Municipio (Mexico)
From Open Encyclopedia
A municipio (Spanish for "municipality") is one of the two types of second level municipality in Mexico. Each of Mexico's 31 states is divided into a variable number of municipios, ranging from five in Baja California and Baja California Sur to 570 in Oaxaca. The Mexican municipios can be compared to the counties of the United States, although the local municipal government (ayuntamiento), headed by a presidente municipal ("municipal president"), can be more usefully compared to that of a city mayor in the United States.
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History
The first reference to the municipio as a national subdivision was mentioned during the Second Mexican Empire when Mexico was divided in departamentos, these in distritos and these in municipios.
The Mexican constitution of 1917 created the concept of the municipio libre ("free municipality") in its 115th and 116th articles to decentralize the government and allow communities to govern themselves. This spirit of communal government was inherited from the concept of the Roman municipium of antiquity applied during Spanish colonial rule in Mexico. The 115th article was modified in 1983 to expand the municipio's authority to raise revenue and formulate budgets.
Responsibilites
The ayuntamientos are responsible for public services (such as water and sewerage), street lighting, public safety, traffic, supervision of slaughterhouses and the cleaning and maintenance of public parks, gardens and cemeteries. Municipios may also assist the state and federal governments in education, emergency fire and medical services, environmental protection and maintenance of monuments and historical landmarks.
Budget
Municipios can collect property taxes and user fees although more funds are obtained from the state and federal governments than from their own collection efforts.
Largest municipios
By population
| Ranking | State | Municipio | Population |
| 1 | Jalisco | Guadalajara | 1,646,319 |
| 2 | México | Ecatepec de Morelos | 1,622,697 |
| 3 | Puebla | Puebla | 1,346,916 |
| 4 | México | Nezahualcóyotl | 1,225,972 |
| 5 | Chihuahua | Juárez | 1,218,817 |
| 6 | Baja California | Tijuana | 1,210,820 |
| 7 | Guanajuato | León | 1,134,842 |
| 8 | Nuevo León | Monterrey | 1,110,997 |
| 9 | Jalisco | Zapopan | 1,001,021 |
| 10 | México | Naucalpan de Juárez | 858,711 |
By area
| Ranking | State | Municipio | Area (km. sq.) |
| 1 | Baja California | Ensenada | 51,952 |
| 2 | Campeche | Campeche | 51,833 |
| ... | ... | ... | .... |
| 2,420 | Tlaxcala | Tocatlán | 6 |
- Source INEGI, Censo General de Población y Vivienda 2000.
See also
| Spanish language subdivision | ||
|---|---|---|
| Federal: | Cantón | Departamento | Estado | Provincia | | |
| Local: | Comarca | Cabildo | Comuna | Municipalidad | Municipio | |
| Metropolitan: | Delegación | Parroquia | |
| National: | Distrito federal | |
| Rural: | Comisaría | Ejido | Ranchería | |
| Urban: | Barrio | Colonia | Fraccionamiento | |
| edit | See also: List of terms for subnational entities, List of subnational entities, Matrix of subnational entities | |
External links
- Mexican government structure
- (es) History of the Mexican constitution
- (es) Constitutional amendments to strengthen municipios
- (es) Comparison between municipios and other municipalities at the site of César Camacho, Mexican senator
