Síndico Procurador was a Spanish term for a colonial city attorney or municipal

corporation counsel The corporation counsel is the title given to the chief legal officer who handles civil claims against the city in some U.S. municipal and county jurisdictions, including negotiating settlements and defending the city when it is sued. Most corp ...

used in the former

Viceroyalty of New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...

based in Spanish colonial México. It was used to identify the local administrative and judicial position within a town council, corresponding to a present-day city attorney or corporation counsel.

Definition

The main governing body or council of a colonial Spanish town or city within Viceroyalty of New Spain was the ''

Ayuntamiento ''Ayuntamiento'' ()In other languages of Spain: * (). * (). * (). is the general term for the town council, or ''cabildo'', of a municipality or, sometimes, as is often the case in Spain and Latin America, for the municipality itself. is mai ...

''. It functioned as the

town council A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities. Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. Republic of Ireland In 2002, 49 urban district councils and 26 town commissi ...

, and had a varying range of administrative and judicial duties. The number of members of the council was generally based on the population of the municipality.Geoffrey Pivateau, "AYUNTAMIENTO,"

Handbook of Texas Online The Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) is an American nonprofit educational and research organization dedicated to documenting the history of Texas. It was founded in Austin, Texas, United States, on March 2, 1897. In November 2008, the ...

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accessed July 18, 2012. Published by the Texas State Historical Association. Members serving on the council were: * 1 − 2

alcalde ''Alcalde'' (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and Administration (government), administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor (position), corregidor, the presiding officer o ...

s (mayors) — If there were two alcaldes, then Alcalde Primero (Alcalde 1) was the mayor as we now them today (2019), or was the municipal administrator of some municipalities, whereas the Alcalde Segundo (Alcalde 2) was the executive mayor or district administrator who also acted as head of the town or city council. * 4 − 12

regidor A regidor (plural: ''regidores'') is a member of a council of municipalities in Spain and Latin America. Portugal also used to have the same office of ''regedor''. Mexico In Mexico, an ayuntamiento (municipal council) is composed of a municipa ...

s (council members). * 1

Alguacil Alguacil (in Spanish), aguazil or guazil (in Portuguese) is the title for a number of governmental office-holders. Origin The term ''alguacil'' is derived from the Arabic term (''wazir''), meaning Vizier. The first known use of the term dates ...

(sheriff). * 1 ''Síndico Procurador'' (city attorney−corporation counsel). In colonial

Spanish Texas Spanish Texas was one of the interior provinces of the colonial Viceroyalty of New Spain from 1519 until 1821. Spain claimed ownership of the region in 1519. Slave raids by Spaniards into what became Texas began in the 16th century and created ...

and in

Mexican Texas Mexican Texas is the historiographical name used to refer to the era of Texan history between 1821 and 1836, when it was part of Mexico. Mexico gained independence in 1821 after winning its Mexican War of Independence, war against Spain, whi ...

, the word Cabildo was used for the ''ayuntamientos''−councils, and also for the buildings they met within.Tshaonline.org−Handbook of Texas Online: "Cabildo" entry
by Geoffrey Pivateau . accessed 18 July 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sindico Procurador Colonial Mexico People from New Spain Spanish words and phrases City attorneys Local politicians in Mexico Judiciary of Mexico Municipalities of Mexico Spanish colonial governors and administrators Spanish Texas Positions of subnational authority

Definition

See also

References