Chiapas Chiapas (; Tzotzil language, Tzotzil and Tzeltal language, Tzeltal: ''Chyapas'' ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, ...

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 Southwest

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 ...

. 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 has the eighth largest population of all states with inhabitants and the 10th largest by land area spanning . Chiapas is officially divided into 124

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 ...

, although the establishment of municipal authorities in

Belisario Domínguez Belisario Domínguez Palencia (April 25, 1863 in Comitán, Chiapas – October 7, 1913 in Mexico City) was a Mexican physician and liberal politician. He served as senator and gave a memorable speech in the Congress during the Mexican Revo ...

was suspended in 2015 pending the resolution of a territorial dispute between Chiapas and the neighbouring state of

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 2021, the

Mexican Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation ( es, Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación (SCJN) is the Mexican institution serving as the country's federal high court and the spearhead organisation for the judiciary of the Mexican Federal Gov ...

resolved this dispute in Oaxaca's favour, and annulled the 2011 decree that had created Belisario Domínguez. Municipalities in Chiapas 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 is the state capital

Tuxtla Gutiérrez Tuxtla Gutiérrez (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Mexican southeastern state of Chiapas. It is the seat of the municipality of the same name, the most developed and populated in the state. A busy government, commercial and servi ...

, with 604,147 residents while the smallest is Sunuapa with 2,308 residents. The largest municipality by land area is

Ocosingo Ocosingo is a city and its surrounding municipality (''municipio'') of the same name in the Mexican state of Chiapas. Overview The northeastern boundary of the municipality is the Usumacinta River, along a portion where the river forms the inter ...

which spans , and the smallest is

Santiago el Pinar Santiago el Pinar is a town and one of the 119 Municipalities of Chiapas, in southern Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the nor ...

which spans . The newest municipality is

Honduras de la Sierra Honduras de la Sierra is a municipality in the Mexican state of Chiapas, located approximately southeast of the state capital of Tuxtla Gutiérrez. Gazetted in 2019, it is the newest municipality in Chiapas. Geography The municipality of Hondur ...

, incorporated on July 15, 2018.

Municipalities

File:SanMarcosTuxtla.JPG, alt=View of Saint Mark's Cathedral, Tuxtla Gutiérrez,

, capital and largest municipality by population in Chiapas. File:Antiguo Palacio Municipal de Tapachula.JPG, alt=Old City Hall, Tapachula,

Tapachula Tapachula de Córdova y Ordóñez, simply known as Tapachula, is a city and municipality located in the far southeast of the state of Chiapas in Mexico, near the Guatemalan border and the Pacific Ocean. It is one of the most important cities of ...

, second largest municipality by population in Chiapas. File:Lo_Más_Alto_-_Toniná.jpg, alt=Toniná, Ocosingo,

, third largest municipality by population in Chiapas. File:Catedral san cristo.JPG, alt=Cathedral, San Cristóbal de las Casas,

San Cristóbal de las Casas San Cristóbal de las Casas (), also known by its native Tzotzil name, Jovel (), is a town and municipality located in the Central Highlands region of the Mexican state of Chiapas. It was the capital of the state until 1892, and is still cons ...

, fourth largest municipality by population in Chiapas. File:ComitanTemploDeSanJose.jpg, alt=St. Joseph's Temple, Comitán,

Comitán Comitán (; formally: Comitán de Domínguez, for Belisario DomínguezComitán de D ...

, fifth largest municipality by population in Chiapas.

Notes

References

{{Portal bar, Mexico