The Palacio Legislativo Federal (Federal Legislative Palace) was a never-completed building for the legislative bodies of the Mexican Federal Republic.

History

By the end of the 19th century, the government of President

Porfirio Díaz José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori ( or ; ; 15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915), known as Porfirio Díaz, was a Mexican general and politician who served seven terms as President of Mexico, a total of 31 years, from 28 November 1876 to 6 Decem ...

, decided the congress needed an emblematic and proud building to house the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. Inspired by the

Reichstag building The Reichstag (, ; officially: – ; en, Parliament) is a historic government building in Berlin which houses the Bundestag, the lower house of Germany's parliament. It was constructed to house the Imperial Diet (german: Reichstag) of the ...

of the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

, the administration called for an international competition in which several famous architects of Europe and Mexico participated. Despite declaring a winner, the government decided to appoint a new architect to draw a completely new design. The final project is a creation by

Émile Bénard Henri Jean Émile Bénard (June 23, 1844 – October 15, 1929) was a French architect and painter. Bénard was the winner of the 1899 International Competition for the Phoebe A. Hearst Architectural Plan to design the campus of the University of ...

. When the

Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution ( es, Revolución Mexicana) was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from approximately 1910 to 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It resulted in the destruction ...

broke out in 1910, the new president,

Francisco I. Madero Francisco Ignacio Madero González (; 30 October 1873 – 22 February 1913) was a Mexican businessman, revolutionary, writer and Public figure, statesman, who became the 37th president of Mexico from 1911 until he was deposed in Ten Tragic Da ...

, changed the building's functions and name to ''Palacio de los Tres Poderes'' (Palace of the Three Powers) to be the offices of not only the legislative, but also the executive and judicial powers of the republic.

Post-Revolution

The chaos of the revolution deflected attention and resources away from the project, and only the foundations and the iron structure were completed. The building remained standing and rusting until the 1930s when it was finally decided to destroy the erected structure. However, the cupola was saved and turned into the Monument of the Revolution by

Carlos Obregón Santacilia Carlos Obregón Santacilia (1896–1961) was a Mexican art déco architect. He trained at the Academy of San Carlos during the Mexican Revolution. He claimed a distinguished Mexican heritage, as great grandson of Benito Juárez and grand nephe ...

, and the massive structure stands today as a mausoleum to the heroes of the Mexican Revolution.

References

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