Editing Durango (section)

===20th century to the present===
[[File:Pancho Villa y Luz Corral de Villa.jpg|thumb|upright|Photo of Gen. [[Pancho Villa]] and his wife, Sra. María Luz Corral de Villa (1914)]]
While the state received high amounts of investment leading to economic development in the late 19th and very early 20th centuries, the benefits were mostly to foreign enterprises, often given permission to operate on indigenous lands and other rural communities. By 1910, North Americans own just about the entire southwest Sierra Madre Occidental region of the state or 65% of the land of the entire state. These areas have the highest concentrations of mining and timber resources.<ref name=scaling/>

Durango was one of the areas active during the [[Mexican Revolution]]. The first uprising in the state occurred on November 19, 1910 in Gómez Palacio. Various revolutionary leaders were from here and/or used the state as a base of operations including Francisco Villa, Calixto Contreras, Severingo Cenceros, J. Agustín Castro and Oreste Pereyra, especially in the La Lagunera region. The Division del Norte had a base in the Hacienda de la Loma to unite forces in Durango and Chihuahua.<ref name=":2" />

The economic effects on the state were profound. There was a mass exodus of foreigners and a loss of production in both haciendas and factories. On June 18, 1913, insurgents took the city of Durango, burning businesses here. The war led to economic depression that lasted for decades. After the war, there was a process of land redistribution that lasted several decades, but it did not affect the largest land holdings on the most productive of lands.<ref name=":0" />  After the Revolution, large land holdings were broken up into ejidos under governor Enrique R. Calderón, particularly in the Comarca Lagunera de Durango. During the same time the municipalities of Mapimí and Goméz Palacio were split off from the municipality of Tlahualilo.<ref name=":2" />

Despite Durango's support during the Revolution, the new government had trouble controlling the state as late as the 1930s as it resisted federal modernization efforts.<ref name=lellison/> The questions of land reform and education were central to Durango's discontent during this time period. Between 1926 and 1936, militias were formed to participate in the [[Cristero War]] and other uprisings such as the Escobar Military Revolt in 1929.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=scooper>{{cite thesis |last=Cooper Murray |first=Scott |date=May 2001 |title=Cristeros, Comumistas, y Federales: Rural Unrest in Durango |type=PhD |publisher=University of Houston }}</ref> One major point of contention was the government's efforts to take the church out of secular life, especially education, which threatened centuries-old ways of life, especially for many farmers and villagers. These rebellions were strongest in the center and south of the state, including the capital of Victoria de Durango. Rebel activity in parts of Mezquital were such that secular teachers were withdrawn for a time.<ref name=lellison/>

In the mid-20th century, several institutions of higher education were established, including universities and institutes of technology. This included the establishment of the UJED at the former Jesuit college in the city of Durango.<ref name=":2" />

The two newest municipalities were established in the latter 20th century. Vicente Guerrero was split from Suchil and the last, Nuevo Ideal, was created in 1989.<ref name=":2" />

The destruction of Durango's city center during the Mexican Revolution led to development outside of it. The first neighborhood, Colonia Obrera, was established near the rail line just outside what was the city proper. It was the first of various neighborhoods to follow these lines. The population grew noticeably in the 1960s and 1970s mostly due to migration from rural areas, increasing urban sprawl to 1,058 hectares. One major factor of this growth was the droughts of this time on agricultural production as well as expectations of industrial development. About the same time, the city government started efforts to regulate this growth.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" />

The growth of the cities has prompted projects in infrastructure, especially in transportation from the latter 20th century to the present. Industrial parks such as Durango and Gomez Palacio were established.<ref name=":0" /> The most recent projects have an eye towards connecting the state better to participate in the global economy.  In the 20th century, the Pan American highway was built through here (known today as Highway 45). However, a later reconstruction of the highway shifted it east into Zacatecas.  This meant that any industrial progress in the state happened in the northern city of Gomez Palacios, and not in the capital. In the 1980s, highways to Gomez Palacios and [[Ciudad Juárez|Ciudad Juarez]] were modernized, and a highway to [[Torreón]] and Monterrey was built. The InterOceanic Highway, which crosses the north of Mexico to connect the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean is Highway 40. The most important leg of this highway for Durango is that which connects it from the capital to [[Mazatlán]], Sinaloa. It cut the drive time between to two places to four hours, replacing a winding mountain road plagued by bandits for many decades.  The centerpiece of this highway is the Baluarte Bridge, one of the highest suspension bridges in the world. Pride in this construction can be seen in the city of Durango, with a replica of the bridge found to the side of the Guadiana Park.<ref name=":0" />

Durango has historically been an area associated with banditry and smuggling.  Durango is part of the "golden triangle" of Mexico's drug trade. Most of the violence is due to turf battles between the [[Sinaloa cartel|Sinaloa]] and [[Gulf Cartel|Gulf]] cartels.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Inicia SIP misión en México contra la violencia y la impunidad|date=February 15, 2010|work=Diario San Diego|location=Chula Vista}}</ref>  The 2000s were a particularly difficult time as this was during [[Felipe Calderón|Felipe Calderon's]] efforts to combat the drug cartels and for a time [[Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán|Joaquin Guzman ("El Chapo")]] hid out in the state. Most of the violence was in relation to control over the drug routes here. Drug-related violence was a major problem, with hundreds of bodies found in clandestine graves, around the city of Durango in particular.<ref>{{Cite news|title=More bodies found in Mexico's Durango state: Mexico-Bodies/Durango|date=April 28, 2011|work=EFE News Service|location=Madrid}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite news|title=Mexico: Local journalist killed by drug hitmen in Mexico|date=November 4, 2009|work=Asia News Monitor|location=Bangkok}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Nearly 160 bodies recovered from graves in northern Mexico: Mexico-Bodies/Durango|date=May 8, 2011|work=EFE News Service|location=Madrid}}</ref>  The violence reached a peak here between 2009 and 2011.<ref name=":7" /> Highway robberies were also a particular problem, especially on the highway leading to Mazatlan, then considered the most dangerous in Mexico. A new toll highway was built and opened at the end of this period to combat this.<ref>{{Cite news|title=La Ola Delictiva en Mexico/ Durango: Durango-Mazatlan. Una via de cuidado ( II )|last=Maldonado|first=Xochitl|date=September 1, 1996|work=El Norte|location=Monterrey|page=15}}</ref>