The Justo Briceño Municipality is one of the 23

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' ...

(

municipio A ' () or ' () is an administrative division in several Hispanophone and Lusophone nations, respectively. It is often translated as "municipality." It comes from ''mūnicipium'' (), meaning a township. In English, a municipality often is define ...

s) that makes up the

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

n state of Mérida and, according to a 2007 population estimate by the National Institute of Statistics of Venezuela, the municipality has a population of 6,472. The town of Torondoy is the

shire town A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equivalent term, shire town, is used in ...

of the Justo Briceño Municipality.http://www.ine.gob.ve/secciones/division/Merida.zip

History

On September 23, 1867, it was established as Torondoy

Civil Parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

. In 1904, Torondoy District was established, comprising the parishes of Piñango, Santa Apolonia and Torondoy. On January 19, 1935, Torondoy District was renamed to Gómez District, but this change was short-lived, and in 1936, it was renamed Justo Briceño District. In 1988, it separated from the Tulio Febres Cordero Municipality and adopted the name of Justo Briceño Autonomous Municipality, and in 1992, dropped the title of Autonomous to become Justo Briceño Municipality. A historical border conflict has existed over the border between the

Zulia State Zulia State (, ; Wayuu language, Wayuu: ''Mma’ipakat Suuria'') is one of the States of Venezuela, 23 states of Venezuela. The state capital is Maracaibo. As of the 2011 census, it has a population of 3,704,404, the largest population among Vene ...

and

Mérida State Mérida or Merida may refer to: Places * Mérida (state), one of the 23 states which make up Venezuela * Mérida, Mérida, the capital city of the state of Mérida, Venezuela * Merida, Leyte, Philippines, a municipality in the province of Leyte ...

parts of town.

Geography

It is a completely mountainous region. Most of the territory lies between 1,150m and 2,000m of altitude, with altitudes exceeding 4,500m near the borders with Rangel and Libertador municipalities, resulting in snowy areas. The average annual temperature is 16 °C (60.8 °F) with average rainfall of 1,250mm. The main waterways include Torondoy, Macumana, Macumpate and Arenoso rivers and El Molino creek.

Demographics

The Justo Briceño Municipality, according to a 2007 population estimate by the National Institute of Statistics of Venezuela, has a population of 6,472 (up from 5,355 in 2000). This amounts to 0.8% of the state's population. The municipality's population density is .

Government

The mayor of the Justo Briceño Municipality is Víctor Luis Matheus López, re-elected on October 31, 2004, with 51% of the vote. The municipality is divided into two

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

es; Capital Justo Briceño and San Cristóbal de Torondoy.

References

External links