''Ayuntamiento'' ()
[In other ]languages of Spain
The languages of Spain ( es, lenguas de España), or Spanish languages ( es, lenguas españolas, link=no), are the languages spoken in Spain.
Most languages spoken in Spain belong to the Romance languages, Romance language family, of which Sp ...
:
* ca, ajuntament ().
* gl, concello ().
* eu, udaletxea (). is the general term for the town council, or
''cabildo'', of a
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
or, sometimes, as is often the case in
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
and
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
, for the municipality itself. is mainly used in Spain; in Latin America is also for municipal governing bodies, especially the executive ones, where the legislative body and the executive body are two separate entities. In
Catalan
Catalan may refer to:
Catalonia
From, or related to Catalonia:
* Catalan language, a Romance language
* Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia
Places
* 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...
-speaking parts of Spain, municipalities generally use the Catalan cognate, , while
Galician ones use the word ,
Astur-Leonese and
Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
. Since is a
metonym for the building in which the council meets, it also translates to "city/
town hall" in English.
Historically
With the eighteenth-century
Bourbon Reforms
The Bourbon Reforms ( es, Reformas Borbónicas) consisted of political and economic changes promulgated by the Spanish Monarchy, Spanish Crown under various kings of the House of Bourbon, since 1700, mainly in the 18th century. The beginning of ...
in
New Spain, which created intendancies and weakened the power of the
viceroy
A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning " ...
, the ''ayuntamientos'' "became the institution representing the interests of the local and regional oligarchical groups then setting deep roots into their territories." The
Spanish Constitution of 1812
The Political Constitution of the Spanish Monarchy ( es, link=no, Constitución Política de la Monarquía Española), also known as the Constitution of Cádiz ( es, link=no, Constitución de Cádiz) and as ''La Pepa'', was the first Constitut ...
called for the transformation of the ayuntamiento, previously dominated by elites, into a representative institution with elections. Article 310 called for the establishment of an ayuntamiento for all settlements with 1,000 inhabitants.
The term was often preceded by the word ("most excellent"), when referring to the council. This phrase is often abbreviated "''Exc.
mo Ay.
to'' ". Other names for ayuntamiento have been ''casa de cabildo'', ''casa capitular'', ''casa consistorial'' and ''casa del concejo''.
Local legislative body
In Latin America several terms exist for the legislative bodies of municipalities. The term is used in
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
,
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
,
Colombia,
Costa Rica, and
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = National seal
, national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
. In Mexico the term is for the
council (which refers to itself as the , or
).
Puerto Rican municipalities have a
''legislatura municipal''. In Peru the term is never used; instead, it is , or (district council). Executive functions in most of these countries is handled by an executive , the mayor (not to be confused with the historic , who was a
magistrate
The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...
).
See also
*
Ayuntamiento (Spain) An Ayuntamiento is the body charged with the government and administration of the municipalities in Spain not bound to the regime of '' concejo abierto'' ("open council").).
The Ayuntamiento, formed by the Mayor and the Councillors, is charged wit ...
for the specific institution of local government in Spain.
*
Cabildo
*
Comuna
*
Encomienda
*
Municipalidad
''Municipalidad'' () is a Spanish term for municipality used in many Latin American countries such as Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru , the
Philippines, and Puerto Rico. It refers to the governing body ...
*
Municipio
' (, ) and ' () are country subdivisions in Italy and several Hispanophone and Lusophone nations, respectively. They are often translated as "municipality". In the English language, a municipality often is defined as relating to a single city or ...
*
Corregidor
*
Alcalde
*
Alcalde ordinario
Alcalde ordinario refers to the judicial and administrative officials in the cabildos in the Spanish Viceroyalties in the Americas during the times of the Spanish Empire in the 16th through 19th centuries. Always existing in pairs, they were ca ...
*
Sargento mayor
*
Corregidor
*
Cabildo (council)
A cabildo () or ayuntamiento () was a Spanish colonial, and early post-colonial, administrative council which governed a municipality. Cabildos were sometimes appointed, sometimes elected; but they were considered to be representative of all ...
*
Síndico
*
Corregimiento
''Corregimiento'' (; ca, Corregiment, ) is a Spanish term used for country subdivisions for royal administrative purposes, ensuring districts were under crown control as opposed to local elites. A ''corregimiento'' was usually headed by a ''corre ...
*
Teniente a guerra
Teniente a guerra (roughly translated into English as "War lieutenant") was a title used in times of the Spanish colonial Empire to describe a position exercising duties similar to those exercised by a town or city mayor today (2019). A teniente ...
References
Notes
Further reading
*Camacho-Pichardo, Gloria. "La reorganización territorial de los ayuntamientos en México bajo la dictadura de Antonio López de Santa Anna, 1853-1855." La Colmena 98 (2018): 63-80.
*De Gortari Rabiela, Hira. "Ayuntamientos y ciudadanos: la ciudad de México y los estados: 1812-1827." Tiempos de América: revista de historia, cultura y territorio 1 (1997): 113-130.
*Moreno Plata, Miguel. La reorganización territorial del ayuntamiento rural: un enfoque alternativo para la modernización de los municipios rurales del país en los umbrales del siglo XXI. Plaza y Valdés, 2001.
*Pazos, María Luisa Pazos. El ayuntamiento de la ciudad de México en el siglo XVII: continuidad institucional y cambio social. Diss. Universidad de Sevilla, 1997.
{{wiktionary, ayuntamiento
Spanish language
Municipalities of Mexico
Municipalities of Spain
Subdivisions of the Spanish Empire