Susticacán (from

Purépecha The Purépecha ( ) are a group of Indigenous people centered in the northwestern region of Michoacán, Mexico, mainly in the area of the cities of Cherán and Pátzcuaro. They are also known by the derogatory term " Tarascan", an exonym, app ...

''Etsosticacán'', derived from ''et'', "gully"; ''sost'', "strong"; and ''can'', "place") 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 west 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 ...

, the state capital.

Geography

The municipality of Susticacán lies at an elevation between in the in west-central Zacatecas. It borders the municipalities of

Jerez Jerez de la Frontera () or simply Jerez, also cited in old English-language sources as , is a city and municipality in the province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Located in southwestern Iberia, it lies on the Campi� ...

to the northwest, Tepetongo to the south, Monte Escobedo to the southwest, and

Valparaíso Valparaíso () is a major city, Communes of Chile, commune, Port, seaport, and naval base facility in the Valparaíso Region of Chile. Valparaíso was originally named after Valparaíso de Arriba, in Castilla–La Mancha, Castile-La Mancha, Spain ...

to the northwest. The municipality covers an area of and comprises 0.3% of the state's area. The land cover in Susticacán comprises temperate forest (58%), grassland (20%), tropical forest (16%), agricultural land (4%), and built-up areas (1%).

Hydrography

The municipality lies in the basin of the Bolaños River in the

Río Grande de Santiago The Río Grande de Santiago, or Santiago River, is a river in western Mexico. It flows westwards from Lake Chapala via Ocotlán through the states of Jalisco and Nayarit to empty into the Pacific Ocean. It is one of the longest rivers in Mexic ...

system. It is drained by seasonal streams, the most important of these being the Susticacán which flows east into the Jerez River, and the Chiquihuite which flows south into the Huejúcar River. The Jerez and Huejúcar rivers combine at Las Liebres in Jalisco to form the

Colotlán River The Colotlán River is a river of Mexico. It is a tributary of the Bolaños River, which is part of the Río Grande de Santiago system. See also *List of rivers of Mexico This is a list of rivers of Mexico, listed from north to south. There are ...

. The municipality's largest reservoir is the Susticacán Reservoir on the Susticacán River, which has a total capacity of .

Climate

Susticacán's climate ranges from temperate in the higher elevations of the west to semiarid in the east, with dry winters. Average temperatures in the municipality range between , and average annual precipitation ranges between .

Etymology

The name Susticacán is believed to be derived from the

Tarascan Tarascan or Tarasca is an exonym and the popular name for the Purépecha culture. It may refer to: * the Tarascan State, a Mesoamerican empire until the Spanish conquest in the 1500s, located in (present-day) west-central Mexico * the Purépecha p ...

''etsosticacán,'' meaning "place of the strong canyon." The modified Susticacán is a result of changing dialects of the time.

History

The first indigenous inhabitants of the region, a Zacatecos band of

Chichimeca Chichimeca () is the name that the Nahua peoples of Mexico generically applied to nomadic and semi-nomadic peoples who were established in present-day Bajío region of Mexico. Chichimeca carried the same meaning as the Roman term "barbarian" tha ...

, were not subdued by force from Spanish conquistadors, but rather became integrated into the government of New Spain with the establishment of the Catholic faith. The town of Santo Tomás de Etsosticacán was founded in 1562 by local indigenous peoples under the leadership of Andrés Melchor. The Spaniards originally permitted the natives to live under their own laws with Melchor as their first leader. The original land allocation was imprecise and in 1597 the area was reduced to fewer than 800 hectares. In the 17th century, this led to the acquisition of additional land due to social organization and the collective efforts of residents, including the work of religious congregations such as the Brotherhood of the Virgin of the Assumption (also called ''La Virgen del Rayo''). In 1648, Juan Antonio, the indigenous steward of the Brotherhood, purchased a large tract of land the mountains and with his family founded the ranch ''Chiquihuitillo'', a community in the municipality of Susticacán known today as El Chiquihuite. In the years that followed, the boundaries of the municipality continued to expand with the formation of additional communities into the late 18th century. The town later switched its patronage first to St.

Peter of Alcántara Peter of Alcántara, OFM (born Peter Garavita; ; 1499 – October 18, 1562) was a Spanish Order of Friars Minor, Franciscan friar who was canonized in 1669. Biography Peter was born at Alcántara, Cáceres (province), Province of Cáceres, Extr ...

, and then in 1677 to the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception; a church dedicated to her was built in 1704. After Mexican independence, Susticacán became part of the ''partido'' or district of Jerez. A municipal government (''junta municipal'') was established for the town on 29 October 1833. After ''partidos'' were abolished in 1916, Susticacán became an independent municipality. A dirt road connecting Susticacán to Jerez was built in 1960; Susticacán Reservoir was built from 1962 to 1965; and the municipal seat was electrified in 1968.

Administration

The municipal government of Susticacán 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 seven trustees (''regidores''), four 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 three 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 Fabiola Rodríguez Saldívar.

Demographics

Susticacán is the least populous municipality in Zacatecas. In the 2020 Mexican Census, it recorded a population of 1365 inhabitants living in 404 households. The 2010 Census recorded a population of 1360 inhabitants in Susticacán. There are eight inhabited localities in the municipality, of which only the municipal seat, also called Susticacán, is classified as urban. It recorded a population of 929 inhabitants in the 2020 Census.

Economy

According to the 2015 Intercensal Survey, 22% of Susticacán's workforce was employed in the primary sector, 45% in the secondary sector, 5% in commerce, and 27% in services. Economic activities in the municipality include farming of silage corn and oats, and tourism.

References

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