Prostitution in Mexico

Prostitution in Mexico is legal under Federal Law. Each of the 31 states enacts its own prostitution laws and policies. Thirteen of the states of Mexico allow and regulate prostitution. Prostitution involving minors under 18 is illegal. Some Mexican cities have enacted "tolerance zones" ("zonas de tolerancia") which allow regulated prostitution and function as red-light districts. In Tuxtla Gutiérrez, capital of the state of Chiapas, there is a state-run brothel at the Zona Galáctica(Galactic Zone). In most parts of the country, pimping is illegal, although pimp-worker relationships still occur, sometimes under female pimps called "madrotas"("Big Mothers"). The government provides shelter for former prostitutes.

UNAIDS estimated the number of prostitutes in the country at 236,930 in 2016.

Prostitution was known to exist during the Aztec Empire although the details are relatively unknown, as much Aztec history was chronicled later by Roman Catholics in a pejorative manner based on strict European values and law.

Following the Spanish conquest and establishment of New Spain, Spanish settlers created a demand for prostitution. Throughout the 16th and 17th centuries prostitution was tolerated provided it was kept out of sight. Although Philip IV banned the practice, this was generally unenforced.

Prostitution was first regulated in Mexico during the French occupation in the 1860s. These regulations which consisted of registering oneself as a prostitute and of regular health care check-ups were implemented to protect European soldiers from contracting sexually transmitted diseases, since sexually transmitted diseases particularly syphilis and gonorrhea were spreading quickly. While in power, the French influenced the perception of sex work in various ways, as they categorized women based on their views of beauty and classified places where sex work was done depending on location and services available. Though the French enforced supervision of prostitutes as a way of protecting themselves from infections, similar regulations remained when Mexico regained control of the country.

During the authoritarian regime of Porfirio Díaz in the late 19th century, regulations in the forms of monthly quotas, medical examinations, and photographic documentation were imposed upon prostitutes. Regulatory practices were most severe on the eve of the Mexican export-mining economic collapse, and had been met with backlash from women's rights groups in Oaxaca, Yucatán, and Veracruz. According to a 1908 study, economic concerns were the main reason for turning to the sex trade in the Porfiriato, at which time 15 to 30 per cent of Mexico City's young female population was employed in the sex trade.

During the Mexican Revolution, supplies to the cities were severely disrupted, and many women prostituted themselves for food in the period 1913–1915. In the post-war period of reconstruction and consolidation during the 1920s and 1930s, many impoverished women in the cities turned to prostitution. The revolutionary political and social reforms under Lázaro Cárdenas led to the end of the regulation of prostitution in 1940.

Although morally pressured by the United States and the prevalent changes ongoing prostitution after World War I, El Paso's location served as a convenient place for prostitution to thrive. El Paso's proximity to the United States border allowed for quick and easy access by Americans after the abolition of prostitution. The access to Mexico via the railroad from the United States and the economic success of prostitution gave way to a surge of Mexican women participating in this kind of labor. As prostitution increased, so did the regulations.