''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
Asturleonese ( ast, Asturlleonés; es, Asturleonés; pt, Asturo-leonês; mwl, Asturlhionés) is a Romance language spoken primarily in northwestern Spain, namely in the historical regions and Spain's modern-day autonomous communities of Asturi ...
and
Basque . Since is a
metonym
Metonymy () is a figure of speech in which a concept is referred to by the name of something closely associated with that thing or concept.
Etymology
The words ''metonymy'' and ''metonym'' come from grc, μετωνυμία, 'a change of name' ...
for the building in which the council meets, it also translates to "city/
town hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
" 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 Crown under various kings of the House of Bourbon, since 1700, mainly in the 18th century. The beginning of the new Crown's po ...
in
New Spain
New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Am ...
, 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 "k ...
, 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 Constituti ...
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
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
,
Costa Rica
Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
, 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 = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
. In Mexico the term is for the
council
A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...
(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 judici ...
).
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 with ...
for the specific institution of local government in Spain.
*
Cabildo
*
Comuna
*
Encomienda
The ''encomienda'' () was a Spanish labour system that rewarded conquerors with the labour of conquered non-Christian peoples. The labourers, in theory, were provided with benefits by the conquerors for whom they laboured, including military ...
*
Municipalidad
*
Municipio
*
Corregidor
Corregidor ( tl, Pulo ng Corregidor, ) is an island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Philippines, and is considered part of the Province of Cavite. Due to this location, Corregidor has historically b ...
*
Alcalde
Alcalde (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian '' cabildo'' (the municipal council) a ...
*
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
Corregidor ( tl, Pulo ng Corregidor, ) is an island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Philippines, and is considered part of the Province of Cavite. Due to this location, Corregidor has historically b ...
*
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
*
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