The first two times I visited Mexico City, it was known as el defe , or the DF. The third time, which was only about one year later, it was completely rebranded. The DF was now known as CDMX, and everything from those fancy letter signs to pink and white taxis were there to remind you.
There were no guides to the sprawling mass back and it’s alcadías back then, and much of Mexico City still remains a mystery to visitors today. The transformation of Distrito Federal, the nearly 200-year nomenclature for Mexico’s brilliant capital, into CDMX was a move made by Mayor Mancera for several reasons. Politically, it gave the city more autonomy from the Federal Government, preventing overreach such as that of Vincente Fox, who removed Marcelo Ebrard, Secretary of Public Security, from office after an incident that resulted in the death of two police officers.
Fox did so without properly consulting the city’s head of government, which was AMLO at the time. The new name also served as a marketing move. Bloomberg Associates worked with then-Mayor Mancera and the Tourism Development Fund to showcase Mexico City as one of the world’s leading destinations, using its influence to post the capital at the top of the New York Times’ 52 Places to Visit list in 2016.
Maybe it’s not on top of the Times list today, but it’s still brimming with tourists and positively overflowing with expats, many of whom don’t really know the city outside of five major colonias : Condesa, Roma, Ju.
