Arrochas y Manantiales de Tanchachín.
In addition, it has 12 other natural areas protected by state competition managed by the
SEGAM (Secretariat of Ecology and Environmental Management):
* Natural Monument of "La Hoya de las Huahuas"
* Natural Monument of "The
Basement of the Swallows"
* La Media Luna Spring State Park
* Palma Larga Manantial State Park
* Urban Park Paseo de la Presa de San José
* Ejido San Juan de Guadalupe Urban Park
* Sacred Natural Site "Caves of Wind and Fertility"
*
Wirikuta Natural Sacred Site and the Huichol People's Historical Cultural Route
* "Real de Guadalcázar" State Reserve
* Sierra del Este and Sierra de En Medio State Reserve
* Spiny Forest Relic "Adolfo Roque Bautista Forest"
* Tancojol State Reserve
Environmental issues
Mining
In 1996,
Minera San Xavier (MSX), a subsidiary of Canadian company
New Gold, announced plans to start open pit mining at
Cerro San Pedro.
There was major opposition to the project, but in 2007, the mine started operating, and was still both active and disputed as of 2016.
One of the mountains within the state's declared National Sacred Site,
Wirikuta, is being purchased for
silver mining by a Canadian company,
First Majestic Silver.
[Salvemos Wirikuta -Tamatzimahuaha: Frente en Defensa de la Zona Wirikuta. http://salvemoswirikuta.blogspot.com/2010/08/huichol-route-through-sacred-sites-to.html ] The mountain is an important site for the
Huichol ceremonial migration,
Peyote hunt, and deer dance. On October 27, 2000, the
United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) claimed this site as a protected area for its importance as a cultural route and endemic flora and fauna species. Later on June 9, 2001, it was declared as a National Sacred Site under the State of San Luis Potosí's Natural Protection Act. First Majestic Silver Corp. still decided to purchase mineral rights on November 13, 2009, with 80% of their interest within the protected land. The company's current methods includes
open pit mining and
leaching through
cyanide, using two kilograms of NaCN per tonne of ore. While open pit mining itself removes entire habitats and landscapes, the addition of sodium cyanide (with a mean lethal dose of only 0.2 grams) is potentially lethal.
In April 2010 the company also opened a new cyanidation plant in
Coahuila, Mexico, where it has started producing 3,500 tons of cyanide a day to help them expand their mining efforts. Currently the
Huichol people are trying to find outside groups to help them in the
conservation of their land and culture by protecting this mountain.
Coat of arms
The coat of arms of the state shows Louis IX of France, after whom the state was named, standing on a hill in the town of
Cerro de San Pedro, where gold and silver were discovered. The state was well known for its gold and silver mines, so there are two gold bars on the left and two silver bars on the right. The blue and yellow backgrounds represent night and day, respectively.
Governors
The current governor, is
Ricardo Gallardo Cardona of the
Ecologist Green Party of Mexico.
Economy
The State has a unique position within the country, since it is located in between three major cities;
Mexico City
Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...
,
Monterrey
Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...
, and
Guadalajara
Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...
, and near four major ports;
Tampico
Tampico is a city and port in the southeastern part of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. It is located on the north bank of the Pánuco River, about inland from the Gulf of Mexico, and directly north of the state of Veracruz. Tampico is the fif ...
,
Altamira,
Manzanillo, and
Mazatlán
Mazatlán () is a city in the Mexican list of states of Mexico, state of Sinaloa. The city serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding , known as the Mazatlán Municipality. It is located on the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast across from th ...
. Its varied climate patterns and territory along with extensive communications networks enabled it to maintain attractive business environments.
Traditionally, the
Real de Minas potosino has driven the industrial engines in the state of San Luis Potosí, and as such, nowadays basic
metallurgy
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys.
Metallurgy encompasses both the ...
still has the largest contribution within the gross domestic product of the entity. The main metals and products extracted across mines are zinc, copper, lead, gold, silver, mercury, manganese, and arsenic. Other major industries following the mining lead are in the sectors of chemicals, foods, beverages, tobacco, and textiles.
The services sector, also known as tertiary, is second regarding contribution to the state's income with a 21%, followed by commerce, hotels and restaurants with 18%.
These combined activities employ 51% of the economically active population or EAP.
Agriculture has been a traditional activity, sometimes still practiced in the
Huasteca
La Huasteca is a geographical and cultural region located partially along the Gulf of Mexico and including parts of the states of Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Puebla, Hidalgo (state), Hidalgo, San Luis Potosí, Querétaro and Guanajuato. It is roughly d ...
region. Currently, even if it contributes very little to the state GDP, it nevertheless employs as much as 20% of the EAP of the entity. The main agricultural products grown on Potosí soil are
maize
Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...
,
beans
A bean is the seed of some plants in the legume family (Fabaceae) used as a vegetable for human consumption or animal feed. The seeds are often preserved through drying (a ''pulse''), but fresh beans are also sold. Dried beans are tradition ...
,
barley
Barley (), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains; it was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BC, giving it nonshattering spikele ...
,
sugar cane
Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...
,
oranges,
coffee
Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...
, sour
lemon
The lemon (''Citrus'' × ''limon'') is a species of small evergreen tree in the ''Citrus'' genus of the flowering plant family Rutaceae. A true lemon is a hybrid of the citron and the bitter orange. Its origins are uncertain, but some ...
,
prickly pear, and
mango
A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It originated from the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South and Southeast As ...
. Livestock activities are focused on raising sheep, cattle, and pigs.
The state is also a contributor to the large automotive industry of Mexico.
General Motors
General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...
now has a plant under construction,
San Luis Potosí Assembly, to employ up to 1,800 people which will have the capacity to produce up to 160,000 vehicles per year, or about 440 cars per day.
The new plant in San Luis Potosí is an important pillar of the BMW Group's global production strategy who aim to achieve a balance in our production and sales in the different world regions. Its grand opening on June 7, 2019, created 1,500 jobs, eco friendly by being supplied with 100% of CO2 free electricity, and produce 150,000 (3 series model only) vehicles annually.
Cummins has also had a manufacturing presence in San Luis Potosí since 1980 and employs nearly 2,000 people there.
ABB Group multinational in Mexico moved its headquarters from Mexico City to San Luis Potosí in 2007.
Throughout the state, major industrial parks can be seen, especially in highly urbanized areas such as the capital, San Luis Potosí, and other major cities.
The minimum wage in the state is 66.45 pesos per day as of 2015.
Demographics
The state of San Luis Potosí reports a population of 2,822,255 people. The population growth rate from 2010 to 2013 was about 3.6%.
The state's population is relatively young, 60% of its residents being under 30 years of age. The state reports a life expectancy rate similar to the national average, that is, 72 years for men, and 77 years of age for women.
Regarding cultural and ethnic diversity, 15% of the state population is indigenous, and the most representative language is
Nahuatl
Nahuatl ( ; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahuas, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller popul ...
, followed by
Huasteco. The native people of the state include the
Huastec and
Pame peoples.
According to the 2020 Census, 44.8% of San Luis Potosí's population identified as Indigenous, 8.2%
Afro-Mexican, and 39.1% Spanish descent and 7.9% mix/other.
Concerning immigrants and people of European ancestry, 63% of the population has some form of European roots, mostly from Spain. During the colonization and establishment of Mexico, there was a constant flow of
Spanish immigrants. There have also been large influxes during instabilities in Spain, such as during the Spanish Civil War. Besides Spanish people, there is also a significant population of descendants of Italian immigrants, especially in cities such as Rio Verde and Cerritos. Most of the European peoples have arrived through the state of Veracruz to the East.
Nonetheless, due to its relative isolation, the state is one of the nine states in Mexico which report high rates of migration into the United States between the years of 2000 to 2008.
Education
The average schooling rate for those over 15 years of age lies at 7.7 years of education, considerably lower than the 8.1 found nationally. The same portion of those older than the age of 15 yield a 28% dropout rate of primary school. Children under the age of 14 years have a 4% school dropout rate. The literacy rate is about 90.8%, most of the illiterate being the older generation. There is only one major university in the state,
Autonomous University of San Luis Potosí (UASLP).
Other higher education institutions include:
*Instituto Tecnológico de San Luis Potosí (ITSLP).
*Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Campus San Luis Potosí (ITESM).
*Universidad del Valle de México, Campus San Luis Potosí (UVM).
*Universidad Cuauhtémoc, Campus San Luis Potosí (UCSLP).
*Universidad Tecnológica de San Luis Potosí (UTSLP).
*Universidad Politécnica de San Luis Potosí (UPSLP).
*College of San Luis Potosí (COLSAN).
*
Instituto Universitario del Centro de México (UCEM).
Media
Newspapers
A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...
of San Luis Potosí include: ''Diario Regional El Mañana de Valles'', ''El Sol de San Luis'', ''Esto del Centro'', ''Gran Diario Regional Zona Media El Mañana de Rioverde'', ''La Jornada de San Luis'', ''La Prensa del Centro'', and ''Pulso Diario de San Luis.''
Transportation
Ponciano Arriaga International Airport serves the capital of San Luis Potosí (named the same) with a variety of domestic and international daily flights. Other cities such as
Matehuala,
Tamuin and
Rioverde also have airports but they only serve domestic flights.
Besides airports, the state has an extensive road network, like the rest of the country. Most of the roads are paved in urban areas and highways. Some small towns, however, have cobblestone streets.
Notable people and residents
Arts and sciences
*
Ana Bárbara – singer-songwriter
*
Cenobio Hernandez – composer
*
Julián Carrillo Trujillo – discovered the
Thirteenth Sound theory of
microtonal music.
*
Francisco González Bocanegra – author of the
Mexican National Anthem
The "Mexican National Anthem", also known by its incipit "Mexicans, at the Cry of War", is the official national anthem of the United Mexican States. Its lyrics, composed by poet Francisco González Bocanegra after a Federal contest in 1853, ...
*
Manuel José Othón – poet
*
Eugenia Campbell Nowlin – American artist and artist administrator, born in San Luis Potosí.
Politics
*
Ponciano Arriaga
*
Miguel Barragán – President of Mexico
*
Carlos Jonguitud Barrios
*
Luis Ernesto Derbez
*
Alfonso Lastras Ramírez
*
Salvador Nava Martínez
*
Francisco Javier Salazar Sáenz
*
Enrique Márquez Jaramillo
Sports
*
Ivan Becerra – former professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
player
*
Jesús Cruz –
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
pitcher
*
Nery Castillo – former professional football player, was born in San Luis Potosí but moved away when he was 3 months old.
*
Alberto Del Rio – WWE wrestler
*
José Garfias – racing driver
*
Mil Máscaras – professional wrestler
*
Luis Enrique Muñoz – professional football player
*
Juan Sánchez Purata – professional football player
Journalism
*
Jesús Blancornelas – a prize-winning journalist
Notes
References
Sources
*Ricketts, Taylor H., Eric Dinerstein, David M. Olson, Colby J. Loucks, et al. (1999). ''Terrestrial Ecoregions of North America: a Conservation Assessment.'' Island Press, Washington, D.C..
External links
*
San Luis Potosí state governmentEvents and entertainment in San Luis PotosíTourism in San Luis PotosíAdministration of JusticeArt and Culture in San Luis PotosíInteractive map of San Luis Potosí with the tourist points of interest
{{DEFAULTSORT:San Luis Potosi
States of Mexico
Mexican Plateau states
States and territories established in 1823
1823 establishments in Mexico