Brief History Of Juarez
Prior to the arrival of Spanish missionaries in the late 1500s, there is virtually no recorded history of the Juarez area. Indians had lived in the valley along the Rio Grande for hundreds of years. What is now the Juarez/El Paso area was a logical place for them to visit and settle because of the river and the natural pass through the mountains, which gave the area its original name, Paso del Norte - the Pass of the North.
Spaniard Don Juan de Onate came to the area in 1598. He and his group had traveled north from what's now Mexico City along the path that was to become the primary road of commerce for the next two years - The Camino Real. In the area, they found two groups of Indians, the Sumas and the Mansos.
Until later in the 17th century, there was no real permanent settlement built in the area. During this time, the Rio Grande was often a raging river. In fact, with no bridges to cross over, travelers were often forced to wait for months for the waters to subside enough to allow crossing.
In 1659, Fray Garcia de San Francisco y Zuniga began construction of a mission church to serve the Mansos Indiands. In 1668, the structur was completed and the town, with a population of more than a thousand people, began its slow development. This church still stands today just a few blocks from the City Market in downtown Juarez.
In 1680, the Pueblo Indians living in what's now known as Santa Fe, New Mexico, revolted, sending 2000 Spanish and Indian refugees south towards Paso del Norte. When they arrived in October 1680, they doubled the population of the town. To accomodate this influx of people, three more towns were built along a 12 mile stretch on the south side of the river.
Paso del Norte grew slowly in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was mostly a stopover point for north-south travelers and later, east-west travelers.
In 1865, with the French forces in control of Mexico City, Benito Juarez, the elected president of Mexico, fled north to Paso del Norte. The city served as the capital of Juarez's Mexico government until June 1866, when the French were driven from the country. Not long after returning to Mexico City, Juarez decreed that a railroad be built from Paso del Norte to the state of Sonora. In 1888, the name of the city was changed to Ciudad Juarez (The City of Juarez) to honor their most-beloved hero.
Much of the fighting of the Mexican Revolution took place in Cd. Juarez in 1911. Francisco Madero, Pascual Orozco, and Francisco "Pancho" Villa were reluctant partners in leading the revolution - each with their own motives, strategies, and plans. On May 21st, 1911, a peace treaty was signed in the Customs House Building, which is now a museum, and it was also the provisional capital of the revolutionary forces.
Prohibition (the banning of alcholor production, sales, and consumption) in the United States in 1920 brought a new boom to Juarez. The city became a center for entertainment for El Paso and the entire southwestern US. Restaurants, nightclubs, gambling establishments, a racetrack, along with those businesses less respectable, flourished. A streetcar system connecting El Paso and Juarez was built by the El Paso Electric Company, charging a fare of only 6¢. This was the time when Juarez developed a reputation for everything from fine restaurants to illicit entertainment. Much of this reputation continues today - some true and some not. While Americans went to Juarez for entertainment, Juarenses went to El Paso to shop during this period. This continues today.
During the 1930s and 1940s the economic fortunes of Juarez rose and fell with the US. The end of Prohibition reduced tourism in Juarez and the depression slowed the economy of both El Paso and Juarez. World War II brought a new boom to Juarez as the general economy improved and huge influx of US servicement to Fort Bliss frequented Juarez entertainment centers. In the 1950s, Cd. Juarez grew rapidly. Its population reached 122,598 people and commerce and tourism became the principle economic activities in the region. The agricultural activity started suffering and nearly disappeared.
In the 1960s, Juarez suffered huge unemployment caused by this agricultural crisis, the end of the international wars and the end of the bracero program by the US Government. A group of border businessmen proposed to the Mexican Federal Government the creation of a program that permitted foreign companies to manufacture in Mexico's border cityies without being taxed custom duties for the machinery and materials brought in for their production processes. The US custom department only taxed aggrivated value acquired by the product during its stay in Mexico. This in-bond manufacturing program was later known as the Maquiladora Industry.
In 1967, Mexican President Gustavo Diaz Ordaz and US President Lyndon B. Johnson met in El Paso and Juarez to official transfer Mexican lands that had become part of the US when the Rio Grande changed course during flooding. This land is now identified as the Chamizal Parks in Juarez and El Paso. The Rio Grande now passes through Juarez and El Paso in a man-made canal so it can't change its course and alter the international border.
In the 1970s, the maquiladora industry presented a partial solution to Juarez's unemployment problem and the inflation and economic crisis of this decade regulated the population growth. In the 1980s, the maquiladora industry was fully incorporated to the regions economical activity and led to a large population growth. The maquiladora industry also helped consolidate the commerce and service sector as an alternate form of employment.
In the 1990s, Cd. Juarez is over 1,000,000 people and has absorbed most of the communities of the Municipio of Juarez. Cd. Juarez is working to integrate the border region, thus creating economical growth.