Prostitution in Mexico City

Mexico adopted the system of state-regulated prostitution after the French army took the capital city in 1863. At first, the measure was meant to protect European soldiers from venereal disease during their military campaign, but even after the Republic’s triumph in 1867, the government of Mexico maintained control over the sex trade. The Ministry of Health registered prostitutes, subjected them to periodical check-ups, and confined those with venereal disease to lock hospitals, following the rules of the so-called French system. Women were classified by categories according to their beauty, youth and the places in which they used to work. Brothels, assignation and rendezvous houses were categorized according to their location and amenities. Hotels that rented their rooms per hour were also included in the prostitution laws. Some bordellos operated outside the law, as unregistered women still wandered the streets. The same rules applied to the entire territory, but according to its geographic position each province followed its own dynamics with regard to prostitution. Cities such as Ciudad Juárez, Mexicali, Tampico and Tijuana had a major interaction with clients and sex workers coming from the United States of America owing to their proximity to the border.

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