FAST FACTS Juarez, Mexico

Location: Mexico's northern state of Chihuahua along the Rio Grande. It is connected to El Paso, Texas, by two bridges.Named for: Mexican president Benito Juarez, who used the city, then El Paso del Norte, as headquarters while fighting the French in 1865.Economy: Anchored by cotton-growing and a northern terminus of the National Railways of Mexico. Countrywide, gross domestic product per capita is $7,700.Nationwide poverty rate: 27 percent.Life expectancy: 72 years.Religion: Mostly Roman Catholic, with some Protestants.