Ciudad Juárez, city, northern Mexico, in the state of Chihuahua, on the Río Grande. It is opposite El Paso, Texas, with which it is connected by bridge. A commercial and food-processing center, Ciudad Juárez is also a port of entry and has a large tourist trade. The Autonomous University of Ciudad Juárez (1973) is here. The city was founded late in the 17th century and was later renamed in honor of the Mexican president Benito Pablo Juárez, who had made it his headquarters during the Mexican fight against French intervention in the 1860s. Small areas were added to the city in the 1960s when the Chamizal border dispute with the United States was resolved. Population (1995) 1,011,786.
