Villa González Ortega is 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 ...

in the

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

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 ...

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

, located approximately southeast of the state capital of

Zacatecas City Zacatecas () is the principal city within the municipality in Mexico of the same name, and the capital and the largest city of the state of Zacatecas. Located in north-central Mexico, the city had its start as a Spanish mining camp in the mid- ...

. It is named after

Jesús González Ortega Jesús González Ortega (Valparaíso, Zacatecas, January 20, 1822 - Saltillo, Coahuila, February 28, 1881) was a Mexican soldier and politician; governor of Zacatecas (state), Zacatecas who was a notable ally of President Benito Juárez during the ...

Geography

The municipality of Villa González Ortega is located at an elevation between on the

Mexican Plateau The Central Mexican Plateau, also known as the Mexican Altiplano ( es, Altiplanicie Mexicana), is a large arid-to-semiarid plateau that occupies much of northern and central Mexico. Averaging above sea level, it extends from the US-Mexico border ...

in southeastern Zacatecas. It borders the Zacatecan municipalities of Noria de Ángeles to the south, Ojocaliente to the southwest, and General Pánfilo Natera to the northwest. It also borders the municipalities of

Villa de Ramos Villa de Ramos is a municipio or municipality to the northwest of San Luis Potosi, Mexico History The foundation of Villa de Ramos is attributed to Fr. Jeronimo de Pangua. A rich mine was discovered around this place in the year 1608 and the pop ...

and Salinas in the state of

San Luis Potosí San Luis Potosí (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de San Luis Potosí), is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and i ...

to the north and east respectively. The municipality covers an area of and comprises 0.6% of the state's area. As of 2009, 45.7% of the land in Villa González Ortega is used for agriculture. The remainder of the land comprises

matorral 300px, Springtime in Chilean matorral a few kilometers north of Santiago along the Pan-American Highway Matorral is a Spanish language, Spanish word, along with ''tomillares'', for shrubland, thicket or bushes. It is used in naming and describin ...

(51.8%), urban areas (1.3%), and grassland (1.0%). The municipality lies in the

endorheic basin An endorheic basin (; also spelled endoreic basin or endorreic basin) is a drainage basin that normally retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water, such as rivers or oceans, but drainage converges instead into lakes ...

El Salado EL, El or el may refer to: Religion * El (deity), a Semitic word for "God" People * EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer * El DeBarge, music artist * El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American po ...

. Its generally flat terrain is interrupted by small hills and plateaus. There are no permanent rivers in the municipality. Villa González Ortega has a temperate semi-arid climate with dry winters. Average temperatures in the municipality range between , and average annual precipitation ranges between .

History

Villa González Ortega is situated in an area that was originally inhabited by the Salinero tribe of the

Guachichil The Guachichil, Cuauchichil, or Quauhchichitl, are an Indigenous people of Mexico. Pre-contact, they occupied the most extensive territory of all the indigenous Chichimeca Nations tribes in pre-Columbian Central Mexico. The Guachichiles roamed t ...

, one of the

Chichimeca Chichimeca () is the name that the Nahua peoples of Mexico generically applied to nomadic and semi-nomadic peoples who were established in present-day Bajio region of Mexico. Chichimeca carried the meaning as the Roman term "barbarian" that des ...

nations. The ''

hacienda An ''hacienda'' ( or ; or ) is an estate (or ''finca''), similar to a Roman ''latifundium'', in Spain and the former Spanish Empire. With origins in Andalusia, ''haciendas'' were variously plantations (perhaps including animals or orchards), ...

'' of El Carro, a cattle ranch, was established in the area in the late 16th century. After Mexican independence, the ranch prospered under the ownership of Juan Nepomuceno de Moncada y Berrio, and , whose testament funded the construction of the neoclassical Church of St. Teresa in El Carro between 1850 and 1855. This church, also known as the Temple of Nuestra Señora de los Dolores, was inscribed on the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

list of

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

s in 2010 as part of the

Camino Real de Tierra Adentro The Camino Real de Tierra Adentro ( en, Royal Road of the Interior Land), also known as the Silver Route, was a Spanish road between Mexico City and San Juan Pueblo (''Ohkay Owingeh''), New Mexico, USA, that was used from 1598 to 1882. It was ...

. In 1857, the municipality of Ojocaliente, to which the ranch of El Carro belonged, was transferred from the state of San Luis Potosí to Zacatecas. El Carro was briefly established as a municipality in 1869 before being suppressed in 1870. It regained its municipal status on 19 July 1890, and its prosperity peaked during the

Porfiriato , common_languages = , religion = , demonym = , currency = , leader1 = Porfirio Díaz , leader2 = Juan Méndez , leader3 = Porfirio Díaz , leader4 ...

. The dismantling of the ''hacienda'' 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 ...

led to a 50% decrease in the population of the municipality. On 29 November 1922, the municipality was renamed in honour of Jesús González Ortega, commander of the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

forces in the

Reform War The Reform War, or War of Reform ( es, Guerra de Reforma), also known as the Three Years' War ( es, Guerra de los Tres Años), was a civil war in Mexico lasting from January 11, 1858 to January 11, 1861, fought between liberals and conservativ ...

, and governor of Zacatecas from 1858 to 1864. In 1967, a water supply, electrical grid and health clinic were built in the municipal seat.

Administration

The municipal government of Villa González Ortega comprises a president, a councillor (

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 ...

: ''síndico''), and ten trustees (''regidores''), six elected by

relative majority A plurality vote (in American English) or relative majority (in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth) describes the circumstance when a party, candidate, or proposition polls more votes than any other but does not receive more than half of all vote ...

and four by

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

. The municipal presidency is located in the main house of the former ''hacienda''. The current president of the municipality is Ronal García Reyes.

Demographics

In the 2020 Mexican Census, Villa González Ortega recorded a population of 13,208 inhabitants living in 3492 households. The 2010 Census recorded a population of 12,893 inhabitants in Villa González Ortega. There are 31 inhabited localities in the municipality, of which two are classified as urban: * the municipal seat, also called Villa González Ortega, which recorded a population of 6611 inhabitants in the 2020 Census; and * Estancia de Animas, located west of the municipal seat, which recorded a population of 2598 inhabitants in the 2020 Census.

Economy and infrastructure

The main economic activities in Villa González Ortega are agriculture and livestock farming. The main crops grown are corn, beans, grapes, and alfalfa. Federal Highway 49 runs through the northern part of the municipality, connecting it to Zacatecas City in the west and

San Luis Potosí City San Luis Potosí, commonly called SLP or simply San Luis, is the capital and the most populous city of the Mexican state of San Luis Potosí. It is the municipal seat of the surrounding municipality of San Luis Potosí. The city lies at an eleva ...

in the southeast.

References

{{Zacatecas, state=collapsed Municipalities of Zacatecas 1890 establishments in Mexico States and territories established in 1890