,ona' d� Estud,os o• JustlCe, 20 "-OV 1907, ""'· s-, 645. 63'< 22. Fran,os-xav.e< Guena,México. De/Anr,g..10 Rég,r,en a /JRE-:o/uc,on 27. Guerra. México. de/AntiguoP.�imer,, 1 339. 342. Guffla d•rn.fes H;st6ocosde aRe'i!ll.ic:'6n Wex,caea. 1993) 13, 50 Francoa lso siresses 20. Oncoodit1ons11'1theorp/',3nage ,n 1913,see,,,.,, ..,,.,38, 60, f 21-22 On (Mexico C,iy: Fondo de Cu tura EcooómlCa, • 988), 1 338 wonen Vl"th '"trad1t.�af MhKO" (ttie lll:ltJfflCf' of �ne Chul'Ch, tne women·s P•'l ooa;,on dJnr,¡; tne arneo oenod, OJt e11pn.asrzes the r se:w:ua connotat on, of caciques· ue). AJanKn,ght holds.a sm ar v,� u the asylum see /b,a , 38, 19, f. l. 23. Esradisticas h,srori<:as de México (Me>icoC tt'( 1Ntc., 1984). r l 1 1l re·.rersal toward pat�rnaLsn-, .n tne poiHevcl t1onary p-enoa, Franco, 21. Estadísticas sociales del¡xxfroaro, 1877-191011Ve1 ANUARIO DE ESPACIOS URBANOS, HISTORIA, CULTURA Y DISEÑO ISSN digital: 2448-8828 No. 4 enero-diciembre de 1997. ANUARIO DE ESPACIOS URBANOS, HISTORIA, CULTURA Y DISEÑO ISSN digital: 2448-8828 No. 4 enero-diciembre de 1997. 86 n1storia urban::1 pac J p1ccatc 87 many of these women, living in the capital meant whose lines converged in MexI co C1ty. Compared ways were pulled by mules, although there were Starting In the 1910s, automobiles added to the not only leaving behind their hometowns but also to the traditional canoes and ox carts that by the electn c units as well. In 1920, there were 345 k1lo Intncacy of transportation, w1th greater speed and 39 the domestic environment. 1 880s still transported much of the foodstuff need meters of tramway lines w1th 370 passenger cars, different rules governing the1r movernent. In sum, turn-of-the-century Mexico City was ed In the capital, trains brought more products faster owned by the Compañia de Tranvías de México. The impact of these new mea ns of transporta formed byyoung newcomers, more educated, new and cheaper, from regions beyond the val ley. Soon, Tramways were cheap enough to be used by mid tIon on the popular perception of the capital was comers with a strong presence of women in cer railroads replaced canals and roads as the principal dle- and sornewo rk,ng-class people on a daily ba twofold. FIrst, trarnways, trains and aumrnoblles were cornmonly ident1fied with the worst, more tain areas of economic activity. Industrial jobs did way of communication between the city and the sis, but could also occasionally be used by the not employ large numbers of people-only 1.23 surrou nding towns.32 poorest. 35 Tramways became an important element aggressive aspects of rnodern1zation.Walking in the per cent of employed men in the oty in 1 895, while rne sudden ease to reach the capital from the of the urban poor's everyday lile. For the characters m1ddle of the street became a dangerous "rural" 10.74 per cent were listed as (em interior brought crowds who did not behave or dress habit in th1s oty. Accidents were common. Echoing comerciantes of Angel de Campo's novel La Rumba, ihe tram ployed 1n commerce) and 7 .05 as domestic work according to "civilized" foreign models. Railroad way was the daily means of transportation and public concern, the penny press called tramway 31 ers. Moving into the capiial did not necessarily stations brought outsiders into Mexico City in great much more. Remedios, a seamstress, went da1ly to drivers mataristas, 1nstead of motoristas. Due to translate into better living conditions, although it numbers, particularly dunng fest1v1ties such as May work in the tramway, and made rt the scenano of Judicial corruptIon, drivers enjoyed a great margm opened the possibihty of access to better-paying 5th and September 16th. Visitors crowded the her romantic life.37 Horse-drven cabs continued to of 1mpurntyin the case that they happened to run i 0 jobs. Qualitative evidence suggests that the more streets, creating a bonanza for merchants and a be a common s1ght at the turn of the century, al over a pedestrian." The impurnty of car and tram educated and wealthier people ltved in the capital, headache for the pol ice. Observers stressed the ru though drivers were usually descri bed as " ruffians" way drivers was a central consequence of urban 38 but there were also many people without educa ral demeanor of the masses of pilgrirnscoming for who liked to go too fast. Ox carts, mules and progress írom the point of vIew of lower-classpe iion and w1th very low incomes. Migration meant the December 12th celebrati on of the Vírgin of hand-pulled carts were also frequent in the streets. destrians: a threatening envIronment, where the not only geographical mobility for large groups, but Guadalupe. The lithographs of José Guadalupe also social and spatial mobility within the city. Posada capture the links between the celebration Along with demographK growth, modern1za and the abuse of alcohol by peasant-looking visi 33 tIon brought about new means of transportation. tors. 35. Fer tne role of tramways a,d trains 1, the e;i.;panSJonand centrél"Zat.on daily wcges .n che tate t 900s far pJrneymen'leamstresses or c-garfac 1ory of urban space ,n Mexrco C ty, see Manuel v,dno • El t·ansporte en la ,1-1c rlcersw�s ore oeso Policemen made 1 75 a day, Ju110 Sesto, El MéX:co The result was the increasing ability of travelers to Within the city, new means of transportati on, , , C 1udad de MéxJCo en e ,go 8 71 de Porfoo o,;u(homb,es '/ cosas) Esrud,os sobre el desenvolv1m1en,c reach the capital, of its inhabitants to move within part,cularly tramways, changed the way people l s l x:x"In Arlas de la oudaá de Méxicc, 6 - The systemexpanded unN the 1920's. Miguel Rodrigue2, los rran,iart�s genera!oe lo Republ,ca Mexicana ObservaC1one-s hechase.n ei'rerreno It and thus challenge the functional specialization moved. Dunng the 1880s, prívate and rented coach a e y el anarquismo en México/1920-1925) (Puebla; Un1vers,dad A\>tónon.; ofic1a.ry en el, oaroculcr{2 e-d , V . nc1a Sempere y Comoariia, 191 m. r a r e of urban space. The development of railroads in es prov1ded transportation for "many people, of de Puebla, 1980), 66 For a valuac e treatment ol the h,stor1cal role o' 1311- 6 Lea stres.ses tfle mponanc.e cf u mways ana ra1 Qc!os 1n th e o es e creased the ability of travelers to reach the capital, medium and great wealth. "34 First pulled by ani uamways ln a Lai.inAmeri,c an c1ty, see Anton Rcsenthal. "'The Amval o' "segregat on of we.altñ ..� causeof the c st of far , ;eeLear "M XJco a e a the Electnc Sueetcar and the Conflct ove· Pmgress 1n tar y Tw-e- eth Crty S;, c and C ss� 467 as one-day trps from nearby towns became possi mals, then by electricity, rnadecommuting i l m1 i tranvías Cemu,yMontewleo , " ioumal ot La!inAmerican Swd� 27 (19951 319- 37. Angel de Carrpo, ()(rosy aounres y La rumba {MexiCO üty =rorrúa, ble for artisans of modest income and poor mi faster and affordable, and brought the center of 34 t. Ferme roleof pub'lcuansportation n ,he transforf'T'atoonof Mérida se<> 1976), !99 35 , grants. Tra1ns developed In a country-w1de network the city closer to the suburbs. By 1903, rnosttram- AllenWel lsandGilbertM ,oseph, "ModemlZi1gVtSions, O,ilango Blueprnts" 38. Earnn Sm1th. Fftj,ng 1/1515 torneCir ¡of Mexrco and ihe Paafic Coas: 36. fl Universal. 1 Oct 1920, p. 9. Evidence on t!ie relat1ve pr, ceof lar� (L,verpoo:rlenry Yo�ng and rons, 1903), 30- 34. The problem of ratt,c fs 1nconcl usn1e 1n i usua expense ,n uamway fares ter awor'ker was alreadycl ear, altheug� In a small er scale, by ,he end ot tne colony, 902. the Nac,f. "Pol,c'a yse,;urdad p(,bhra", t3 was 2A.cents and rtprobably i nduded several tri ps. A�;., Pohcla en general, i 3643, 1600. E/Imparcial. 11Aug. 1902, p. 1 In 1920, accord ng to the 39. ""'· Pohcia en general, 3644, · 689. 31.lbtd can0€s, see Sal•1ado, D1ego-Femandez. la nudad de Mé¡ico a hnes del Compañíad e Tranvías ae Mé-xKo. the average fare was 9 5 cents not 40. �or a ceseof a orw€r ·,uho 1an overa r.vo-year.ofd k,c an::Iwa lkea 32. ohn H. CoatsWorth. "El Impactoecon6m,co de loslerrocarnle s en s,g/oXIX(Me,aco C ty n,e . 1937), S enough accord1ng to the ccripa,iy, to CO\lercosts. El UtJl'lersal, 1 Oct f'ee after r,.vo h01..rs. �•.J1th the he;o of cOo.Jrtemptoyees. see HJ. -reufer to l una economía atrasada" in Los or/genes de arraso. Nueve ensayos de 33. Diego-Fernández, Lo ciud.d de MéjKo. 3 t. José GuadalupePosada : 1920, p 9. Prices mcreased dunng t"e late Por'ir1ato a,d the 1910s. Pcrf1no Diaz, g feb 19· l, "'º· 36, 22· 6- 7 See aso Meisés Gonzalez s , 1 h,rcria e,;onórmcade México en los siglos>rM y XJX(Mex, co C,ty· A1,anza /fumadorde /; v1d/J mex,cana(Mexi co C,ty Fondo Ed,tcnal de a Plástica See request of munic1par employeesfer freie tramway pass.es. Ceadores Navarro, Lapcbrez.aen Mex. 1co(�exKo C11'[ El co·egioée Méx1Co, 1995\, Ed1to11al. 1990), 196-197 Fer example o! a short uIp and a theft Mexicana, 1963), 217 Munopales del Ramo de Po ioa to the C1ty Counc,1. 23 Ap, 1901, •e•, 123 See -ncre compla1nts In Gace,a de "afina. 1 z, 19 Oet 1905, p 3; i l p comm,tted 1n tne meanwhile. �-.:i.s, 705331 For ra1lroads replac1ng 34. D,ego-fernánaez, La oudad de M/>jico, 12·13 Pohcla en general, 3642, l 3S3.. O.Ccord Ing to Span,sh vmter Ju'10 Sesto. 1bd . · tO, 2< Dec 1905. 2. ANUARIO DE ESPACIOS URBANOS, HISTORIA, CULTURA Y DISEÑO ISSN digital: 2448-8828 No. 4 enero-diciembre de 1997. ANUARIO DE ESPACIOS URBANOS, HISTORIA, CULTURA Y DISEÑO ISSN digital: 2448-8828 No. 4 enero-diciembre de 1997. n1 tor a urbano pablo pI cca10 88 89 vict,rnswere poor, and the guilty (protected oy the,r ners and outside lheaters. forming groups 1nstead As the city expanded, society became more com revolutionary armIes, hke Manuel González, sol cornpanIes or bosses) were never punished. The of lines.�3 plex and mobile. An educated observer, hke Gutiér dier of a so called General Gil, who was sent to world around train stations and inside coaches also The second consequence of technolog1cal rez Ná¡era, could travel the long legs of ihe turtle the PenitentIary In 1916 "for hunting doves with 47 offered an irnage of rnovernent both attract1ve and changes was a transformed understanding of the to reach stories and places unknown. On the other a bow and arrow" in the colonia Roma. After dangerous. Beggars placed thernselves In train sta city among the majority of its inhabitants. Modern hand, working persons became more rnobtle ard the Revolution, the mtrusion of foreigners d1d not t1ons, boys peddled ,n trarnways, theft was corn transportation widened the perception of the ur were able to reach the rich city downtown. Access have the picturesque traits of innocence portr ayed by nineteenth-century chroniclers. Th is time, the rnon In both sites, and sornejournalists ev en talked ban space. Tramway hnes reached as far as San to the central city provided the dwellers of margin about a special kind of professional thief who tar Angel, and made the Zócalo easliy accessible. Dt f al neighborhoods with new ways to cop e with the neighbors of the colonia de la Bolsa feared the 4I geted unaware travelers. ferent areas ofthe city were hnked and it was now everyday problems caused by modernization. They multitude of extranjeros going about their streets, Tr affic was one of the preferred contexts of the easier for res idents to reach not only the Zócalo, engaged in multiple activities. such as peddling, sometImes leaving behind an unidentified <8 struggle between "old" and "modern" behaviors. Avenida Plateros. but also the gambhng houses in drinki ng, begg1ng and even stealing, not only at corpse. The use of the street for fast transportat,on com Tacubaya and other allegedly "dangerous'' parts of their neighborhoods but also tnSide the respectable Threatened by the 1ntt1al radicalism of the revo peted with its use as a place for commerce and the cIty l4 In 1882, poet Manuel Gutiérrez Nájer a areas. undermining the order of the Porfirian city. lutionary factions, the wealthiest members of the sociability. This created a contrad1Ct1on between used the tramway as the vehicle oí an imaginary The impression of arder and stab1lity of a cosmo elite who had benefited from Porfirian modern1za suburban car drivers and those who made their liv explorat1on into passengers' lives. He already saw a politan city was broken by the daily movement oí a tion left the city and their luxurious homes for ex ing in the streets. The City Council sought to teach different city than that of pre-tramway 'days: variegated population. ile. They and the post-revolutionary política! class coach drivers to keep to their right and pedestrians Befare looking closely into those activities, an slowly regained control over the cIty along the ba to move along, reminding them "that it is forb d ste lines established during Díaz' regime. During the i "The wagon takes me ro unknown worlds and wg,nreg1011s. additional externa! factor of the failure of the ide den to stop in the middle of the street forming No, Mexico Ctty does not s:tarr ar the Naoon al Palace, nor al city of the Porfiriato should beconsidered. narne 1920s, the capital slowly began to Improve its im groups that obstruct the rnculation of vehicles and does it en d at Reforma Aven ue. 1 give you my word rhar the ly the impact of the Revolut on. Beginning in 1913, age again. In 1919, pavernent had not expanded . , i animals. The proh1bition was in this case a descrip from the 830 streets that it had covered in 191O, ciry is much b1gger . Ir is a grear turtl e that extends its the civil war took its toil among the population of and maintenance had been mínima!, except for "the tion: vendors set up their booths tn the middle of disl oca redlegs rowar d rile four cardmal po1 nts. Those /egs the capital, not only in terms of casualt,es oí com 49 the streets, blocking traffic despite the inspectors· are d1rry and hairy. The cirycouncil, with fatherly eare, pain ts bat but also through scarcIty, lawless ness and 1n most 1mportant" streets. Elegant colonias near 42 t hreats. Pedestr ans stood in the middle of the Ule m with mud every mon th"." creased migration into the city. lnsecunty in the Chapultepec park, such as Polanco and Anzures, i i became the res1dence of cho ce for the new polit1- sidewalks blockmg rnculation, particularly at cor- countryside and the growth of the bureaucracy contributed to the city's demographic growth al cians. Sanitation and expansion of new develop 46 ter 1910. Many of the social problems existing rnents recovered their fast pace by the end of the decade. The area of the city tripled between 1920 41.-. Po.,craen General. 36 39. 1032;Ca rtc,Ro.im agnac Loscnminales mas concupi sc entes que hayan e x1st1da en el mundo, R seeJ osé Juan at the turn of the century became very acute dur 1 en Méx,co. Ensayo de psicología mmmal Se guido de doscasos de ablada. La fer.a de la vida !i937. ,eprint, México:Co nsejo Naoonal ing the 191 Os. Unruly characters arrived with the and 1930. Cars carneto domínate traffic, and by hermafrod1smoobse rvado por losset.ores doctores PJcardo Egea... pa1o la Culturay las Artes. 1991). , lg n¡¡co Ocam ¡;¡o(19 0•; re pnnt. MeNo C11y; Tipografía El Fénix.t 912), 45. Manuel Gu t1ér rez Nl!Jera. "la novel.adel tranvía.. m Lanovela del t 11. 14: GaceradePo/iria, ·9. 17 Dec. 19O5,p 9 rr an vl a y orros cuento< (Mexico Cny· Se cretarlade Educación Públ ca, 42. Memofla delAyunramienro (Mexco Cty la Europea. 1902, 2 1984). 159 "El vag an. ad em�s. me l evaa mucho; mundosdesconocidos 1901 1 , l 46. Claude Batalllon, "México. ou dad mest12a•Cie11Cics Poi/ricas 35 1 48. El Un iversal.9 Oc t.192 0.p 9. v-ol.}, 1. e 505 Governor of th Federal Dismct to C1tyCounc,!, 22 De-e. y a re-g1ones vfrgenes No. laciudad de Méxicono emo 1eza en el Pal acio (1964); 161-184, esp p 167-8. 49. Ayuntamiento Const1.:u ci onal de Me)(1co, Atgumenros conrrc /.a l 1898.• ,..._ Pohc!oen Genero!, 3639. 1222. Nac ,on al. nI .c aba en aCa lzada ce la Re forma. Yo doy a Uds. mI palab1a 47. .,,.,_ Pouc!a Presos Pen11enc,arfa, 3564, 3. 'or a f1rs 1-han d and a1 iniciativapr esidencialpor eliminar elayun tam ie nto de laciu dad deMex/c o, 43. En11qu e Ignat1 0Castelló w tlleC ty Cou nol. 2 Aug 19 00. ""ª, Po rn de que la cJudad esmucho m ayor Es l,..:na gran tortu g-a que ext ence, O L-L. 1 · i 1 times dramatic accou m of these ye ars, seeFranc i sc o Ram ire z ancarte, fnvla n pres idenre municipal Hemande z y regidorenc argado de la engenera , 3644, 1689 hac 1ai los cuatr opuntos card nales su s patas ds ocad as. Esas patas son secr etarlagfflera/J Pr ,e ro!aurens (Mex,coCi ty lmprema Francesa 19i9), l i i l La ciudad de Méxicodu rante la te vo/uc/Ofl const1ruoonalma (Me<1co , 44, for a desc nptio n of the "pamdas" in Tacubaya, part ci ·1ossuburt> os sucias y velluda,. Los ayumam emo,. con pat ernal so 1CJ1ud. cu dan de 34 1 l i City: Botas, 1941). Far an evatuat1on of the s11ua1ion oí the capnat's poor p agadosde prostlbu os. de tabernas de plazas detoros yde gallos y ormar1as con od o, mensua mente ". l l , de l l in these years. seelberto A J. Pani. la higie neen México IMex,coC 1ty: casas de ¡uego uno de los estados soc ales m�s desorg an izados y i Ballesc�. 1916) ANUARIO DE ESPACIOS URBANOS, HISTORIA, CULTURA Y DISEÑO ISSN digital: 2448-8828 No. 4 enero-diciembre de 1997. ANUARIO DE ESPACIOS URBANOS, HISTORIA, CULTURA Y DISEÑO ISSN digital: 2448-8828 No. 4 enero-diciembre de 1997. 90 h1sto1i a u rbana pablo p1ccato 91 5 their living conditions aíter the building fever of 1928 animal-pulled vehicles were prohibited. º The Denouncing the bad quality of lower class hous buildings' unhealthy conditions; their only concern 54 57 offi cial confrontat1on against the pract1ces of the ing conditions, a 1902 report by El Imparcial stated was to collect the rents. In the colonia de la Bol recent years. For the urban lower classes, howev i urban peor resumed. In 1920, the City Council and a basic fact of everyday life in the cty: sa. for example, most tenants coul d not prov1de a er. vecindades were the only optIon for a decent the Department of Public Health set out to de warrantor. For them , rents were established on a dwelling. stroy, short-ter m basis w th reat1vely h1gh rates. Landlords Publ1c dormitor es or inns, called mesones, were in the name of hygiene and securi ty, all the f. .. } a sizab/e pan of the popularion, pre<:isely chat which does i l i 51 did not even enter vecindades carrying out their an add1tional mode of cheap housmg. They offered public dormitories built around markets. The de nor haverhe bese personal hygiene, livein the narrow rooms . deals ver bally on the street. 55 According to the a roof for the night in exch ange for a ticket that velopment of the ideal city and new colonias that che cap,ra/'s buildings offer to rhe poorer c/asses. Those cont Nueva Era. policemen d1d not dare to enter e ther, could be bought daily ata low cost. Thus, mesones inued along the same lines established at the tenement houses... offer the mos1 surpris1ng spec1acle of i tur n of the century-based on the harmony of because vecindades were not welcoming places: suited better the economic conditions of those who human overcrowding one cou/d imagme. Only 1he Mrddle 52 were let loase and aggressive, clothes were lacked a stable income, like ambulantes or beggars. developers' interests and urban polioes. Despite Age "Ghettos·, those ryp 1Cal neighborhoo icies of the regime. These ways were not a ways in ple l ved in vecindades-<>neor two-story tenements 54. 1 1.024. 1ose Lore1zoCos.s 0. "A gunas not cias sobre las ,o.ornas oe l i Sesto, f/ México de Porfirio Dlaz. 245; Ram rez Pancane, La ciudad 1 l i i l l accordance with upper-class "appropriate" norms that lacked the clear spatial autonomy of the mod de Ml!xic o durante la revolución constrr vcionalisr d, 426-7. NJthm the esta cap1 ANUARIO DE ESPACIOS URBANOS, HISTORIA, CULTURA Y DISEÑO ISSN digital: 2448-8828 No. 4 enero-diciembre de 1997. ANUARIO DE ESPACIOS URBANOS, HISTORIA, CULTURA Y DISEÑO ISSN digital: 2448-8828 No. 4 enero-diciembre de 1997. 92 h i s t or i a ur bana pablo pI cc a t o 93 than hyg ienic. A public dormitory approved by the sence of running water and sewage. Since the late Other, less pleasing practices prompted by the prevented these spectacles. The City Council, City Council off ered 138 beds, showers "for those colonial period, accord1ng to Marcela Dávalos, the lack of hygienic facilities further offended the however, found ,t difficult to punish even its own in good health" and stones to wash the laundry for absence of running water at home had thwarted sensib1lity of upper class observers. Urinating and ernployees: "those [womenj who request" to wash their the construction of "the moder n family... organized defecating in the streets was a matter- of-fact 59 clothes. Dormitories received large numbers of the by the feelings of intimacy, prudency and privacy " practice for poor men and women. This prob "Whalcan rhe po/icemen do, if the y have rosta yeighl hours migrants during the Revolutlon. In an average day with the result that "the same th1ngs happened lem had concerned authorities since the Bour in their comer, orthe coach drwers, who o�e n spend rhe in 1920, 97 men, 19 women and 8 ch1ldren 62 used inside the house than in the street " . Authorities bon period. A lthough public urinals were whole day in rhe srreet, or rhe street merchanrs or. m sum, the public dor mitory, and in 1918, the Beneficenoa and neighbors were aware of the problems posed anyone who walks the city and who far from his home, 60 available inseveral sites of the city, arrests were is Pública dormitory received 54,750 people. by the scarcity of the "precious" ltquid. During the still common in the late 191 Os under the accu wher> rhey face an urgenc need [alguna necesidad/?"." Elite commentators saw and i mesones Porfiriato, water had to be brought to many areas sation of "hav ng bowel movements on the pub as the cause of theurban poor's lack of by cumbersome means. Sanitary facilities were col 65 Solutions targeted only men on the streets, and vecindades l lic road. " lt was only natural to provide more morality. Porfirian writers explained the alleged ten lective and unhealthy. Toi ets in vecindades com urinals in the city, declared well-known physi were unsatisfactory. Two entrepreneurs offered dency among the poor to appear naked or covered municated to the sewage or to the street by open c an M. Rfo de la Loza in 7892, because "When the City Council to build public urinals which 3 i by rags, or to expose the most delicate moments of sewers running through the middle of hallways.6 those individuals whose occupations force them did not require a door, being just a receptacle -g thetr family life, as a consequence of what they saw The lack of water at home stirnulatedthe devel to stay outside their homes do not find places between two panels at a 90 degree angle.º 61 and endured in those places. Observers were con opment of (public baths), an ,mpor banos públicos properly devised fer that purpose, they have to Other, more discrete models were built, one of cerned by the m1x-up of the ins1de and the outs1de, tant instituuon in the lives of the inhabitants of the avo1d police vigilance, with prejudice of health them in the Empedradillo street, east of the Ca the public and the private, that was a common fea city and one that further mixed intimate needs and and civilization." Establishing more toilets was thedral. Sttll, respectable neighbors considered ture of popular life. Wh ile the allegations of sexual soc ial life. At these facilities, men and women could all the more necessary since the only available these sanitary facilities dangerous "foci of pros prom1scuity might have been based on the imagi take a shower and do laundry for a small fee. In the titution" and complained that health authori alternative were pulquería s, where "there is the nation of observers, and are at least difficult to doc 1880s, banas públicos were the largest construc custom of having barreis or buckets used to con ties did not give them sufficient ma1ntenance. ument, one clear outcome of overcrowding and lack t1ons of the Paseo de la Reforma, near the Alameda. tain the urine of any individual who wants to In the colonia Morelos, neighbors complained of proper facilities was the poor's need to carry out 66 i Swimming pools were also crowded in hot days, use them. " The problem beca me more evi dent to the Public Health Council that the public ur many of the activities associated with the prívate specially on Saint John the Baptist's day. Atten in the recently paved streets nearby theaters and nals built by the City Council had become a realm (such as eating) in public places. dance to these facilities was h1gh: during April restaurants where, at night, people left "large health hazard and a threat "because they stay i A wtdespread problem of popular housi ng, per 7914, 5.434 men and 5,267 women used the pools of urine" and íeces. For Mex can commen open during the night and are not covered by 69 haps the main factor for its occupants' need to Baños de la Lag unilla, adminrstered by the Be tators, Mexico gave an undeserving image com poiice vigilance. " In conclusion, for lower class 64 spend most of the day in the streets, was the ab- neficencia Pública. pared to other modern capitals. where urinals men and particularly for wornen, neither their 59 . Memoria del ayuntamiento de 1901, 2:275-6 comp., t.;,ciudad de Mlmco en la pr imera mirad del s,glo"' 300, 281 a , 60. Blnca Ugarte to the Cty Cou ncd, 31 Aug. 1920. "'" Fondo See asoJl�n Semo, "la cudad tentacu ar notas sobre el centrat1smo en 66. M Río de a Loza to 1he Cot y Ccun cI, 27 1892, ...... Policía en · l i l •>N, Fondo Gobernación Periodo Revoluc,onano, 11S. 77, 1, See also l , Dec Estableom,entosAsts tenoales, DormtoriosPúblico s, 1. 5. els,glo xx· in I sabe Tovar de Arechederr a and Magdalena M as,eds., ! i l AS:.A, Fondo Estab ec mer .tos As stencaes, Barios y lavade ros Púb cos, General, 3639. 1020 i l i i i i i 61, Miguel Macedo, La crmmal idaden México: Medos de combar/ria Macrópolls mexkana, (Me x,co Cl1y: Lni vefSJdad I beroamencana-Conse¡o 67. Re pon of the 1-lous ,ng Comm,neesto the C,ty Councíl. 15 May. 1,1 s, forthe regu laticns of the public baths of La Lag unilla. see ibid., (Mexico c.,y: Secretarla de Fomento, 1 897). l 4- l S; LulS Lara Pardo La y , Nac io nal para la Cultura y las Artes-w-, 1994 ), 48. 2,11 , 1901, �-;. •,. Po licía en ge neral, 3642, 1354. pro srinución en Méx,co (Mexoco C,ty Boure1 , 1908). 120-;, Panr, La 63. For dra,nage syst ems, .. ,,,, Sa ubridad Públ1ca.Sewon Salubr,dad 68. Vice nte Moyano and � GenaroAl onso10 c,¡y Council. 11 Oct. 65. In oaober 1917, AHA, Pohc la P,esosPen,tenc i ar,a. 3664, 1. For J a hig iene enM éxico, 111, 221, Thesedescn pt ,005 were not lwaysb ased de Di st íllo Federal. box 1. 33. 1892, AHA. Pohcla en Gener al, 3639. 1019. l aourbon otf1C1 al conc:e rn about ¡hese ,ssues.see \loeke l, "Pee1 ng on the on dlrea obse rva11◊n. 64. Dego-Fernández, La c,udad deM éjico,4, For a descn p11onof baños .. a a �g 1 Palace For a good e.xama bout the 1ssue of water 1nearl y nine teemh 69. Contr ct betweent he C,ty Counc,I nd Franc&o J Baez, 29 A . 62 . MarcelaD�v alos, "La salud,e l agua y los habitantes de la ciudad de púb!icos,n Lag un,lla and Juárez. seeV1Ce• pres1 dent of the JuntaI nspectora l 1 895. -.. Policfa en eG neral, 3639. 1 056 Pu bhc He alth Cou nc ,I,o the century, see Dáv alos, "La salud, el agua yl os ah bitantes de a ciu dad de ; México Fines de ,i go )(1111 y pnn c,mosdel xox· n He rnánoez Franyuu, a a l l 1 , de l a Benefoceno Públicato Secretary ofGo ber n aón, 16 Au g. 1913, Méx ico. · 292 Cit y Counc,1, 8Apr. 1 892, ,,,,. Pohcla en Ge ne ral, 3639 , 1016. ANUARIO DE ESPACIOS URBANOS, HISTORIA, CULTURA Y DISEÑO ISSN digital: 2448-8828 No. 4 enero-diciembre de 1997. ANUARIO DE ESPACIOS URBANOS, HISTORIA, CULTURA Y DISEÑO ISSN digital: 2448-8828 No. 4 enero-diciembre de 1997. 94 h111oria u,bana p a t I o e e a t o 95 1 dwelltngs nor public fac1l1ttes offered a ·oecent" 423 beg1nnmg w1th lemonade and conclud1ng w th gambhng linked to alconol) was a oowerful attrac offic1al records, 1n 1902 there were 2. al cohol solut1on to the1r daily bodily needs. Their only t1on fer rural m1grants to move to Mex1co C1ty. lt o..i tlets .n the capital 1nclud1ng cantinas, pulquerías twelve glasses of rompop e. They ended up 1n a hotel wher�according to he' accusat1on-he tned to opt1on was to ignore the dictates oí urbanity and hao bee"I so since colon al times Accordrng to Serge ª"º sma' e· estabhshmems. The greatest concen 78 'orce nimse f on her. to endure the loss of shame and the repudia Gruzmsk1, lndrans who had left the1 r commun,ties tra,.on of these was ,n ;he blocks east o' the Plaza 1 t1on of the better-off and the authorities. were attracted by the anonymrty of the oty and Mayor (behind the Palacio Nacional), where the The elites were concerned about tne relat1on Finally, the scarcaty of drinking water in the1r carneto enjoy the de-regu ated, seculanzed use of rumber of pu/quenas and cantinas was so grear sh1p betweer a cohol consumpuon and d1sorder. 7 1 homes drove people to the street in order to sat1ate alcohol. 3 Alcohol and prost1tution were strll lurmg trat 1.:became common fer au:nont es to oeny new Th s made the co,itrol of popular druni 77. c,:y Ceul'C 10 Jesé GO"úlez Pa<'es 7 D<' t907 '- B•b•das ae al�•"ª obra 1ea:•a en lascJE � ae�t fnha• a lligolE:oc • AJ da y , - - , 70. 'leoonheath e' -.speaor A Romero toP�ol,c Heallh Cocnc , 10 75. losé vana IJar•oc;1;,, la c,!Jdaddi! MeKJCo Contiene El rc;g,,,, de e-nbr,agan1es, 1337, 397 T-.e 1902Reglairer;o ae 3..,,casEmtlfoaga•tes -anos�e<>" ,,.•ces�c,aoos En cgar.,,.. •.,,!!<',e. la,ragen rel,glOS ANUARIO DE ESPACIOS URBANOS, HISTORIA, CULTURA Y DISEÑO ISSN digital: 2448-8828 No. 4 enero-diciembre de 1997. ANUARIO DE ESPACIOS URBANOS, HISTORIA, CULTURA Y DISEÑO ISSN digital: 2448-8828 No. 4 enero-diciembre de 1997. 96 histor ia u1ba:na pablo 0 1 c c a 1 0 97 that ali pulquerías be eradicated from the down ter Díaz' demise, many of the small sellers· grIev thei r trades on the s1dewalks, w1th or w1thout off1- art1chokes, e1c.." sold them in the street, and returned town a rea of the city, because they gave the streets ances against the Compañía beca me public and the cial authorization.85 Women cooked and sold food home walking. She was arrested on the suspicionof "an ugly look and... lwere) a threat to public health new governments were, at least in rhetoric, more (chopping beeí, mak1ng the tortillas, fixing tacos) in being a beggar, more than two kilometers away from 87 and safety because their customers are dirty peo willing to act upon the fears of alcoholism as a so the middle of narrow streets, espec1ally around mar home. Her arrest made rare everyday lite informa 84 ple who get drunk and get into scandals and cial problem. Economic interests. benef1ting the kets like La Merced. Along w1th food, alcoholic bev t,on ava1lable for historians but, from her perspective. 82 fights." same elite that condemned popular alcohol con erages were sold on the streets. frequently without offioal harassment was not so uncommon. 86 Find1ng a systematic solution to the problem of sumption, undermined public policies against the any k1nd oí off1 cial supervision. Peddlers fought a daily battle against authori alcoholism proved to be difficult, in part because problem. What these aet1v1 ties lacked in stab1lity they of ties to occupy those areas of the city where cus of the strong economlC interests connected to the The late Porfirian period can be characterized fered in flexibility and freedom of movement. Small tomers and money were accessible. These sellers pulque business in Mex1Co City. The large demand as one of intense and widespread alcohol consump vegetable or candy vendors would acquire their da1- were, since colonial times, mostly lndians who carne for alcohol and the increasing state supervision cre tion in public settings, despite the strong elite con ly stock. walk the streets or take a place on a side to the capital to sell their own produce. In the per i ated quarrels between cantinas and pulquerías that demnation of the practice and city authorities' walk, working untl sunset or until their merchandise cept on of early-nineteenth century authorities, they l i had to meet municipal licensing requirements, and halfhearted measures to control consumptíon. A was gone. They would start aga1n the next day, us already represented a serious source of disorder al 88 the numerous informal outlets such as tendajones though the problem had deep roots in the capital's ing their daily earnings to renew stock, with any left beit a pIcturesque image. By the end of the cen (small stores) and puestos (street booths) wh1Ch sold history, it was during this period when the contra over to pay for lodging and other needs. This prac tury, the confrontation became more acute and cheap mixes of infusions and alcohol without a li diction between popular practices and 1Jpper-class t1Ce often involved walking from La Merced market peddlers became no longer a "natural" element of cense, especially at night, when legal outlets were attitudes became more open, yet appear ng at the or the embarcaderos (docks where canoes brought the city's landscape, but the actors of social conflict 83 i torced to close. The regulations of retail alcohol same time to reinforce each other. That was also in produce from the countrys1de across Lake Texco expressed as the struggle for space against respect prompted additional tensions between the owners t he case of other practices that became distinctive co). to central streets. Forty-five-year-old María able neighbors and established merchants. The of small cantinas and pulquerías, and authorities features of the turn-of-the-centurycapital, such as Magdalena Gutiérrez walked everyday from the Ja 1900 census classified only 334 persons as street whom the former accused of giving improper ad street commerce. maica market to the Fourth District to peddle vege peddlers, but many testimonies strongly suggest va ntages to the monopolistic Companía S1nce most of the city's inhabitants spent their tables. She used to live in Lerma, State of MexKo, much larger numbers. In 1894 merchants of the Expendedora de Pulques and the proprietors of el days and many nights in the streets, a great diversity where she made tortillas but, she informed a social Calle del Empedradillo, near the Cathedral, com egant outlets downtown. The Compañía had in of exchanges occurred in all areas of the city. Many worker in 1931, "after she saw that the selling of plained about the "plague" of ambulantes in that deed powerful partners who were also senior public enterprising citizens viewed in street commerce a vegetables could be more profitable, she turned to street. As the City Council conceded. municipal reg officials, such as científico Pablo Macedo (brother ready, if risky, source of income. Gaining access to such activity and moved to the capital" where she ulat1ons could not be easily enforced due to the of Miguel and high ranking official in Díaz' govern an abundant public was worth confronting the au was able to earn approx,mately one peso a day. She negligence of the police (subordinated to the Gov ment and the City Council), and made investments thorities' penchant for control of the streets. A mul spoke Nahuatl and sorne Spanish. Her neghbors 1n ernor of the Federal District, not the City Council), i i i in land property and railroads. The enforcement of titude of serv ces were offered on the streets. Scribes formed the social worker about her daily rout ne: she who refused to take strong measures against am 8 regulations often meant the revocation of the li (escribanos, also called evangelistas), barbers, den woke up very early, bought the "lettuce, green peas, bulantes. 9 In 1903, the Governor of the Federal censes of the Companía's smaller competitors. Af- tists, phonograph operators and mus,cians exerci sed 85. Antonio Au•a 10 the Cily Coun ANUARIO DE ESPACIOS URBANOS, HISTORIA, CULTURA Y DISEÑO ISSN digital: 2448-8828 No. 4 enero-diciembre de 1997. ANUARIO DE ESPACIOS URBANOS, HISTORIA, CULTURA Y DISEÑO ISSN digital: 2448-8828 No. 4 enero-diciembre de 1997. 98 h i st o ria urbana oablo G ((llO 99 Distr 1Ct d e nou nc e d to t he City Council the mcreas v en dors beca me a source of ad d it1onal In come for Mayor. Barnsh•ng them írom the Plaza, they a rgued, Thef t was another reason f or sorne peo p le to I ng numb er of b o o t hs in the str eets, e v e n in the the po l i ce me n who wer e in charge of t o p un ish ng ,t i wou l d pu sh them t o th e brtnk of " mIser y, wit h a l i en ter t he wealthy ar e as of t he c a pi ta l and subver1 les s convenient pl a ces. The Hondur as Cons ul , n ot Thu s, despite the pressure fro m es tablis hed , t s hor r or s. " In t h is c a se the gov ern mem wa s less the boundaries that s upposedl y separated "d e c e nt" e d t he Gover no r, had to wa lk h is hor se under th e merchants , cl ea rin g t he central streets of t he ca pi flexible, and exten ded t he candy peddlers' licens es and "d ang er ous" territories. Test imon ies of pick colonnades of th e Porta l de Mercaderes, faci ng t he t al from was a ne ve r-endi ng t a sk. St reet ambulantes f or only a year. After a l l , the Zóca lo was o ne of the pockets 1n su ch places as th e Cathedral and el e Plaza Mayo r, bec a u se he co uld no t enter hi s house ve nd ors were a tradit 1onalfeatur e of the ur ban l a nd 9 0 sh owpiec es oí th e ideal city, while Santo Do mi ngo , gant st ores irfl a med concerns abou t rnme 1n th rou g h th e estab lish ed in the side wal ks. scape. The source of te n sion, it could be a rgue d, pu e stos o nl y t hree b l o c k s to th e north, alr eady belonged to gene r al a n d suppor te d t he alleged n eed of h a r sh Disp utes between " establ ished me r chants" and wa s the g roup of aff uent merc h a nt s and u rba n 9 . 98 l the margins. 6 treatment ag a1nst p e tty t h,ev es. Tram ways ano we re r if e. Access to spa ce was the key re for me rs wh o sough t to establish control ov e r ambulantes Oiher types of ex changes challenged t he soo al t ratns were favorit e tar g e ts f or p e tty th 1ev es, be to these squabbles . Many sellers s t at i o ned t he m down town streets and t u rn them in to a modern div isi ons of urba n geography. T he immed1ate n eed ca u se the y allowed c lase physt Cal c o nt ac t w,t h selves outsid e the mar k et s, offerin g the same pro d bussin ess district. In 1 901 , for exa mpl e, neighbors of ca sh drove p e op le do wnt o wn to pa wn th eir pos wat c' 1-carrying gentlemen . Most t heft s dtd n ot us e ucts a v a ila ble in side, wh ic h t hey had ac q ui re d e arly and mer chants of th e P laza de Santo Doming o , 91 s es s io ns . Pawn shops loane d customers amo unts vio l e nc e but expl o ted t he open spa c e s o f streets i n t he morning at l o we r prices. The key e le ment aske d t he City Counc il to re move t he scribes f rom below the v a lu e of t he o b j e ct s pawned. Cu stomers and publ ic bvildings. In 1 91 1, t he C,ty Cou ncil asked for econ omic s ucce s s was t o fi nd t he rr ght s po t . the c ol on n a des of the plaza, arg u i ng th a t the y pro kept a ti c k et u nt il th ey could r epay th e l o an plus ;or soec. ,a l pol1ce pr otectIon f or ts own bu ildin g, Fo od sellers o ut s i de La Merced market co mplai ne d mo t e d vic e and t he ft , and o b s t ruct ed t he v ie w fro m � Interest s and re cov e r the1r po s s ess, o ns. The princi wh ere bronze orn a men ts were f requently st ol e n . to t he Ci t y C ouncil that if t he y were displaced to a t he s tores . The Comis ión de Poli cía y Merc a dos of pal m oneylender fo r the poor was t he Monte de l t was a c ommon prac t Ic e to en ter a l a rge st o re, dif ferent zon e with less circ ulation of c ust o me rs t he City Co unc i l repli ed that th e esc ri torios had been P i eda d, a colonial 1nstitut1on su pervised by th e city gra b a pi ece of fi ne s i l k fro m the co unter and try t o as city authoriti es mt en ded-thei r way of li vi ng t here f or mor e than fo rt y y e a rs, and t he r e was outrun derks and p olice me n , h ke Gumersindo Za 9 2 9 5 go vernme nt , whose building was located across the wo uld b e dest ro ye d. A simi lar ly pessi mi sti c vie w enough room f or everyo ne a ny wa y . T ra d1t 1o n had r street f rom t he C at hedral, in the northwes, comer mudio u n su ccessfully att empte d ,n EI Certro Me wa s s hared by t he s el lers of use d i ro n (v endedores es tabhs hed at t he Plaza d e Santo Do m 1 00 escrit or ios of the Z ócalo. lnter est r ate s on loans guaranteed cantil. de f ier r os viejo s) outside the Plaza de San Ju a n , ingo, and peddle rs would n ot mo ve fro m t hat iden by p r op e rty were at le ast 8 pe r c ent a mon th for Commerce of st olen goods cros se d fro m t he r e who m city a u th or ities wante d to rel oca te in El Bara t iíia ble ma rker of t he1 r tra de. Not everyone, l 9 3 amounts ol less t h a n one peso, and 6 p e r c ent for spectab e ar eas of the city t o ne1ghborhoods outside tillo mark et. Confl icts bet wee n t he City Counc ll , however , could s ucces s f ully a ppea l to old use s. In of po li c e co nt ro l. C ontemporarIes perc e ve d grea t er a mou n ts, plus a 5 per c en t f ee. Prívate pawn 1 coloni a i t s re presen ta tIv es and st reet s ellers bec a me in cr ea s 189 7 . se lle rs of cand y in t he Zó calo as k ed t he Cit y l shops competed with t he Mon te d e Pieda d, al d e la B o sa asan al mo st for eig n zone of danger w t hin i ngl y acute duri ng th e Porfiriato. Po l i ce agents and Council to r e consid e r its deni al to renew the ír per tho ugh exa c tin g h 1ghe r interests. The C1ty Co u, ici l t he city. T hey linke d t he n eigh borh ood to the trade ins pec tors made p ed d lers ' lives harder b y d emand mits. Th e vend ors maintained th a t t radi t i on had author1zed pawn s ho ps in o t he r ar eas of the city i n of stolen good s and the a bsen ce of pol ice in ter v en in g e ithe r the offi cial p e r mit ( which most of mem established t hat during the holidays peo pl e would 94 o rder to pr e ve nt t he long li ne s and a ggl omera t ion s tIon , and thus s aw It as a pl a c e of viol enc e , particu l ac ked) or a b nb e. The " i lle g ality" of m any str e et buy candy and toys f or th eir chi ldren in the 101 P laz a larly d ange r ous fo r u p p er -class intru d ers. The formed around the Mo nt e de Pieda d buila,ng . but did n ot allow p r í vate entrepren éurs t o offe r lower bar r io of T ep ito was fe are d as a thie ve s' lai r. An i rates th a n th e Monte d e Piedad. 9 7 Ame r can travel er was told th a t t he "Th iev es Mar- federal D ,strct to t he P res, dent t r.e 1ts·r es st an-ce rn 1n 90 . Gcverno• o f t he of C.ty Co.m c,1 , 94. Fer m e rch a i s pector s m th e S an _ucasr rark.et, s ee 0 · 11 M a y. 1 90 3, •••. 0 1ca en general , 3644, 1643. Co mi sión de Me tc a a o s totrie C,ty Cou nctf, 24 Feb. 189 9 , .:..-1 ,.:. .,Po licía e"l 91. See th e cas e of ve nde dores a mbulan te,; ours,dethe M a rfnez de l a general, 3 641. 1266 F or acom p ant agar ost a h e a l¡h i nspe<:to r accuse d l , 97. Me morid de,1 ayunr am ent a d e 1 901, 2·39 A 1 Tone mark et. remc ved b y orde r oft he aut honty • n 1 9 0 1, Al-11,. ,Pohciaer, 9 6 . s anto s c,,ne,os and th1 rtyth ee more totoe C1 ty Cosn c,1. 1 1 Nov i - cfhe p1� g OL.' t ac ompan y mt he murn c pal s,'aug hterhous e, se-e F1'St O rs inCT i ., · 9 8 la , 2 9 .an • 89 0 , o 2 1897, ,A .:., Po l.c iae , Ge rera l, 3 660, l 1 80 The conflKt Oe we e n /o z de Mex<;o 3 3 ' ge ne,a l, 642 , 1 71. Chef o f Pc•ce to r.sp eaor Ge n e r aloe Po! K a , 14 Jan 1 911," ""' G ob1e100 '"' i l · au t h o nt e -s. " est ab hs. re ct •·me rcn a n ts an d o e cc e rs c onv,. . edaft er t "'le 99 . (1� Counc. l to Gov er or of¡re Federa D1s vici. l7 Aug. 1911, �-..:., 92. Tomasa Pé re z a nó s even more wome rt othe Pres C ty l l 1de n t o f the , é e l D imito, R as tros, 1785, 4. revo1ut ion In 191 7, E l U niver5 ¿ 1/ t r1ump hamly a n n our,ce d that :� e 'o,�a en � e ,eral, 3 6 4 4 1699 Couoo l . 3 Ju l 19 15 , ANUARIO DE ESPACIOS URBANOS, HISTORIA, CULTURA Y DISEÑO ISSN digital: 2448-8828 No. 4 enero-diciembre de 1997. ANUARIO DE ESPACIOS URBANOS, HISTORIA, CULTURA Y DISEÑO ISSN digital: 2448-8828 No. 4 enero-diciembre de 1997. p a b I o p , e e a t o 101 100 h1 1 1 e r , a u r e a s a i by the Beneí cencia Pública. The area 1ncluded from Dlaz' iron hand, and subsequently in 1917-1919, ket" (probably the Lagunilla Market, by Tep1to) was were not the streets. but "the fanhest corner of Las Cruces to Guerrero Streets, and from Arcos de when Venustiano Carranza was seeking to consoli 1 04 the place where merchand1se could be sold atter hospitals". Observer s accused beggars of exag Belén Avenue to República de Panamá Street. Th1s date revolutionary legitimacy through anci ent régime l 9 three months from the robbery,without fear oí pros gerating or faking their afflict1on In arder 10 im over apped with the central streets of the central ways.·o These polici es were the most aggressive ecution. The v1sitor thought tnis an exaggeration, press passersby. In 1917. Julio Ana ya was arrested rny, the cosmopohtan terntoryaround the Alame example of official attitudes toward the urban lower 08 "at least nowadays under the strong hand of near La Merced and sent to the Pen11ent1ary be da and Zócalo.' classes. They emerged in the context of the dispute 102 Díaz. " But theft was indeed a central Issue oí cause he was begging "and to that effect [accord Peddling, stealing, begging or drinking were between different conceptions about the use and public concern, an uncomfortable íeature of the Ing to the pohcej he pierced the sk1n of h1s neck certamly not the only reasons for the urban poor to s-tructureof the o¡y. Most cornmonly, however, con ·os Porfirian capital. Even though thieves were far fewer with a needle". take over the spaces of the wealthy city, but they flicts were played out through the city authorities' than ambulantes, they also partiopated In the dis This concern about the locat,on of beggars was were the most visible Most of those who walked sk ewed d1stribut1on of resources between upper-class or took the trarnway downtown sought to earn a colonias, on the top of offcial priorities, and lower ruption oí the soci al geography of the capital. another oíficial attempt to d1Ctate the use of the i class developments and old barr os. lssues of health, Beggars were more vi sible than thieves in the city. Like vendors and thieves, beggars moved to living through more legitimate and stable means, i invasion oí respectable places. The fight against ward the central. more crowded areas of the capi and none relished police harassment or the possi police, and street nomenclatureexemp lify the con mendicity beca me a focus of upper-cl ass struggles tal. As police inspectors reported to the Ci¡y Council bility of jail. Working In industries, upper-class hous frontat1ons between elite projects and the urban to "recover'' public spaces. In 1897, infl uential hy in 1895, beggars carnefrorn outs1de ne1ghborhoods es, gover nment offi ces, or in the stores, many more poor 's use of the cIty. D1sputed perceptions of urban inhabitants of the marginal city moved da1ly into space, m which certain areas were perceved as the gienist Dr. Eduardo Liceaga proposed that beggars or villages, part1cularly during rehgious cel f;brations. i be sent to Jail, instead of the over crowded asylum. The1r presence was rare in suburban districts, like the central city. filling the streets with their pres territory of crime, illustrate how the unmtended con El Imparcial suppor ted the idea, since it would pre the Seventh and Eighth, were they were quickly ence. The city could not work without this move sequences oí modernization defeated the Porfinan 106 vent "those immoral scenes that contradict our arrested by the police. The fact that mendicants ment across social boundaries. Yet, city authorities rnodel of a cosmopolitan capital. 103 sought to control and channel the dynamics of ur The boundaries of Mexico City becarneparticu culture." Mend1Cants made the best from the occupied places associated with modernizat1on and i irnpactof ther presence near churches and around progress made them even more troublesome. El ban life. They tried to teach the urban lower classes larly unstable during the Porfiriato. Since the early upper-class areas. In 1916, El Universal complained Imparcial denounced beggars roaming "in down how to use their own rny. colonial per iod, ethnic stratif1 cation had defined an that mendicants were a serious nuisance to pedes town streets, under the shade of the trees of the area of Sparnsh populat1on around the poiltical and center of the Plaza Mayor. The traza or trians, even in downtown streets. According to the most popular avenues, in the tramway stops, where The Dispute for the City religious 107 newspaper, they wer e aggressive, for they showed they JUmp at traveler s". In 1930, El Universal outline of the central city displaced the indigenous "sickening sores, with reprehensible 1mpudicity" published a map of the zone of "greater concen For the elites, crime, alcoholisrn and beggary consti inhab1tants of Tlatelolco and Tenochtitlan to the and threatened to infect pedestnans . Their places tration oí beggars" based on the census performed tuted the clearest examples of how the bou ndaries edges of the lake ihat surrounded the city. Accord of the respec ta ble citywere v1olated. Thieves, drunk ing to Andrés Lira, from those early moments on, ards and beggars became the target of several offi the areas of Span1sh and ,ndigenous occupancy had cial campaIgns to "clean up" the city, in which no clear lim1ts, but moved and overlapped constant 102. Sm Itl1, F/ying V,s irs. 72-3 beggars were in fact swi ndlers. ski llful actor s who exploited people� 103. fl lmpar ctal, 1 Apr. 1897 p 2 p hil anthrop y wnhOU1 reall y needmg it. News papers d enounc ed "fa l se suspects were arrested and many sent to penal colo ly. Conflicts and readjustments bec ame a feature H)4.El Universal, 24 D�c 191 6, p. 3. Fo, CityCou ncil me-nber Carlos M beggars• who on y carne to1he c,tyto imp ore chan ty, desp te being l l nies after a cursory investigation. Perhaps the harsh of urban politics which reached its peak in the sec ?atiflo, beggars belonged ,n a sylums and oot m the sireets. where t he per ie cttya ble to worlc. andt hen go baclc 10 •J, e,r ho ANUARIO DE ESPACIOS URBANOS, HISTORIA, CULTURA Y DISEÑO ISSN digital: 2448-8828 No. 4 enero-diciembre de 1997. ANUARIO DE ESPACIOS URBANOS, HISTORIA, CULTURA Y DISEÑO ISSN digital: 2448-8828 No. 4 enero-diciembre de 1997. 102 n I s t o r 1 urbana pablo p,ccato 103 The externa! lim1ts of the capital also lost their brought anonymous multrtudes to the oty. By the cattle and chicken were pervasive and created san the prox1m1ty of the Zócalo to older barrios was d1st1na charaaer during the !atter penad, as the cap• 18805, the separation between recently amved "out· itatíon problems: in December 1900, the bodies of verified by the fact that It "Is rather the loung1ng· ital expanded its urbanized area almost f1vefold. · 11 siders" and city dwel ers seemed clear lO 17 (fuereños) l 700 anima Is were p1 cked up and ,no nerated.; In pl ace for the lower classes, as the Ala meda Is for Severa! gates (garitas) had been placed at the out· everyone because both groups had distinctive clothes Mixcoac, a week-end residential area south of the upper." The "pr1nctpal thoroughfare" was still skirts of the city to control the traffic of merchand1se and manners. As the city grew and its connections Chapultepec, well-to-do neighbor5 complained San Francisco-Plateros. connectíng the two parks, brought by carts. By the turn of the twentieth cen· wItn the surrounding countrys1de intensified, fu about a 43-room tenement house that they con whie Reforma "1s the fashionable drive for Mex, l l tury, however, these gates were rapidly becom1ng ereños were harder to discern. Capitalinos teared s1dered a focus of d15ease and crime, and an ,nsult can society, and is a together a íine if unfin1shed 118 2 obsolete. Theystill collected fees onpulqueand other crime more because thieves were now skillful In h1d to nearby res1dences. boulevard" .11- After the Revolution, the areas close products, but had lost their value as markers of the ing among the crowd. i-s For many capitalinos, the The areas of older, lower-class hous1ng near to downtown rema,ned as a d1fferent world of pov cIty's outer limits and their fiscal Importance had been modernizauon of transportation meant a w der ur· downtown presented different problems. Many oí erty and disease. In the early 1920s, sarntary au· 12 i reduced by increasing railroad traffic. · During co· ban space, but also one plagued by anonymity and these communities had been estabhshed in pre-HIs· thorit,es considered the area north of the Plaza de lonial times and until the mid-nineteenth century, danger. Urban planning and development attempt· panic times, but others were s mply the result of la Const tución as an "endemic" zone of typhus, 1 i i cIty authonties had sought to monitor the influx of ed to contain and control this expansion, only to greater population density.; 9 According to El Im whose 1nhabitants had to be "desinsectizados" to travelers entering through the or checking become the field for further tensIon. 23 garitas parcial, real-estate speculation, the centralization preven! new outbreaks of the disease. ; into Such v1gilance was no longer possible Upper-class and lower-class develop of services and commerce, and the prce of tram· Therefore, the crescent moon of the marginal oty mesones. 11 colonias i during the Porfiriato. 3 The Revolution further dem· ments and barrios existed in an uneasy proximity way fa res torced "our poor classes to cram l1ke meant a threat to the security of the central city. onstrated the loss of control over the externa! bound• beca use the difference between rich and poor ar· 120 canned sardines into the small rooms availabl e". C enain barrios and lower-cl ass colonias were 1denti aries of the oty. Messengers from the Zapat1sta eas had a clear cultural dimension. In the poorer Since the nineteenth century, barrios and their tn· f1 ed by gente decente as places of cnminality and insurgency in Morelos acquired weapons, money and 5uburbs, tradiuonal rural ways coexisted with the habitants were perceived as an "anc1ent novelty" disease. An 1895 guide for vis1tors, suggestively en· information in the capital, and carred them through newest aspects of modernizat on. In the Seventh i i by the We5tern1zed populat1on, largely because they t1 tled México y sus alrededores. Guia para los vía• the southern hills of the valley with re ative ease, al and Eight distrim, unkempt open spaces challenged 121 l preserved pre-Hispanic habits and language. jeros escrita por un Mexicano. Cuidado con los though on a small scale. The entrance of the com· the goals of urbanizat on, prompting the CIty Coun 1 While their customs were "ancient," the novelty rareros, warned that barrios such as La Merced "Is plete Zapatista army In November 1914 was the cil to arder the fencing of empty lots near "inha resided in their proximity to the modern capital. famous because of the quantty of thieves who are ia 1 i symbolic culmination of this silent invasion. 1 bited zones" .1 6 Still open to the surrounding 124 Many run-down vecindades, pulquerías and dan· there". But La Merced market, southeast of the Something similar happened to the interna! sep countryside, these areas showed the unfinished gerous streets were located just beh1nd the Nat,on Zócalo, offered the best food prices and stock for l arations that structured the urban space. Trains trans1tion to urban lite. Dogs, horses, donkeys, p,gs, al Palace. According to an American v1S1tor in 1903 lower• and middle-cl ass customers. A so to the east, 111. \.lorales, "La expansión de la ciudaé de Wéx1co. • 190-191, oted by ingeniero Antonio Garc/a Cuws con las nuevas callesabiertas hasra la 117. El lmparc1af, ó Jan 1900, p. 2 Amrnalsused fer transponat1on Mé�dez. "Mapa sene barrios de la Ctudaa de Mex,co 1811 y 1882", In Lrra, Comunldades1ndígenas, 240. Accordingto Mor.11es, th,sexpansion fecha y los terrrxamles (Mexko Cit¡r Antigua librerfa de M. Murguia, added to ,he problem, as ,n Montev,deo. Rosen1hal, "The Amval oí tne Ale¡andra Moreno Toscanoel al, Investigacionessol;1e la h,sro,,.. de la meant a decrease in popula,ion dens ty, be, the evidence exam,ned above 1886) and Plano of,cial de la Oudad de Mlxko.! éd,ciónespecial para el Electric Streetcar", 323. auáadde Méxko (,) (Mexicoüty: ""· 19741 155-181. fo• me complex suggests the cppos�e. at least In lower-class areas close todowr,t own. Conse;o Super,or de Gobierno del D1 ANUARIO DE ESPACIOS URBANOS, HISTORIA, CULTURA Y DISEÑO ISSN digital: 2448-8828 No. 4 enero-diciembre de 1997. ANUARIO DE ESPACIOS URBANOS, HISTORIA, CULTURA Y DISEÑO ISSN digital: 2448-8828 No. 4 enero-diciembre de 1997. 105 104 hIs:or a uroana oab lo p,cc,to 134 barrios San Lázaro, Santa Antta, La Soledad y La Pal the "dangerous" zones of t he city derived from the pr oblems in the lower-class areas of the capital was pute. Business had a great weight on these deci ma were places oí danger and disease.125 American perceived lack of secu rity and police absence in re1nforced by the authorit1es' biased useo f resources sio ns, because the city counol was usually elected visitar Eat on Smith went to th1s "rather slummy part many poor areas. In favor of the more affluent neighborhoods. Many from a group of influential citizens with economic 135 of these administrative decis1ons triggered the re interests at stake. of the town, where the pa vements vvere abomina To the north, Tepito, la Bolsa and Guerrero were action of the inhabitants of lower-class ne ghbor The Ctty Council's polic1es were the result of a ble, eíther by natural vice or fr om efforts to reform also crime territories. An El Imparcial reponer de i hoods, w ho did not accept to be treated as pragmatic comb1natio n of top-down sooal reform, them, and so carnet o La Viga canal," in the south p1cted colonia de la Bolsa as "the cradle of cnme." second-class neighbors. Sever a! cases of public co n the needs of the capital and the interests of bussi easter n limit of the Seco nd District. T his area con He reached the colonia " as an explorer seeking the nected the cityw ith Texcoco lake, sufferi ng the worst frontat1ons pr ompted by urban gr owthill ustrate the ness. In this co ntext, council members' pr ojects of source of rivers by sailing agaInst the stream, 1 fol í 126 effects of dusty winds and flooding. lowed the compex network of small streets that political side of the dispute over the uses of the social and urban reform had to be reco nciled w th l 1 1 Crime and alco holism co ntnbuted to the bad are the bridges sending ev1I from la Bolsa to invade oty_ J the pragmatic needs of development. The co nse Image of these areas. In a survey ordered by the the city." Once there "a crowd of horrible and The City Council was in charge of making ur quences were limited policies that focused, for ex 136 arnple, o n embellishment o f the city. Street City Council in 1902, the Seco nd District {whose strange figures... emerged before my scared eyes , ban expansion offioal. lt had to "recei ve" a colonia before granting it the benefits of urbanization. Co cleaning, hyg1ene and publi c order became the tar limits went from the Northeastern co mer of the behold1ng that dark world where people seem to 128 get of city government insofar as they cou d be ad Cathedral toward the east and south, and 1ncluded co me from generations of criminals" El Chale /om'as su ch as Roma, Condesa, Juárez, San Rafael, l La Merced) had the greatest number of alco hol quero, the famous prost itute-killer first arrested in Santa María, Escandón and Guer rero were the re dressed without great expense but with visible 2 sult of ihe develo pment of lands that had formerly results, In downtow n and upper-class areas. In the outlets (534 of a total of 2,4 3 in the whole city). 1888, lived and committed his crimes ifi the colo belo nged to hac endas. The City Cou nal approved zo nes beyo nd a visitors' eyes, however. neglect was Together with the Fir st D1strict (north of the Sec nias Peralvillo and Santa Ana, isolated areas north i ond) and the Third Distnct (neighbor to theFirs, on of the city where pr ost1tutio n was rife and nobody the official transfer of pr operty in these areas and ali the Cíty Council had to offer. Police and admin the west), they had more than half the pulquerías dared to turn him in to the police. 129 As with the ensured that their developer s prov1ded ali the ser istrative pressures, s1m1lar to those applied against 127 1 2 ere sed to force lower-class neigh of ali the eight districts (484 of a total of 924). southeastern neighborhoods of the Seco nd and vices offered to proprietors. 3 Other a reas. mean ambulantes, w u 133 while, seemed to be ignored. In 1903, for bors to take care of their streets and fac;ades. Ord1- The link of specific a reas with higher crime incidence Fourth D1stricts, statistics do not show a clear d1f nances concerning the exterior part of buildings seems not so clear. To the southeast and south of ference between the crime rates of the northern exarnple, neighbors of colonia de la Bolsa asked for the center, of the cityma,nly within the Second and areas of the city and those of the rest of the capital. pavement and street lighting, but the City Cou ncil exemplify this double standard. In 1901, the C1ty denied their request on the grounds that the part I Council forced neighbors to clean the fac;ades of Fourth Districts, the Belén Jail, La Mer ced market The popular colonias and barrios north, east and their buildings, in order to offer a better image to and Cuauhtemoctzinstreet (an area of prostitution). south of the central city reduced the econom ic via tioning (or fraccionamiento) of the lands had not were the foci of danger. Evidence from published b1lity oí developments targeted at lower-class cus been officially approved. After a politícal struggle foreign visitors attending the Pan-American Con i with the Governor of the Federal District. the City gress. The measure was ali the moreu rgent because stat stics and the Judicial archives, exempl1f 1ed in tomers. New colonias south of downt own became Table 1.3, show an even distributio n of crime housing optio ns ío r working-class families as late Council finally accepted the ne1ghbors' petit1on. many quarters "not far away from the downtown" throughout the city. The data, however, reíers to as the l 920s, thanks to increased population growth although paving was to take time. The inhabitants gave an 1ndecorous view of dust accumulated on 130 the fac;ades. The area of compulsive cleaning was districts where the felony took place. Elite sense of and new mvestments. The per ception of s0C1al of the colonia Obrera were invo lved in a similar d1s- 125. The qu ote irom El Unive rsal 16 Feb. 1917,p l. Mt O ANUARIO DE ESPACIOS URBANOS, HISTORIA, CULTURA Y DISEÑO ISSN digital: 2448-8828 No. 4 enero-diciembre de 1997. ANUARIO DE ESPACIOS URBANOS, HISTORIA, CULTURA Y DISEÑO ISSN digital: 2448-8828 No. 4 enero-diciembre de 1997. 1 06 h11tor o a uroana oablo pIccaio 1 07 g rad u al ly e x ten d e d fr om Buc arel i Ave nue (west of had to take p ers o nal ca r e of t he cleaning , pe rson "With al / r es p ecc, we ihe subscribers , nform y o u rhar we a re pu b l1 c money. For au t h or i t ies and o bserver s like Julio S e sto, it was easy to blame high mortali ty the Alame d a) to the doo rs of the " Palacio Nacio ally and f ines wer e e sta blishe d for non-co mp li - sutfen n g ¡yph us, p neu mo n, a and oc her many d i s ease s v-ose lh 14 0 . . rates o n the dissipa t ion , untidine ss and alcohol nal" , and then t o all th e str eets l eadin g f rom that Th 1· h ' en orcrng exaer name we i gnore be cause we are ignora nt o f rhe sd e n ce a nee. e po ice wer e I n e a rge or f 1 is m of t he Me x ic a n urban poor. 46 L andl o rds wer e downtown a r e a to the railro ad s tatio ns, bec ause these rul es, as they of t en we r e the only inte rme d i of medicine , . . bec aus e o f the harmf u l hygien e p roduc ed 1 37 rarely mentioned as r espon sibl e of t hese situ at o ns. they" are frequent ed b y f oreigners". Cleanlin ess aries between author ities and those rnhabitants of b y the publlc dumps1re ,n whrrh ch e plaza k nown as M1xca lco i As wit h the p rob le m of a lcoh ol consumptíon, i t was not the only goal, a lth ou gh it was the most the city who most suffered the l ack of s anitat1on loc a red in fron r of our h o m e s h a s be com e ; we a re i nv a d ed was easier to dwe ll on cultural e xpl a n a t o ns than exp l icit. B y a fso p ro hi bi t i ng pa in tin gs onthe fac;ad es and urba n serv1ces. by a se rious cacascr ophe o f 11/n es s es rhat a re killing us wich i to i nvest public r eso urces or to th reat en p rívat e of bui l dings "that o bv1ous ly def y g ood taste and rhe elearic viole n c e o f lighcning . ..w e thus ask ro you co So ci al conf l i ct over the us es an d h 1er ar chies of in te r e sts. are pa in te d against ali t he rules of a r t, " the Cit y urban space also dev elope d with regards to publ ic take th e neces s ary me asures ro sa ve u s o f the plague r har is ;,, For city aut hor tie s, thepoi ce wa s the best we a p Counci l wa s c on f ront i n g pulquerías that e mb e l health. T he e l ite s saw the invasion of theirs pace as rhreateni ng u s·. i i 138 on of social reform. From t h e ir pe rspect ive , penal lished the1r exterio rs w1th colorful murals. a th r e at to their h ealt h. Off icial r e a ctr on s wer, t be sanct io ns and pohc e pr essure wer e the me a ns t o Regard1ng street cl ean1ng, the gove rnme n t's t ween repres s ion and neglect. I n 1 901 , the Publi c Although the s ubsc ribers of the l etters were o nl y exclusive concern was only the eleg ant s treets. I n i nterested in s treet c leaning and sanitation, the c ity i nstill o rder and g ood behavior in t he inhabitants Healt h Coun c i l in d icate d that a typh u s e pide mic had government saw th e pr oble m as one of coll ectiv e of t he c i t y, wit hout changing the mat enal co nd1- 1892, a commissio n of t he Ci t y Council d ecid ed origrnat ed in the lowe r-class su b u r b s. According to t1 ons of their lile. A hand written note, at tached to th at a pr ívate proposal to establish a se rv ice of wa the Co unol, th e se z ones c oul d not be sa n itize d beha v 1or . Unable to dir ect enough mun icipal re s ourc es towa rd t he sa n r t a t Ion of marginal areas the papers con c e rnin g the di sc usson of t raf f ic reg te r in g and clean ing the down town area wa s not u nle ss enough pol tce fo rc e was ava1lable to compel i o f t he cit y, hea th au thorities focus ed their reform u lations a t the Cit y Coun c r l 1 n 1904, po rt rays th is wonh the investment , b e cau se that a r e a wa s a l t heir inhabitants to clean up garbage and feces. l 133 attemp ts at c hang1ng the h a bits of thelo we r class fa1th in th e benefici a! act 1o n of purnshme n t. The read y cleaner th a n the r e st. B y 1917, the class Re source s, concluded t he Co uncil, wer e 1nsuffioent e s. Doc t ors denounced and p ro hi brted pract ces au thor of the n ote , pr ob ab ly a counc 1! member, d 1- b rased a t t1tude of a uthorittes toward str eet cleaning to attend l O both the city 's suburbs and dow n I 1 41 which t hey consid ered u nh e alth y v ided pedes tr ans between " cult v a te d pe r sons" and had not chan g ed : Gover n or Cé sa r L ópez de Lar a town . , like sp it t ing . I n i i "idem illite r a te." The f irst g roup wa s to be taug ht or d e red a li neig hb or s li vi ng in s t one-paved meet s T he poor, however, we r e aware both of d an g er 1902, the Public He alth Coun c il req ues ted the Cit y about traffic r ule s throu g h n ewspap er ad vertise t o swe e p t wi ce daily, in ord e r to put an end to th e and d 1se ase , and of the need to publ ic l y challenge Coun c il to insta l l spittoons in all p ublic bui l di ngs, men t s and s1gns, t he second, by "InsIstent warn accumulation of dust a n d g arbag e and " th e un the autho ri ties ' u se of reso urces. In 1901, ne ig h in or d e r t o p revent the spread of tuberculosis, 1 43 t idiness of almost ali pa v e d str eets of the cap ital." wh1 ch the pr e vio us year had k1lled 2,01 3 people. in g s, r e primand s, co ns tant ad mon ishment b y the b ors of t h e F1rst and Seco n d D1stncts comp lained 1 47 police and penal sanction". The order di d not concer n paved s t reet s loca te d in to t he Council that neglect at t he Plaz uela of Mi x lnhabitants of t e ne me nt ho us es we r e ad vised to ' A though Porf r a n authorit es devo t ed a large the d owntown a r e a b e cau se t he ci ; y to o k care of c a l c o was t he c a use of increasing mort ality a mon g d efeca te in ' por ta bl e bucket s , " which woul d be l i i i pe rcemag e of th e c1ty' s b u d g e t to pol icrng, it is not them. Excep t f or t hese, ever yon e e lse i n t he city t hem: provided and col lected every night b y authorities. However, in 1907 the service was st1II not rel iable cle ar that th e c a pita l was safe r b y th e end of the 1 in areas suc h as Tacubaya. 44 Authorities n ote d t h at the lack of c l osed s ewage, running wate r and gar memoer of !he C ouncll. and h,s s ubse quent n¡,edto n e9otIate v�t nthe 1 39. Migu el Ve ga y Ve ra 10 the CrtyC ounol. 2 Feb. 1892 AHA, Pohcia 4 b ag e collectio n had c aused poor health cond 1t1ons Governor , see Garda Cuba,. E/ libr o demiHe<:11en;/os, 1• 6 F orthe 19ü3 en Ge n er al 36 3 9, 1 01 4 Sev eral fr uwat edcom r am u p ,o ; 889 sh o w , 1•2. T wen,y S e.en s ignat ur es to Publ1c He alth Counc,I , 13 Apr. 190 1, r�f or m a n d 1t s co nse-quen ces,see !.NA, P o�da en genera·, 3645, 1701 the reruct an ANUARIO DE ESPACIOS URBANOS, HISTORIA, CULTURA Y DISEÑO ISSN digital: 2448-8828 No. 4 enero-diciembre de 1997. ANUARIO DE ESPACIOS URBANOS, HISTORIA, CULTURA Y DISEÑO ISSN digital: 2448-8828 No. 4 enero-diciembre de 1997. 10 8 o , s 1 � r i a J r l! a n a o , b I o p , , e a I o 109 . ;4g Po rf mato . lt was e1 ear, nev erth eles s , that gen- One final e xample shows t he limits of of f1c 1a l dar me s (as policemen had been cal le d sin c e the late pol icies in sh a ping th e way people us ed the oty. Th e ,aneo us ly. In 1893, after pro tes ts , city a uth oritie s of st reet s, instead of the tradit1ona l use wher e 154 l 870s ) we re th e most noticeab le rep resen tatives of debat e over the stre e t nomenclat ure proved t h e re r e turn e d th e s i gns wi th th e ol d n a me s ba ck t o thei r by each block had a diffe rent name. aut honty In ever y day hfe. P olice forces nu mbered luctance o f the majo rity of the inhabi tams to p as pla c e s, but did n ot el iminate the n ew names which City dwellers d1 d no t think oíit as a c ent ral ized a r ound 3,00 0 men and th e1 r p r e se nc e was v isibl e space, but as a gro up of Thus , the exch a n g sively acc ept e li te projects a bo ut th e organizat io n of r e mained as "offi oal. " The result wa s t hat s t r eet s rumbos. day and night in a l l in tersec tion s whe re police lan i es and move me n t s t hat fr om the e l it e' s p erspecti ve , t h e cty, and the ne e d fo r authorit ies to negotia t e a had two na mes, in most cases the old one b e 1n g terns p laced on the corn ers íor me d l ong lines and compr omise con ce r n in g urban moderni z ation. In u se d on a d ai ly bas is , the n ew one on offi c1 al do cu co nstitu t ed an "i nv as1on" o f r espec ta bl e areas, f r om mar k ed the a reas und er vigilance. Ge nda r me s were 18 8 8 the C,ty Coun c 1I d ec1d e d to cha n ge a ll str eet ment s . Th e r ea c tion to t he re form vaned: In recen t the pe rspe ctiv e of th e urba n peor were s1mply mov t he key to maintain offi c1al control o f the city. They name s, e stab lish1ng "a nomenclature that be i n har i ng fr om on e to a n o ther . S uch mov emen t , l y estab lished Coloni as Sa n Rafael , Sa n ta María a n d ru mb o that closed on sa w pulquer í as t ime and t hat neigh mony wi th the adva n ces o f the po pul a tio n. " lt was Guerr er o th e new name s stuc k , a l be i t temporarily, In th eir view, res po n ded to immedia t e subsis t e nce bo rs c leaned their streets. They we re also in c h a r g e a rgued that the exis ti ng style (that in mos t cas e s ga ve becau se peopl e st arted usIng them. In ev e n newer and s ocia bili ty factors, and was n ot charged with of mai ntain ing (or t rying to ma 1nta in ) pr í v a t e prac one name to each b lock) wa s "irr at ional ... ab su r d" th e th rea t of social d isor d e r tha t el it es sa w In t. Co lo n ias, l ik e del Paseo , ne 1 ghb ors resisted the nu i tice s out o f pu b lic s pa ce s . Amo ng t he duties of the and p rovo k ed the hi larity o f foreign vi s itors . Obse r v meral syst em, a nd pre ferr e d t o use names of the i r B y n a ming and wa l kin g th e c i t y in thei r own gen da rme wa s t o preve n t p eople from washi ng ers a r gu e d t hat sorne n am es, such as Tu mba bu r r os, own choosing. I n Condesa a n d Ro ma, the way, people underm1 ned them o de of r ational o r co lo n ias i l "cloth es, d i she s, bu cke ts and other things at p ipes 151 el T o mepate, la Te comarañ a, we re "ridiculous". a x is for the nu mb ers wa s the Pase o de la Reforma, der devised by Po r f ria n urbani s ts . J u d ici al n ar ra an d di tches , str e e ts and p u b lic fountai ns," and to ti ve s attest to the meande ring wa l kin g tha t T he propose d s ys te m d ivided the cit y alor;itw g o a x e s i ns t ead o f t hat es t ablish e d in 1888. Accord in g to ma ke s ure t hat artisa n s did not perform their trad e th at cr ossed o ne block east of the Alame d a, i dent i Roberto Gayo! , defend er o f the new sy stem , th e prec eded t h e c o mmit t al o í crimes. Leopo ld o Villar 1 49 on the st reets. The p oiice were also bus y arre st gave the po i ce a deta il ed descript ion of his move fyi ng the st reets by a nu mb e r and a c a r dina l po int . 1888 re for m did not succe e d be cau se it lacked po i Ing co up les "fo r havi ng interc ourse on t he s treets," But the project soon pr ov ok ed th e opposition of v ar l itica l suppo r t an d b e cau se, i n a number of new ment s the d ay he wa s arrested for th eít: in the 1 and pickin g up sleeping d r u n kar ds. s o Thus, wh ile morning, he we n t from his home in Ma la ga street io u s gro up s . T he axes, a r gued crit i cs at the City Co un c olonia s, neighbors had been grante d the de f a cto mo st worki ng-class neighborhoods lacked enough to the Ho tel Regís, to wa it for a pe rson who d 1d cil, did not c o r res pond with the middl e of the city ri ght t o n a me t h e stree ts as th ey p le ase d, with no . . 153 p olice pr ote ction, the ener gy of gendarmes was because of it s a sy mmetrica l g ro wth and beca use, a ppa ren t In ter ven tIon f rom t th cI y au on· 11es. not s how up. He f ound hi s fr i end Emil io Ve r a i n directed at prot ecting t he lo o ks of el ega n t stre ets ra th e r th a n a ge ometri c al point, "in the mind of al i People continued to use th e ol d n a mes be stead, and they went to the Cin e San Ra fa el. Al en forci ng offic ial cod es o f urbanity. T his us e of and i nhabi t ants " the do wntown of the city was "a cer ca u se th e y made mo re se nse and corres ponded ter the mo vie, they wal ked b y the Legis l at 1ve Palace t h e police f or "ci vil1z ing" purposes generat ed ta in zone tha t now extends from the Alameda to with the ir way of vi ewing the ci ty: a group of and, whe n Le opoldo wa s defecati ng near a con among t he urban poor a c lear sense that t he t h e P laza de l a Const it ución". 1 52 str u cti on si te, E milio fo und (he c laimed) the wh eel ru mbos, or "direc t io ns" associ ated wi th impor "crimes" pro sec uted by aut horitie s wer e differ e n t When the changes we re enacted they p rovo ked tant bui l di ngs or other u r ba n markers, r ather they we r e accu se d of s t eali ng. T h ey wa lke d to acco rdi ng to th e socia l b ac kground of the su spe ct. conf usi o n. Pe o p le used both n omencl a tures s1 mul- than a dia gra m. According t o councilman Alber ward S an Rafael Avenue, four blocks, and found to Be s t , pe ople kn ew the c ity well e nough to s orne friends, with whom t h ey we n t to L as Art es make the numerical s yste m unne ce ssar y: " each St reet, and t hen L eop o l do we nt to Mr. Arellano's i ndividual holds in hi s mind a numb e r of streets house, i n the sixth blo ck of Migu el María Con tr that I s enough for his busines s and oc c u pat ion s, eras, where he wa s arrest ed and then t aken, at 1 48. That i s the c ond us•o n cf Laurence John Roh lfe s "Folo ce and Fe n a , l de Cos lo , Memori a que p rese n ra . append1x , 7 6 7 T h e use o f pol ice me n 155 r rection on Me xi ANUARIO DE ESPACIOS URBANOS, HISTORIA, CULTURA Y DISEÑO ISSN digital: 2448-8828 No. 4 enero-diciembre de 1997. ANUARIO DE ESPACIOS URBANOS, HISTORIA, CULTURA Y DISEÑO ISSN digital: 2448-8828 No. 4 enero-diciembre de 1997. 110 hi st or ia urba na pablo pIccaI0 111 across the ciry, hanging around with friends and the brewer y "La Coronita." where he had said he Conclusions to respect private interests. The profits created by looking for income. His disorderly use of the city work, but the owner told her that Barrios did not real estate development and the pulque 1ndustry 156 made him a suspect. Mexico City's particular brand of moder n1 zation was overrode the goals of social reform. lt was easier work there any more, because "he is usually lost [se When forced to give an address, people used ha vuelto muy perdido]; sometimes he comes by here characterized by a permanent negotia!lón between and cheaper to purnsh deviant behav1ors and to vague references to locate their place In the city. and [the owner] gives hirn the messages from his the ideal oty and the everyday city. Although most restnct the urban poor to the sociallym arginal ar Nineteen percent of those arrested in the 1917- 158 of the problems and policies described in th s essay eas of the capital. For the urban poor, on the other mother but he does not pay attention to them" . i 1918 campaign against "rateros" declared to have had old antecedents in Mexco C ty's history (and hand. JU5tice could not be expected from above. The case of Josefina illustrates th e ambi valent i i no address, while others simply referred to a rum effect of urban policies when applied on th e poor many remain still w be solved). the uniqueness of They had to silently and constantly disregard regu bo (e.g., "la Ladrillera," for a brick making facili er groups oí Mexico City's society. Inspector Caufield the late Porfiriato and early post-revolution resi des lations in arder to survive in the city. 157 ty). The lack of precis,on in the use of street in the clear confrontation between an authoritar tri ed to ascertain Josefina's place in the city. But i names and addresses was also a way to evade the Josefina and her son Lui s kept on changing names an regime and a populaton which refused to ac i i action of authorities. The case of Josef na Ayala il and addresses. Josefina had probably undergone cept the elite's divisions of the urban space and lustrates this tactic. She was arrested for beggi ng the same humiliating experience of Candelaria norms of public behavior. Gover nments developed in October 1930. Social wor kers of the Departa García, arrested in the same campaign: her clothes extensive projects to re-shape urban geography and, mento de Beneficencia had to evaluate her ability were burned. her head was shaved. she was sprayed as a co nsequence. the behavior of the subordinate to live by herself or be sustained by her family, but with disinfectant, and was forced to wear an asy- groups. But such projects were undermined by de · she did not help them, perhaps fearing that she or 159 mographic growth and technological changes. Sev 1u m unIrorm.., Th e purpose o f t h e campa Ign was other members of her family might be punished to identify those who were nota ble to sus tain them era! factors. 5Uch as the development of the further. She advised her son, Luis Barrios, not to selves through work. or whose families had desert tramway network. the emergence of marginal co use her name when visiti ng her in jail, but to ask ed them , and place them under the protection of lonias and the increase of population density around instead for Isabel Gómez (who was a friend of Jo the downtown area, mod1fied the lower-classes' use the state. The intention of social wor kers as Cauf1eld sefina, who was also in prison), so he would not of urban spac e. Besieged by unemp oyment, dis might have been to help Josefina but the urban l Abbreviations also be detained for questioning. The social work poor could only perceive this campaign (and other ease, and lacking water and appropnate housing, ers who went to check the two addresses she had the urban poor 1nvaded the respectabie city, de public policies toward the urban poor) as an ill-dis Ac,, av: AfcnIvo General de la Nwón. Fondo P,e srdente Fr ancJSc o provided, found out that the first one did not exist spite the fact that the po:ice constantly reminded guised aggression. Pressed by official harassment l. 11adero, Mexico Ci -¡y. and that in the second address nobody knew her. and by the economic hards hip that forced Josefina them about the social divisions of the capital. ,e,, �'• Archivo Ger,eralde la Naoón, Fondo Gober naoón Pe riodo Looking for Barrios, social worker Concepción to beg, the urban poor chose to use the city in their Thus, the dispute about the use of the city be Re voiuoonano, 'vlexJCo C1ty. AG•, •�: Archivo Ge ,er al de la Naoón. Fondo Preside nte Portes Grl, Caufield went to yet another address that he had own way. crossing the boundaries that were sup carnea matter of crime and punishment. Many ev MexCO City. provided when finally quest,oned, but that one did posed to organize society and avoiding any con eryday practices of the population became · Ac, POc : Archvo Generalde la Nac ón, Fondo Pr es oentes Obregón not exist either. Caufield asked for Josefina's son at tact with authonties. "criminal" in the eyes of the elites and public offi i i r Cal es. MeXl{O Cit y. cials. Lower-class neighborhoods were 1dentified as AG,, s,: Archvo Gen eralde la Nac ón. Fondo Secretaría oe Jus11c a, zones of danger and disease. City authorities placed i i 1 Mexic o City the poiice in charge of punishing the behaviors that ••A: Archi vo H1stór 1co de l Antiguo Ayun tamiento, Mexico CIiy. 156. Mchel de Ce r1eau prnposedthat walkin g the stree1swa s in itself a challenged their idea of urban modernization. Other 1 158. os efina w·asfi na!l y re ease-d after tourmonths 1n prison , l.SSA, Fondo vo de l Tribunal Superiorde Jusuc ,a de Distrito ºeder al, J l •.. As : Archi l "speech acr." an as seruon of muttrpfe alte rn ative class f1cat1ons and uses Benet1cenoa Púbica. Seco6n Asstencia, 6, 3 Fo, a si milar case oian official ettorts, such as the ex{ension of sanitaton i i Redusori o Sur. of the urban spac ethat challenge "panopt,c powe r.• M,c hel deCMeau, add res s that did not exi,i, b1d.. 6. 29. 1 and the control of alcohol consumption, were lim A'D: Archivo Porfir o Díaz, Unve fSEdad Iberoame ric ana, MeJ ANUARIO DE ESPACIOS URBANOS, HISTORIA, CULTURA Y DISEÑO ISSN digital: 2448-8828 No. 4 enero-diciembre de 1997. ANUARIO DE ESPACIOS URBANOS, HISTORIA, CULTURA Y DISEÑO ISSN digital: 2448-8828 No. 4 enero-diciembre de 1997. o a i> 1 o p , e e a t o 113 112 h , s , o r , a u r b a n a Ta ble 1 .3. Ta ble 1.1. Population of Mexico City, Federal District, Arrests in 1900 by District of committal state capitals and Estados Unidos Mexicanos District Arrests Per 100,000 inhabitants Year Mexico Federal State National Mexico City City District capitals• population as % of total Total 20,120 5,454.08 No address 2,052 1895 329,774 474,860 732,047 12,632.427 2.61% 1 District 2,735 4,643.54 1900 344,721 541,516 774,233 13,607,272 2.53% 11 District 3,917 5,541.88 1910 471 ,066 720,753 923,755 15,160,369 3.11 % 111 D1strict 2,355 3,787.09 1921 61 5,327 906,063 926,475 14,334,780 4.29% IV District 2,260 4,941 .19 1930 1,029,068 122,9576 1,159,224 16,552,722 6.22% V D1strict 2,337 4,965.47 1940 1,802,679 1,757,530 1,431,007 19,652,552 9.17% VI District 2,813 6,977.03 VII Distnct 871 3,357.88 -- ... lnc:l udes c1t1es e: Aguas-ea1ente-s, Cfuaad VIaona. Colima, Cuernavaca, Culiaca."I. Chrhuahua. Ch1loancingo, Du ang:J, GuadalaJara, Guana¡ uam, VIII District 780 4, 315.59 Her-nosdo, La Paz. Ménda, Monterrey, Morelia, Oaxaca. Pachuca, Puebla. Queréwo. Sao Luis Potosí, Tlaxcala, Tol uca, Tuxtf.i Gutlérrez. Veracruz. V1 !ahermosa 1 1 source· Cuadros estadísticos e informe del Procuradorde Justicia, Censo Gener al de la República Source Estadísticas n.isróri<.as de México, vo 1 (México, ,;e, 1994), based on i1gures of n.at,ona census 1900 (Mexco c,ty. La Eurooeil, 1903): Mex,cana ' • 1 l 28 ,�rif,ci>do el de octubre de t 900 (Mexi co City; Secretaria de Fomento. 1901·1907). Mexico City Ta ble 1.2. Colonias, Barrios, Police Districts lndex of the population growth of Mexico City, and Sites Mentioned Federal District, state capitals and Mexico, 1895=100 References: 1. Zócalo 2. Nati onal Palace 3. Cathed,al Year Mexico City Federal District State capitals National population □ 4. City Counci l 1895 100 100 100 100 S. La Merced Market 1900 105 114 106 108 6. Plaza Mixcalco 7. Plaza Tepito 1910 143 152 126 120 o 8. Lagunilla Market 9. Aameda 1921 187 191 127 113 l 2 1 O. Juárez Avenue 1930 312 259 158 131 1 1. Reforma Avenue 12. Belem tail 1940 547 370 195 156 fil] 13. Jamaica Market 14. Cent/al Railroad Stati on 15. Penitenuary Souice· Taole 1 1 16. Bucareli Avenue 17. Plaza de las Vizcaínas 18. Chapul tepec Castle ANUARIO DE ESPACIOS URBANOS, HISTORIA, CULTURA Y DISEÑO ISSN digital: 2448-8828 No. 4 enero-diciembre de 1997. ANUARIO DE ESPACIOS URBANOS, HISTORIA, CULTURA Y DISEÑO ISSN digital: 2448-8828 No. 4 enero-diciembre de 1997. h me n t of s t aMory rape ba sed on wom en's. ,. mmat ur e udgement,.. u se of th e st re e ts. We can n ot d is reg ard the t e nsion rio r e st 1 9 l : i l i i j i i mat e d t hat 272 new cells we r e necessa ry. Ef!011S t oRegulate P ubhc B e haVlOf, 1821 -1 9 10 " B e ezley et al , eds .• R m, als see Amonio Ma rt nez de Ca s tro, Códígo Pena l para el Disrnro Fede ral y b etween the h e rarchical a nd r igid map o f t he cap o f Rule: 11S-1 26 . Territorio de laBa ja Ca lifornia so bre de.'irde os l fv e ro c o mun y pa r a c o da ital (imagined by the P orfirian elites) a nd t he am 15. L a Tr ibuna(16 oct. 1912). f or a s,m 'a r camoa9n ,n 189 3, see Lear. ta R epública M�xk attasobr e de.fitos c ontra le Feder a c,ón. Edi ci ón correcta. i I biguo us, o ften n ot a rti cu la ted, horizor¡t al view of 1 7. . ., •.,, 453723 F or an e,am pl e of a parernalst ic upp er-cla s s Mexican "Wo rker s, Ve cino s an d C t1 zens ·. 5 1, SS sacada de la o f ic ia l, prece did a de la Exp osición de mor,vos dirigida a l , 1 ex tend ed fam1ly' s use o f large hous es n the Paseo de la Refo·ma, se e 16 . T h e ,es1rie 1oon of w om e n\ ro e to domest,c spheres wa s by nome an, Su p rem o G obi ern o po r el C. Lic Pres. tdentede la comisión ':nca rg a da de t ho se who liv ed, work ed a nd led their s oci al lives i t ulñl led. Amo n g 1ne m,d dedas� wo men werer EstnC1ed I n t heirab1h ty f o rm a r e Código l;vera c ruz and Puebla· La llus 1ra oón, 1891) , 62. 5 3 . Ad ler Lo mnrtz a nd Pé re z Uzaur, Ufld famift a de l a éfitemex1�ana. 82 l - . l on th e str e e ts. Befo re looking into that tension, 1 8. .,,., Pol,c fa en G eneral, 3644, 1 6 9 1 . to repr=m 1he fa rn lly,n publ l c set ngs. but they h ao greater 1n f u e n ce t I l ho we ve r, 1 w1II examine the fa ctors t hat p rev en ted 0 19 . "Sobre el nú meco y d ase d e presos que d ebe a l oja r la en1 t enc1 arra