de la Madrid Hurtado, Miguel, 1934-, Mexican public official, president of Mexico (1982-88). As minister of planning and budget in the cabinet of José López Portillo, he was influential in planning the utilization of Mexico's oil wealth to promote economic growth. Known as a conservative technocrat, he was chosen (1981) as the candidate of the ruling Institutional Revolutionary party (PRI) and was elected in 1982. His presidency was marked by economic difficulties and an earthquake (1985) that caused significant damage to the capital. He participated in the blatant vote fraud by the PRI that assured the election of his successor, Carlos Salinas de Gortari.

New Madrid Fault System: see under New Madrid, Mo.

New Madrid, city (2000 pop. 3,334), seat of New Madrid co., extreme SE Missouri, on Mississippi River at the sweeping New Madrid Bend; inc. 1808. A river port, the city is protected by high levees; cotton, wood products, and telecommunications shelters are produced, and aluminum is processed. Laid out (1789) when under Spanish rule, the city has been moved several times as the Mississippi has shifted, and the original townsite is under the river. In the Civil War, Federal troops captured New Madrid before taking (1862) nearby Island No. 10 (now vanished).

The city has given its name to the New Madrid Fault System, which runs SW to NE from NE Arkansas and W Tennessee through SE Missouri and W Kentucky into S Illinois. Numerous earthquakes have occurred in this seismic zone, most notably the severe earthquakes of 1811 and 1812, a time when the region was still thinly populated. The three quakes reversed the flow of the Mississippi, created Reelfort Lake in Tennessee, rang church bells in Boston, and were felt in Canada and Charleston, S.C.

Madrid, Treaty of, 1526: see Italian Wars.

Madrid, city (1990 pop. 3,120,732), capital of Spain and of Madrid prov., central Spain, and the focus of its own autonomous region, on the Manzanares River. The newest of the great Spanish cities, it lacks the traditions of the ancient Castilian and Andalusian towns. Lying on a vast open plateau, it is subject to extremes of temperature; the daily variation is sometimes 40°F; (22°C;). Madrid is almost in the exact geographic center of Spain and is the nation's chief transportation and administrative center. Its commercial and industrial life developed very rapidly after the 1890s and is rivaled in Spain only by that of Barcelona. Besides its many manufacturing industries, Madrid is foremost as a banking, education, printing, publishing, tourism, and motion-picture center. Many corporate headquarters are located there. An archiepiscopal see, Madrid also has a university, transferred from Alcalá de Henares in 1836.

The general aspect of Madrid is modern, with boulevards and fashionable shopping areas, but the old quarters have picturesque streets. Its landmarks include the huge royal palace; a restored 1850 opera house; the Buen Retiro park, opened in 1631; the imposing 19th-century building containing the national library (founded 1712), the national archives, and an archaeological museum; and three superb art museums—the Prado, which houses one of the finest art collections in the world; the Queen Sofía Museum of modern art; and the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, housed in the renovated Villahermosa Palace. Also noteworthy is the modern Ciudad Universitaria [university city].

Madrid was first mentioned in the 10th cent. as a Moorish fortress. Alfonso VI of Castile drove out the Moors in 1083. The Cortes of Castile met in Madrid several times, and Ferdinand and Isabella as well as Emperor Charles V often resided there, but Madrid became the capital of Spain only in 1561, in the reign of Philip II. The city developed slowly at first, but it expanded rapidly in the 18th cent. under the Bourbon kings (especially Charles III). From that period date the royal palace and the Prado. At the beginning of the Peninsular War a popular uprising against the French took place at Madrid on May 2, 1808, and a fierce battle was fought in the Puerta del Sol, the city's central square. In reprisal, hundreds of citizens were shot at night along the Prado promenade. The events of that day were immortalized by two of Goya's most celebrated paintings, both in the Prado gallery. Madrid again played a heroic role in the Spanish civil war (1936-39), when, under the command of Gen. José Miaja, it resisted 29 months of siege by the Nationalists, suffering several bombardments and air attacks and surrendering, thus ending the war, only late in Mar., 1939.

Autonomous community (pop., 2001: 5,423,384), central Spain. It occupies an area of 3,100 sq mi (8,028 sq km), and its capital is Madrid. The province extends across the southern slopes of the Guadarrama Mountains and roughly coincides with the region drained by the Jarama, Henares, and Manzanares rivers. It was the scene of several decisive battles during the Spanish Civil War (1936–39). All the national railways converge in the province. The Somo Mountain Pass provides access to the northeast through the central mountains.

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