Through the analysis of the evolution of government entities associated with territorial organization in Mexico and some of their actions in the 20th century, this paper asks if these transformations have entailed a profound change in government practices regarding territorial arrangement or whether they have been modifications that have barely contributed to enhancing the effectiveness of public intervention in this area. It reviews the official records of the federal government in order to trace the changes in these institutions and to identify the government practices that have most directly affected the arrangement of people and activities throughout the territory. The result of this exercise provides a preliminary description of the current state of the territorial arrangement in Mexico.