The town of Villa Madero is a municipal seat in the

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 ...

of Madero in the State of

Michoacán Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo (; Purépecha: ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of ...

, Mexico. It was established in 1868 with the name of Cruz de Caminos. According to tradition the first inhabitant of the place was a man named Armas, he is now considered the town's founder. The land where the town currently sits belonged to La Hacienda De La Concepcion. The village is the point of intersection of the paths that lead to

Acuitzio Acuitzio Municipality is a municipality located in the central region of the Mexican state of Michoacán. Geography The municipality has an area of 180.13 square kilometres (0.30% of the surface of the state) and is bordered to the north and ...

, Etucuaro, Curuchancio and Tacambaro, this is why it became known as Cruz De Caminos (Cross Roads). Cruz de Caminos, was in 1901 part of

Acuitzio Del Canje Acuitzio Municipality is a municipality located in the central region of the Mexican state of Michoacán. Geography The municipality has an area of 180.13 square kilometres (0.30% of the surface of the state) and is bordered to the north and no ...

. On July 27, 1914, Cruz de Caminos applied to become a municipality. On October 12, 1914, the agreement to elevate it to a municipality with the name of Madero was ratified. It was named after

Francisco I. Madero Francisco Ignacio Madero González (; 30 October 1873 – 22 February 1913) was a Mexican businessman, revolutionary, writer and Public figure, statesman, who became the 37th president of Mexico from 1911 until he was deposed in Ten Tragic Da ...

. Villa Madero hosts an annual festival named "La Feria del Mezcal". This is about a traditional beverage " mezcal" produced in Etucuaro, a town that is part of the Madero municipality. During this festival, producers give free samples of their product. There are also traditional food stands, different sports activities, a parade and at night people gather in a ballroom to dance with live music. Villa Madero used to be surrounded by pine forests, but as of 2022 is battling

illegal logging Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase or sale of timber in violation of laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission, or from a pro ...

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...

, encroachment by avocado growers, and depleted water tables. An attempt to institute citizen patrols such as was successful in

Cherán Cherán () is a municipality located in the Mexican state of Michoacán, which is situated in the central western portion of Mexico, extending west to the Pacific Shore. Cherán itself lies in the northwestern portion of Michoacán, about west ...

was foiled by the Mexican drug cartel. Local farm families are having to haul in water because of the avocado growers have diverted streams to water their orchards.

See also

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Further reading