Mexico is made of an ensemble of states with relative autonomy, granted by a federal government. Each state has its own constitution and jurisdiction. The political map of the country represents the states as clearly demarcated areas. At the nation’s center there is, however, an exception to this organized political geography: a state embedded in another one like a stain of sorts. Bearing the name of the country, the state of Mexico shelters another state inside it: Mexico City, the city-state, the megalopolis, the capital. Seen from the metropolis, the state of Mexico is a surrounding ring, a belt, a margin of sorts. With an exponential growth over the last decades, the capital has overflown this belt, making it dense, overpopulated, and forcefully urbanized by the demands of an unstoppably growing population. The border areas between city and state have become indistinguishable and confusing, especially in the explosion of the urban center towards the geographical north. [...]
State Of Mexico
in ENCYCLOPEDIA