First Mexican City with Electricity: Mexico City, 1879

Mexico City claims the distinction of being the first city in Mexico to receive electric lighting. On September 5, 1879, the Compañía de Gas y Electricidad de México illuminated streets around the Zócalo and key buildings using arc lamps powered by steam-driven generators.

Context and Significance

• Global timing: Just months after Edison's Menlo Park demonstration (Dec 1879); Paris and London had limited arc lighting since 1878.
• Porfiriato modernization: President Porfirio Díaz championed electrification as a symbol of progress.
• Early adoption: By 1881, the National Palace, theaters, and wealthy homes had electric light. The first hydroelectric plant (Necaxa, 1903) followed.

Spread Across Mexico

Guadalajara (1889), Monterrey (1890), and Puebla (1891) followed. Rural electrification lagged until the 1930s–1960s under the Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE).