"DF," the acronym by which Mexico City has been known for decades in Mexico and many Spanish-speaking countries, ceased to be accurate on Jan. 29 as President Enrique Peña Nieto officially changed the capital's name from "Distrito Federal" to "Ciudad de México."

The name change is part of an administrative reform that transfers local decision-making power from the federal government to Mexico City's mayor, who will now be able to appoint senior officials, including the capital's police chief, the Guardian reported.

Mexico City's Boroughs Will Run like Municipalities

The city's 16 boroughs will now also function much like other Mexican municipalities and be run by their own mayors and councils, the newspaper added. The eventual goal might be to turn Mexico City into the country's 32nd state, but that would require some constitutional changes.

During a ceremony held in the heart of the city, Peña Nieto on Jan. 29 celebrated the name change as a historic event in its own right, the Spanish newspaper El País reported.

"That is how history is written -- with the triumph of the residents of the city" the president declared. "Today ends a debate that began with the Constitution of 1824," Peña Nieto said in reference to the document that created the Federal District. "This is the heart of our country."

Three Mexicos Result of 'Lack of Imagination?'

But Peña Nieto's move only adds to the already complex Mexican nomenclature, and some analysts warn that having a city, state and country all called "Mexico" can only lead to confusion, according to the Guardian. That is because the country's largest state already shares its name with that of the nation itself.

"It reflects our lack of imagination," said sociologist Rodolfo Soriano Núñez. "You don't build identity by decree," he said as he criticized Peña Nieto's unilateral decision to rebrand the capital, which nevertheless was published in the Official Gazette of the Nation on Jan. 29.

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