Zacatecas , image_map = Zacatecas in Mexico (location map scheme).svg , map_caption = State of Zacatecas within Mexico , coordinates = , coor_pinpoint = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type ...

is a

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

in North Central

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 ...

that is divided into 58

municipalities 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 ...

. According to the 2020 Mexican

Census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

, it is the state that has the 7th smallest population with inhabitants and the 8th largest by land area spanning . Municipalities in Zacatecas are administratively autonomous of the state according to the 115th article of the 1917

Constitution of Mexico The Constitution of Mexico, formally the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States ( es, Constitución Política de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos), is the current constitution of Mexico. It was drafted in Santiago de Querétaro, in th ...

. Every three years, citizens elect a

municipal president A ''presidente municipal'' (English: "municipal president") is the chief of government of municipios in Mexico. This title was also used in the Philippines under the Spanish and American colonization; it is comparable to a mayor of the town or city ...

(Spanish: ''presidente municipal'') by a

plurality voting Plurality voting refers to electoral systems in which a candidate, or candidates, who poll more than any other counterpart (that is, receive a plurality), are elected. In systems based on single-member districts, it elects just one member per ...

system who heads a concurrently elected municipal council (''ayuntamiento'') responsible for providing all the public services for their constituents. The municipal council consists of a variable number of trustees and councillors (''regidores y síndicos''). Municipalities are responsible for public services (such as water and sewerage), street lighting, public safety, traffic, and the maintenance of public parks, gardens and cemeteries. They may also assist the state and federal governments in education, emergency fire and medical services, environmental protection and maintenance of monuments and historical landmarks. Since 1984, they have had the power to collect property taxes and user fees, although more funds are obtained from the state and federal governments than from their own income. The largest municipality by population in Zacatecas is

Fresnillo Fresnillo (/fres'nijo/), founded in 1554 by Francisco de Ibarra, is the second largest city in Zacatecas state, north central Mexico and the seat of Fresnillo municipality. As a rail and highway junction, Fresnillo is the center of a rich mining ...

, with 240,532 residents, and the smallest municipality by population is Susticacán with 1,365 residents. The largest municipality by area is the municipality of Mazapil which spans , while

Vetagrande Vetagrande Municipality is one of 58 municipalities of Zacatecas, Mexico. It has an area of 142 km² occupying 0.18% of state territory. The municipal seat is located in the town of the same name. Another town of this municipality is Llano de las ...

is the smallest at . The two newest municipalities are Trancoso, created out of Guadalupe in 2000, and

Santa María de la Paz Santa María de la Paz is a municipality in the Mexican state of Zacatecas, located approximately southwest of the state capital of Zacatecas City. Geography The municipality of Santa María de la Paz is located at an elevation between in the S ...

, separated in 2005 from Teúl.

Municipalities

File:Parroquia_de_la_Purificacion_Fresnillo_Zacatecas.jpg, alt=Parish of the Purification, Fresnillo,

, Zacatecas' largest municipality by population File:Templo_y_Convento_de_Guadalupe.jpg, alt=Convent of Guadalupe, Guadalupe, the second largest municipality by population File:Zacatecas Panoramic View.jpg, alt=Zacatecas City Centre,

, capital and third largest municipality

Defunct municipalities

#Sauceda, integrated into Vetagrande in 1918.

Notes

References

{{Portal bar, Mexico