page_title: Mexicali
section_title: 20th century
hierarchical_section_title: Mexicali / History / 20th century
caption_attribution_description: English: “Same land, different politics. The US–Mexican border, seen from space.” Caption by astronaut Chris Hadfield aboard the International Space Station. Visible is the Calexico–Mexicali metropolitan area and the city of El Centro to the north. Español: «Misma tierra, distintas políticas. La frontera entre los EE.&#160;UU. y México, vista desde el espacio». Leyenda provista por el astronauta Chris Hadfield durante su estadía en la Estación Espacial Internacional. Pueden observarse el área metropolitana de Calexico y Mexicali y, al norte, la ciudad de El Centro.
context_page_description: Mexicali is the capital city of the Mexican state of Baja California and seat of the Municipality of Mexicali. The City of Mexicali has a population of 689,775, according to the 2010 census, while the population of the entire metropolitan area reaches 996,826; making the city and metropolitan area the second most populous in Baja California.
  The city maintains a highly educated and skilled population, as it has modernized and become an important population center in the desert region.
  Mexicali's economy has been historically based on agricultural products, and they remain a large sector of the economy. However, its economy has gradually gone from being agricultural to include industry, mainly maquiladoras—duty-free factories in which parts from the United States are imported, assembled, and then returned to the United States as finished products. International companies including Honeywell, GKN Aerospace, Kellogg's, Gulfstream, UTC Aerospace Systems, SunPower, Rockwell Collins, LG Electronics, National Oilwell Varco, Mitsubishi, Autolite, Nestlé, Coca-Cola, Robert Bosch, and Goodrich Corporation have built maquiladora plants in the city.
context_section_description: In 1900, the U.S.-based California Development Company received permission from the government of Díaz to cut a canal through the delta's Arroyo Alamo, to link the dry basin with the Colorado River. To attract farmers to the area, the developers named it the "Imperial Valley". In 1903, the first 500 farmers arrived; by late 1904, 405 km² (100,000 acres) of valley were irrigated, with 10,000 people settled on the land harvesting cotton, fruits, and vegetables. The concentration of small housing units that straddled the border was called Calexico on the U.S. side and Mexicali on the Mexican side. Led by Los Angeles Times publisher Harry Chandler, one company controlled 800,000 hectares of land in northern Baja California by 1905, and began to build the irrigation system for the Valley. However, instead of using Mexican labor to dig the ditches, Chandler brought in thousands of Chinese laborers.  Mexicali became culturally Chinese influenced.
  The Mexican side was named Mexicali (a portmanteau composed of "Mexico" and "California") by Coronel Agustín Sanguinéz. Initially the area belonged to the municipality of Ensenada. The town of Mexicali was officially created on 14 March 1903 when Manuel Vizcarra was named as the town's first authority and Assistant Judge (juez auxiliar). On January 29, 1911, Mexicali was briefly "liberated" by the Liberal Party of Mexico during the Mexican Revolution. Mayor Baltazar Aviléz declared the municipality of Mexicali on November 4, 1914 and called for elections to creation of the first ayuntamiento or municipality, which was then headed by Francisco L. Montejano. 
  In the 20th century, the Colorado Riverland Company, a U.S.-based company, was dedicated to renting Mexican land to farmers; however, these farmers were almost always foreigners, such as Chinese, East Indians and Japanese. Mexicans were employed only as seasonal laborers. This situation led to the agrarian conflict known as the "Asalto a las Tierras" (Assault on the Lands) in 1937. in which Mexican land was taken by Mexicans.
  Agricultural production continued to increase during the 20th century. Cotton became the most important crop and helped develop the textile industry. In the early 1950s, the Mexicali Valley became the biggest cotton-producing zone in the country and in the 1960s, production reached more than half a million parcels a year. Currently, the Valley still is one of Mexico's most productive agricultural regions, mostly producing wheat, cotton and vegetables. The city of Mexicali is one of Mexico's most important exporters of asparagus, broccoli, carrots, green onions, lettuce, peas, peppers, radishes and tomatoes to the world. 
  The government of the municipality was reorganized when the Baja California territory became the 29th state in 1953.
  The first factories appeared in the 1960s with the end of the Bracero program. A 1988 study found 100 factories in the city, including 10 electronics manufacturers, 25 auto parts manufacturers,27 textile plants and nine plastics companies. Most maquiladoras are run by US companies, followed by Mexican, South Korean, and Japanese companies.
caption: Mexicali, seen from the International Space Station, is situated south of the Mexico–US border
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