Mexico City was called Federal District until 2015. Since then it became the state number thirty-two of the Mexican Republic, in spite of being a city. Its evolution from district to state can be understood as an administrative decision, as well as the consequence of a more profound transformation in its urban structure, from a circle to a “stain.” In 1824, when it was called “district” for the first time, the city still had Lake Texcoco by its side, a salty water mirror on its eastern edge. The surrounding municipalities kept their distance, giving it enough space to be a city and at the same time the territory that reflected, concentrated, and represented all the national powers. Around its center—a square built right on top of Tenochtitlan—the government buildings were organized in a harmonious spiral, creating a unit which stretched out homogeneously outwards, in emulation of the cities in old Spain. [...]
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