inhabitants. Rural animal breeding was characterised by economic efficiency. Quality horse breeding, which was partly an export product and partly demanded by the needs of agriculture, was profitable. Poultry and egg production for the markets also flourished. Animal breeding was gradually replaced by extensive growing of corn, which became the basis of the town's economy and employed large numbers of workers. The First World War hindered the development of the town and its people suffered losses. The human costs of the war contributed to the social tension around this time which led to demonstrations in Vásárhely. In the first decade of the Horthy era, there was a fairly good market for the town's agricultural products. Although the war and the occupation debilitated the economy of the town, the possibilities for the sale of the high-quality corn increased. Pork breeding grew, as did the export of poultry. Dozens of medium-scale factories sprung up, but the great world economic crisis demolished this new-found prosperity. Unemployment increased, until a new economic boom in the late 1930s. The Second World War interrupted the development again. Soviet troops reached the town on 25 September 1944. Most of the powerful and well-off citizens escaped from Vásárhely. The war surged through the town on 8 October. The damage in human lives and buildings was not so huge as the damage to industrial equipment and infrastructure. At the end of the 1960s giant factories were established. Full employment was realised but the town's industry proved inefficient. Political and economic bankruptcy, however, only emerged at the end of the 1980s. After the transition in 1990, Hódmezővásárhely became a municipal town of county rank. After the municipal elections, its government was established. The town is now a destination for foreign and domestic tourism. Museums, churches, triumphal wells, statues, parks, and a thermal swimming hall are notable attractions. Demographics Politics The most recent mayor of Hódmezővásárhely was István Almási (Fidesz-KDNP), but he died on 20 November 2017, leaving the position vacant. The independent candidate Péter Márki-Zay won the mayoral by-election on 25 February 2018. His unexpected victory against the Fidesz candidate received international attention and was seen as a possible indicator for a change in the Hungarian parliamentary election on 8 April 2018. The swing was not replicated in the parliamentary election. The current mayor of Hódmezővásárhely is Péter Márki-Zay (Mindenki Magyarországa). The local Municipal Assembly, elected at the 2019 local