Chahuites is a town and

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 ...

Oaxaca Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...

in south-eastern

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. The municipality covers an area of 160.75 km². It is part of the

Juchitán District Juchitán District is located in the east of the Istmo de Tehuantepec region of the State of Oaxaca, Mexico, covering the southern part of a low-lying corridor through the mountains that separates the Gulf of Mexico from the Pacific ocean. The dis ...

in the west of the Istmo de Tehuantepec region As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 9,929. Chahuites is nowadays among the most important

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South a ...

producers in Mexico. Its production is mainly exported to

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and

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History

The history of Chahuites goes back to 1895, when the Román Ramírez and Gamboa families choose this region to establish their homes. They built with palm and wood on a high piece of land surrounded by vegetation. While living in this region, the first settlers were surprised by the discovery of dens of mouse-like animals known as ''tuza'', because of this discovery the settlers decided to name the place "El Tuzal". Over time more settlers like the Zacarías brothers and Juvencio Fuentes arrived in the region. That was how life in the region developed until 1905 when General

Porfirio Díaz José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori ( or ; ; 15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915), known as Porfirio Díaz, was a Mexican general and politician who served seven terms as President of Mexico, a total of 31 years, from 28 November 1876 to 6 Decem ...

, president of Mexico, developed the infrastructure of the region and its official district Tapanatepec. This project drastically changed life in El Tuzal since many people working on the new infrastructure decided to settle there too. The region grew because the villagers obtained good crops in both the rainy season and in the dry season. That is why the name of the region was changed to Chahuites, which means ''wet ground''. As the region continued its development, the settlers began the process required to become an independent municipality instead of being part of Tapanatepec. In 1948 the Chahuites finally became independent. Leobardo Ramos Lázaro, municipal president, was shot to death on February 4, 2021, four days after being accused of embezzling town funds.

References

{{Juchitán District, Oaxaca Municipalities of Oaxaca