El DF in english is Federal District.  Its also known by various names including, la Ciudad, el Distrito, and Mexico City. Mexico City is located in the Valley of Mexico, sometimes called the Basin of Mexico.

Mexico City is one of the most important economic hubs in Latin America. The city proper (Federal District) produces 21.8% of the country’s gross domestic product. According to a study conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Mexico City had a GDP of $390 billion, ranking as the eighth richest city in the world after the greater areas of Tokyo, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Paris, London and Osaka/Kobe, and the richest in the whole of Latin America, as measured by the GDP of the entire Metropolitan area. making Mexico City alone the 30th largest economy in the world. Mexico City is the greatest contributor to the country’s industrial GDP (15.8%) and also the greatest contributor to the country’s GDP in the service sector (25.3%). Due to the limited non-urbanized space at the south—most of which is protected through environmental laws the contribution of the Federal District in agriculture is the smallest of all federal entities in the country. Mexico City has one of the world’s fastest-growing economies and its GDP is set to double by 2020.

In 2002, Mexico City had an HDI index of 0.915 identical to that of the Republic of Korea (South Korea). The level of household expenditure in Mexico City is close to that of an average household in Germany or South Korea.

In 2008 the average yearly income for Mexico City inhabitants was $20,400 The top twenty percent of GDP per capita holders in the city had a mean disposable income of US $98,517 in 2007. The high spending power of Mexico City inhabitants, makes the city attractive for companies offering prestige and luxury goods.

The economic reforms of President Carlos Salinas de Gortari had a tremendous effect on the city, as a number of businesses, including banks and airlines, were privatized. He also signed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). This led to the decentralization[69] and a shift in Mexico City’s economic base, from manufacturing to services, as most factories moved away to either the State of Mexico, or more commonly to the northern border. By contrast, corporate office buildings set their base in the city.