Citizenship and citizen participation in Mexico City

The concept of citizenship and the quest for its full realization by the population has been studied from a number of intellectual perspectives. It is a concept which is not limited to the political sphere, as its meaning has also a social and civil dimension. The aim of this article, through a study of Mexico D.F. with its particular historical and political characteristics, is to observe how political citizenship, translated into participation, does not fit an ideal definition of the concept, but rather works through clientelist and corporatist structures which condition this participation.