Municipality (Mexico)
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Municipalities (''
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 t ...
s'' in
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
) are the second-level administrative divisions of
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 ...
, where the first-level administrative division is the ''
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 ...
'' (Spanish:
estado Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...
). They should not be confused with cities or towns that may share the same name as they are distinct entities and do not share geographical boundaries. As of January 2021, there are 2,454 municipalities in Mexico, excluding the 16
boroughs A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...
of
Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
. Since the 2015 Intercensal Survey, two municipalities have been created in
Campeche Campeche (; yua, Kaampech ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Campeche ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Campeche), is one of the 31 states which make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. Located in southeast Mexico, it is bordered by ...
, three in
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, ...
, three in
Morelos Morelos (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Morelos ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Morelos), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 36 municipalities and its capital city is Cuer ...
, one in
Quintana Roo Quintana Roo ( , ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Quintana Roo ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Quintana Roo), is one of the 31 states which, with Mexico City, constitute the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 11 mu ...
and one in
Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...
. The internal political organization and their responsibilities are outlined in the 115th article of the
1917 Constitution 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 ...
and detailed in the constitutions of the states to which they belong. are distinct from , a form of Mexican
locality Locality may refer to: * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localities (Australia), in which a locality is a geographic subdivis ...
, and are divided into '' colonias'' (neighborhoods); some municipalities can be as large as full states, while cities can be measured in basic geostatistical areas or
city blocks A city block, residential block, urban block, or simply block is a central element of urban planning and urban design. A city block is the smallest group of buildings that is surrounded by streets, not counting any type of thoroughfare within t ...
.


Structure

All Mexican states are divided into municipalities. Each municipality is autonomous; 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 ...
" (''presidente municipal'') who heads a municipal council ''(
ayuntamiento ''Ayuntamiento'' ()In other languages of Spain: * ca, ajuntament (). * gl, concello (). * eu, udaletxea (). is the general term for the town council, or ''cabildo'', of a municipality or, sometimes, as is often the case in Spain and Latin Amer ...
),'' responsible for providing all the public services for their constituents. This concept, which originated after the
Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution ( es, Revolución Mexicana) was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from approximately 1910 to 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It resulted in the destruction ...
, is known as a ''municipio libre'' ("free municipality"). The municipal president is elected by plurality and cannot be reelected for the next immediate term. The municipal council consists of a '' cabildo'' (chairman) with a '' síndico'' and several ''regidores'' (trustees). If the municipality covers a large area and contains more than one city or town (collectively called ''localidades''), one city or town is selected as a ''cabecera municipal'' (head city, seat of the municipal government) while the rest elect representatives to a ''presidencia auxiliar'' or ''junta auxiliar'' (auxiliary presidency or council). In that sense, a municipality in Mexico is roughly equivalent to the
counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
of the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, whereas the auxiliary presidency is equivalent to a township. Nonetheless, auxiliary presidencies are not considered a third-level administrative division since they depend fiscally on the municipalities in which they are located. North-western and south-eastern states are divided into small numbers of large municipalities (e.g.
Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...
is divided into only seven municipalities), and therefore they cover large areas incorporating several separated cities or towns that do not necessarily conform to one single conurbation. Central and southern states, on the other hand, are divided into many small municipalities (e.g.
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 ...
is divided into 570 municipalities), and therefore large urban areas usually extend over several municipalities which form one single conurbation. Although an urban area might cover an entire municipality, auxiliary councils might still be used for administrative purposes. Municipalities are responsible for public services (such as water and sewerage), street lighting, public safety, traffic, supervision of slaughterhouses and the cleaning and 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 1983, they can collect property taxes and user fees, although more funds are obtained from the state and federal governments than from their own collection efforts. Some municipalities in Mexico are subdivided into internal, third-level administrative organizations. All
municipalities of Baja California Baja California is a state in Northwest Mexico that is divided into seven municipalities. According to the 2020 Mexican Census, Baja California is the 13th most populous state with inhabitants and the 12th largest by land area spanning . Mun ...
are subdivided into boroughs, or ''delegaciones''.
Mexicali Mexicali (; ) is the capital city of the Mexican state of Baja California. The city, seat of the Mexicali Municipality, has a population of 689,775, according to the 2010 census, while the Calexico–Mexicali metropolitan area is home to 1,000, ...
municipality, for example, is divided into 14 boroughs besides the City of Mexicali, which comprises the municipal seat and three additional metropolitan boroughs.
Querétaro Querétaro (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Querétaro, links=no; Otomi language, Otomi: ''Hyodi Ndämxei''), is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. I ...
municipality is subdivided into seven boroughs. Nonetheless, the heads of government of the boroughs are not elected by the residents but rather appointed by the municipal president.
Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
is a special case in that it is not organized into municipalities. As a result of the Political Reforms enacted in 2016, it is no longer designated as a Federal District and became a city, a member entity of the Mexican federation, seat of the Powers of the Union and the capital of Mexico. Mexico City is divided in 16 boroughs, officially called ''demarcaciones territoriales'', substituting the old ''delegaciones''. The boroughs are considered as third-level territorial divisions for statistical data collection and cross-country comparisons.


History

Since the Conquest and colonization of Mexico, the municipality became the basic entity of the administrative organization of
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 ...
and the
Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...
. Settlements located in strategic locations received the status of ''ciudad'' (the highest status within the Empire, superior to that of ''villas'' and ''pueblos'') and were entitled to form an ''ayuntamiento'' or municipality. During the first decades, the local authorities had full powers on the public and economic administration of each municipality, but successive reforms diminished their attributions. After Independence, the 1824 Constitution did not specify any regulation for the municipalities, whose structure and responsibilities were to be outlined in the constitution of each state of the federation. As such, every state set its own requirements for a settlement to become a municipality (usually based on population). The Constitution of 1917 abolished the ''jefatura política'' ("political authority"), the intermediate administrative authority between the states and converted all existing municipalities into ''municipios libres'' ("free municipalities"), that is, gave them full autonomy to manage local affairs, while at the same time restricting the scope of their competencies. However, in 1983 the 115th article was modified to expand the municipalities' authority to raise revenue (through property taxes and other local services) and to formulate budgets. The first city council in Mexico was established by
Hernán Cortés Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquess of the Valley of Oaxaca (; ; 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of w ...
in 1519 in
Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...
; it was also the first in the American mainland. The newest municipalities in Mexico are
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;
Coatetelco Coatetelco or Cuatetelco is a pre-Hispanic archaeological site located next to the Coatetelco Lagoon, two kilometers from Alpuyeca, in the Miacatlán municipality, Morelos, Mexico, near Xochicalco. It had its greatest development between 500 a ...
,
Hueyapan San Andrés Hueyapan is a small town in the rural northeastern part of the Mexican state of Morelos, formerly in the municipality of Tetela del Volcán. It lies at an elevation of ca 2000–2500 metres above sea level on the southern slopes of t ...
and Xoxocotla, created on January 1, 2019; San Quintín, established on February 27, 2020; and Seybaplaya and
Dzitbalché Dzitbalché () is a large town in the extreme northern part of the Mexican state of Campeche. It is located at 20.32°N 90.05°W and serves as the municipal seat for the municipality of the same name. As of 2010, Dzitbalché had a population of 1 ...
, gazetted on January 1, 2021.


Ranking of municipalities


By population

Data from the 2020 Mexican National Census.


By area

Data from the 2020 Mexican National Census.


By location

* Northernmost:
Mexicali Mexicali (; ) is the capital city of the Mexican state of Baja California. The city, seat of the Mexicali Municipality, has a population of 689,775, according to the 2010 census, while the Calexico–Mexicali metropolitan area is home to 1,000, ...
,
Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...
() * Southernmost:
Suchiate Suchiate is a municipality in the Mexican state of Chiapas, on the border with Guatemala. It is in the Soconusco region, and is the southernmost municipality both in Chiapas and in all of Mexico. On the eastern edge of the municipality, flowin ...
,
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, ...
() * Westernmost: Ensenada,
Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...
() * Easternmost:
Isla Mujeres Isla Mujeres (, Spanish language, Spanish for "Women Island" (formally “Isla de Mujeres”) is an island where the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea meet, about off the Yucatán Peninsula coast in the State of Quintana Roo, Mexico. It is ap ...
,
Quintana Roo Quintana Roo ( , ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Quintana Roo ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Quintana Roo), is one of the 31 states which, with Mexico City, constitute the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 11 mu ...
() * Geographical center:
Villa de Cos Villa de Cos is one of 58 municipalities of Zacatecas, Mexico. It is located in the center-east of the state, bordered by the municipalities of Mazapil, Francisco R. Murguia, Río Grande, Felipe Pescador, Fresnillo, Panuco and Guadalupe in Za ...
,
Zacatecas , image_map = Zacatecas in Mexico (location map scheme).svg , map_caption = State of Zacatecas within Mexico , coordinates = , coor_pinpoint = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type ...
() * Highest:
Tlachichuca Tlachichuca (municipality) is a town and Municipalities of Mexico State, municipality in Puebla in south-eastern Mexico.It is the starting point for many climbers wishing to ascend Pico de Orizaba. The municipality covers an area of 459.25 km². Th ...
,
Puebla Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...
and
Calcahualco Calcahualco is a city in the Mexican state of Veracruz. It serves as the municipal seat for the Calcahualco Municipality. The coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee ...
,
Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...
(5,636 m,
Citlaltépetl Pico de Orizaba, also known as Citlaltépetl (from Nahuatl = star, and = mountain), is an inactive stratovolcano, the highest mountain in Mexico and the third highest in North America, after Denali of Alaska in the United States and Mount ...
volcano). * Lowest:
Mexicali Mexicali (; ) is the capital city of the Mexican state of Baja California. The city, seat of the Mexicali Municipality, has a population of 689,775, according to the 2010 census, while the Calexico–Mexicali metropolitan area is home to 1,000, ...
,
Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...
(-12 m,
Laguna Salada Laguna Salada (, ''Salt Lake'') is a municipality (''municipio'') of the Valverde province in the Dominican Republic. Within the municipality there are three municipal districts (''distritos municipal''): Cruce de Guayacanes, Jaibón and La ...
).


See also

*
Settlement classification in Mexico Mexico's states classify their settlements in a variety of fashions: Aguascalientes Under Article 106 of the Municipal Law of the State of Aguascalientethe state defines its settlements as follows: *''Ciudad'' (city): Census population in excess ...
*
Boroughs of Mexico In Mexico, some municipalities and Mexico City are divided into boroughs for administrative purposes. Boroughs are known as delegaciones, or in the case of Mexico City. Boroughs can either be second-level semi-autonomous administrative divisions or ...


References


External links


Mexican government structureHistory
of the
Mexican constitution 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 ...

Mexico Portal de Información Municipal
{{Portal bar, Mexico Local government in Mexico Subdivisions of Mexico Mexico 2 Municipalities, Mexico Urban planning in Mexico