Belisario Domínguez was one of the

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

of the

Mexican state A Mexican State (), officially the Free and Sovereign State (), is a constituent federative entity of Mexico according to the Constitution of Mexico. Currently there are 31 states, each with its own constitution, government, state governor, a ...

Chiapas Chiapas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas, is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises Municipalities of Chiapas, 124 municipalities and its capital and large ...

, in southern

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. It was separated from the municipality of Cintalapa in 2011, although in reality it was a territory that was invaded by logging companies in the 1940s from the Zoque communities of the municipalities of

Santa María Chimalapa Santa María Chimalapa is a town and municipality in Oaxaca in southeastern Mexico and the easternmost and largest municipality in Oaxaca, but is also the least densely populated municipality in Oaxaca. It is part of the Juchitán District in th ...

and San Miguel Chimalapa (

Oaxaca Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of the Mexico, United Mexican States. It is divided into municipalities of Oaxaca, 570 munici ...

). In 2021, the

Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (, SCJN) is the Mexican institution serving as the country's federal high court and the spearhead organisation for the judiciary of the Mexican Federal Government. Judges of the SCJN are appointed ...

determined the suspension of the municipal powers instituted according to the laws of Chiapas in 2015 was lawful, despite the 2013 resolution of that same superior court, which prohibited both Oaxaca and Chiapas from establishing of municipal authorities in the territory. With this and the impossibility of holding elections in 2018, the municipality of Belisario Domínguez was abolished.

History

The municipality was created in the territory that was invaded from the Oaxacan municipalities of Santa María Chimalapa and San Miguel Chimalapa in the 1940s. The

territorial dispute A territorial dispute or boundary dispute is a disagreement over the possession (law), possession or control of territories (land, maritime territory, water or airspace) between two or more political entities. Context and definitions Territorial ...

between Oaxaca and Chiapas in Los Chimalapas began with the establishment in the region of a logging company from

Michoacán Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo, is one of the 31 states which, together with Mexico City, compose the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The stat ...

, which in a non-transparent manner obtained concessions to exploit forest resources in the communal property of the Zoques of Santa María and San Miguel. Chimalapa. In these negotiations, the Sánchez Monroy company was supported by the Chiapas government. In subsequent years, new settlers from Chiapas settled on the lands of Los Chimalapas, creating new ejido groups, among them Díaz Ordaz, which was created by the Sánchez Monroy lumber company and is the largest settlement in the demarcation where the Congress of Chiapas established the municipality of Belisario Domínguez in 2011. The lands that correspond to this municipality are in litigation before the SCJN, in a dispute between the state governments of Oaxaca and Chiapas. In 2012, the SCJN issued a resolution, instructing the governments of both entities to refrain from creating new authorities that formally or informally expand the territorial limits of one or another entity. In 2015, elections were held in the municipality of Belisario Domínguez, organized by the Institute of Elections and Citizen Participation of Chiapas, but the Zoques burned down the mayor's office and detained the personnel of the institute and one of the candidates, arguing that they were asserting the injunctions issued by the SCJN, in defense of the sovereignty of Oaxaca. On 11 November 2021, the Mexican Supreme Court resolved the border dispute in Oaxaca's favour, and annulled the 2011 decree by the

Congress of Chiapas The Congress of the State of Chiapas () is the legislative branch of the government of the State of Chiapas. It was constituted for the first time after the state's accession to Mexico on 5 January 1825. The Congress is the governmental deliber ...

that had created Belisario Domínguez.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Belisario Dominguez Municipality Former municipalities of Chiapas