Cuauhtémoc, Mexico City, Mexico

Economy

🇲🇽 Cuauhtémoc, named after the former Aztec leader, is a borough (demarcación territorial) of Mexico City. It contains the oldest parts of the entity, extending over what was the entire urban core in the 1920s. Cuauhtémoc is the historic and cultural centre of the entity, although it is not the geographical centre. While it ranks only sixth in population, it generates about a third of the entire entity's GDP, mostly through commerce and services. It is home to the Mexican Stock Exchange, the important tourist attractions of the historic centre and Zona Rosa, and various skyscrapers such as the Torre Mayor and the Mexican headquarters of HSBC. It also contains numerous museums, libraries, government offices, markets and other commercial centres which can bring in as many as 5 million people each day to work, shop or visit cultural sites.

This area has had problems with urban decay, especially in the historic center. Efforts to revitalize the historic centre and some other areas have been ongoing since the 1990s, by both government and private entities. Such efforts have resulted in better public parks, such as the Alameda Central, which was renovated; the modification of streets such as 16 de Septiembre and Madero that have become exclusive for pedestrians.

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Economy Cuauhtémoc alone accounts for 35.1% of Mexico City's entire GDP, and by itself, has the seventh largest economy in Mexico. Most of the borough's economy is based on commerce (52.2%), followed by services (39.4%). The borough is home to a large number of federal and city government buildings, especially in the historic centre, Colonia Tabacalera and Colonia Doctores.

Paseo de la Reforma, especially the section which divides Colonia Juárez from Colonia Cuauhtémoc, is the most modern and constantly developing part of the borough. It is home to the Mexican Stock Exchange, the headquarters of HSBC in Mexico and Mexico City's tallest skyscrapers, Torre Reforma, Chapultepec Uno, Torre BBVA México and Torre Mayor.

Construction of office buildings and high rise apartments continue in the area, causing it to become a distinctive neighborhood of its own: the high-rises that face the avenue are very distinct from the older ones behind them, mostly used for more traditional housing and small businesses. One of the newest major projects in the mid-2000s was Reforma 222, two towers combining office space with residential units.

In the rest of the borough, commerce is more traditional with numerous public markets, informal markets called tianguis and street peddling. Public markets are buildings constructed and maintained by a city or municipal government, which rents stands to private vendors. The largest is La Lagunilla Market, with nearly 2,000 vendors divided among three large warehouse type buildings. It is known for its large furniture and shoe market but most of the vendors sell food and everyday items. Designed to "modernize" the tradition of tianguis or street markets, some were even promoted through art, such as the Abelardo L. Rodriguez Market. Tianguis still survive and can be found in most parts of the borough as well as in much of the rest of Mexico. In the borough, the best known tianguis is located in Tepito in which 12,000 people do business on the streets.

Tourism plays a major role in the borough's economy. It contains some of the best-known landmarks of Mexico City, so it has become the most visited area of the city by tourists. The most popular areas are the historic centre, Alameda Central/Bellas Artes, Reforma, and Zona Rosa. The borough also has the most developed hotel infrastructure, with 389 hotels out of the 6,464 in the city. About half of all four and five-star hotels are located here.

Government is also one of the main employers: the National Government Palace, the Senate of the Republic and Mexico City administrative buildings are located in the borough. Within Cuauhtémoc, Aeroméxico and HSBC Mexico have their headquarters in Colonia Cuauhtémoc. Cablemás and Magnicharters have their headquarters in Colonia Juárez.

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Centro Histórico, Centro, Mexico City, CDMX, Mexico 
Centro Histórico, Centro, Mexico City, CDMX, Mexico
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