Miguel Auza is a

municipality 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' ...

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 of

Zacatecas Zacatecas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Zacatecas, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 31 states of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Zacatecas, 58 municipalities and its capital city is Zacatecas City, Zacatec ...

, located approximately northwest of the state capital of

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

Geography

The municipality of Miguel Auza is located at an elevation between on the

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

in northern Zacatecas. It borders the Zacatecan municipalities of

Juan Aldama Juan Aldama (January 3, 1774 in San Miguel el Grande, Guanajuato – June 26, 1811 in Chihuahua) was a Mexican revolutionary rebel soldier during the Mexican War of Independence in 1810. Biography He was also the brother of Ignacio Ald ...

to the northeast,

Río Grande The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (), also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Me ...

to the southeast, and

Sombrerete Sombrerete () is a town and Municipalities of Zacatecas, municipality located in the northwest region of the Mexico, Mexican state of Zacatecas. It was founded in 1555 by Spanish conquistador Juan de Tolosa as a mining center. Due to the wealth th ...

to the south. It also borders the municipalities of

Cuencamé Cuencamé is a small city and the seat of the municipality of Cuencamé in the state of Durango, which is in northern Mexico. , the city had a total population of 9,848. City Cuencamé was originally a very small town formed by adjoining wild ...

and Santa Clara in

Durango Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in the northwest portion of the country. With a population of 1,832,650 ...

to the northwest and north respectively. The municipality covers an area of and comprises 1.5% of the state's area. As of 2009, 72% of the land in Miguel Auza is used for agriculture, while the remaining land cover comprises grassland (21%), forest (3%) and

matorral 300px, Springtime in Santiago.html" ;"title="Chilean matorral a few kilometers north of Santiago">Chilean matorral a few kilometers north of Santiago along the Pan-American Highway Matorral is a Spanish language, Spanish word, along with ''tomil ...

(3%). Most of the municipality lies in the

endorheic basin An endorheic basin ( ; also endoreic basin and endorreic basin) is a drainage basin that normally retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water (e.g. rivers and oceans); instead, the water drainage flows into permanent ...

of the

Aguanaval River The Aguanaval River is a river located in northcentral Mexico. Geography It originates in the southern Sierra Madre Occidental range of Zacatecas state, and flows generally north through Zacatecas and Durango states to empty into the endorheic ...

and is drained by one of its tributaries, the Santiago River, which originates at the Santiago Reservoir just west of the municipal seat. The southwestern part of the municipality lies in the basin of the Poanas River. Miguel Auza has a semi-arid climate with dry winters. Average temperatures in the municipality range between , and average annual precipitation ranges between .

History

Prior to the arrival of the Spanish, the area of Miguel Auza was inhabited by the

Zacateco The Zacatecos (or Zacatecas) are an indigenous group, one of the peoples called Chichimecas by the Aztecs. They lived in most of what is now the state of Zacatecas and the northeastern part of Durango. They have many direct descendants, but most ...

people. The expedition of

Francisco de Ibarra Francisco de Ibarra (1539 –June 3, 1575) was a Spanish-Basque explorer, founder of the city of Durango, and governor of the Spanish province of Nueva Vizcaya, in present-day Durango and Chihuahua. Biography Francisco de Ibarra was born a ...

arrived in the area in 1554, founding the settlement of Real de San Miguel on 29 September. In 1770 it was renamed San Miguel de Mezquital in reference to the abundance of

mesquite Mesquite is a common name for some plants in the genera ''Neltuma'' and '' Strombocarpa'', which contain over 50 species of spiny, deep-rooted leguminous shrubs and small trees. They are native to dry areas in the Americas. Until 2022, these ge ...

in the area. After Zacatecas was admitted into independent Mexico, the municipal council of Miguel Auza was established within the ''partido'' and later district of Nieves (nowadays the municipality of General Francisco R. Murguía) on 29 October 1833. It became a free municipality on 19 August 1916. During the

Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution () was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from 20 November 1910 to 1 December 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It saw the destruction of the Federal Army, its ...

, Battles were fought in San Miguel in 1912 and in 1915. In 1935, the municipality was renamed in honour of General Miguel Auza Arrenechea (1822–1892), who was born in Sombrerete and fought in the

Reform War The Reform War (17 December 185711 January 1861) or War of Reform (), also known as the Three Years' War (), and the Mexican Civil War, was a complex civil conflict in Mexico fought between Mexican liberals and conservatives with regional var ...

and at the 1863 Siege of Puebla.

Administration

The municipal government of Miguel Auza 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 countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

: ''síndico''), and thirteen trustees (''regidores''), eight elected by

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

and five by

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...

. The current president of the municipality is José Alfredo González Perales.

Demographics

In the 2010 Mexican Census, the municipality of Miguel Auza recorded a population of 22,296 inhabitants living in 5075 households. The 2015 Intercensal Survey estimated a population of 23,827 inhabitants in Miguel Auza.

INEGI The National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI from its former name in ) is an autonomous agency of the Government of Mexico, Mexican Government dedicated to coordinate the National System of Statistical and Geographical Information ...

lists 50 localities in the municipality, of which only the municipal seat, also called Miguel Auza, is classified as urban. It recorded a population of 13,551 inhabitants in the 2010 Census.

Economy and infrastructure

Miguel Auza's economy is oriented towards the primary and secondary sectors. The main crops grown are beans and alfalfa, Miguel Auza being located in Mexico's most important bean-growing region. Beef and dairy cattle are the main livestock raised. Miguel Auza also has a facility that processes silver, lead and zinc ore obtained from the Platosa mine in Durango. Federal Highway 49 generally follows the eastern border of Miguel Auza with the municipality of Juan Aldama.

References

{{Zacatecas, state=collapsed Municipalities of Zacatecas 1833 establishments in Mexico States and territories established in 1833