Ciudad Juárez History

History

In 1598, Conquistador Don Juan de Oñate, known for his cruelty to the indigenous populations, forded the Río Bravo here during his official expedition to colonize New Mexico. The crossing point he found became a vital stop on the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro (Royal Road of the Interior), a 2560km trade route from Mexico City to Santa Fe, New Mexico.

The Guadalupe Mission was founded in El Paso del Norte (as Juárez was then known) in 1659, and eventually a thriving Wild West town grew up around it. The name was changed in 1888 to honor President Benito Juárez who had fought the French occupation from here in 1865 and 1866.

In May 1911, during the Mexican Revolution, Pancho Villa stormed the town, forcing the resignation of the dictator Porfirio Díaz. After the 1913 coup against President Francisco Madero, Villa sought refuge in El Paso before crossing the river again with a handful of followers to begin another conquest of Mexico. Within months, he had recruited an army of thousands, known as La División del Norte, and in November he conquered Juárez for a second time.

The Revolution devastated the Mexican economy, but Juárez began its boom years around this time thanks to the USA’s Prohibition era (1920–33). Thirsty Americans came from far and wide to enjoy Juárez’ lively entertainment, both illicit and classy, and even when beer came back many Americans continued to live it up south of the border.

A second economic boom came after the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) in the mid-1990s as US manufacturers took advantage of low-cost labor in Mexico. The new jobs brought thousands of new people from across Mexico to work in the 400 maquiladoras. (Today only 40% of Juárez’ residents were born here.) But the success hasn’t spread evenly, and there are massive slums on the outskirts.

Juárez’ most recent history has been rather inglorious. The city is a key transit point for illicit drugs entering the US, and there has been considerable violence between rival gangs. More disturbing are the deaths and disappearances of hundreds of young local women, many of them raped and tortured, since 1993. Dubbed the ‘feminicides, ’ the murders initially gained little attention from the local authorities or the media, and many critics have denounced both local and national authorities for their indifference and perhaps even culpability. Thankfully, the rate of incidences have declined significantly in recent years. Travelers should simply take the same precautions they would in any town.