Municipalities of Chiapas

Map of Mexico with Chiapas highlighted
Map of Mexico with Chiapas highlighted

Chiapas is a state in Southwest Mexico. According to the 2020 Mexican census, it has the eighth largest population of all states with 5,543,828 inhabitants and the 10th largest by land area spanning 73,560.47 square kilometres (28,401.86 sq mi).[1][2] Chiapas is officially divided into 124 municipalities,[3][4] although the establishment of municipal authorities in Belisario Domínguez was suspended in 2015 pending the resolution of a territorial dispute between Chiapas and the neighbouring state of Oaxaca.[5] In 2021, the Mexican Supreme Court resolved this dispute in Oaxaca's favour,[6] and annulled the 2011 decree that had created Belisario Domínguez.[7]

Municipalities in Chiapas are administratively autonomous of the state according to the 115th article of the 1917 Constitution of Mexico.[8] Every three years, citizens elect a municipal president (Spanish: presidente municipal) by a plurality voting system who heads a concurrently elected municipal council (ayuntamiento) responsible for providing all the public services for their constituents. The municipal council consists of a variable number of trustees and councillors (regidores y síndicos).[9] Municipalities are responsible for public services (such as water and sewerage), street lighting, public safety, traffic, and the maintenance of public parks, gardens and cemeteries.[10] They may also assist the state and federal governments in education, emergency fire and medical services, environmental protection and maintenance of monuments and historical landmarks. Since 1984, they have had the power to collect property taxes and user fees, although more funds are obtained from the state and federal governments than from their own income.[10]

The largest municipality by population is the state capital Tuxtla Gutiérrez, with 604,147 residents while the smallest is Sunuapa with 2,308 residents.[1] The largest municipality by land area is Ocosingo which spans 9,520.12 km2 (3,675.74 sq mi), and the smallest is Santiago el Pinar which spans 16.59 km2 (6.41 sq mi).[2] The newest municipality is Honduras de la Sierra, incorporated on July 15, 2018.[11]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference census2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Landarea was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Constitución Política del Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas (PDF) (2) (in Spanish). September 6, 2017. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  4. ^ "En 2018 sí habrá elecciones en nuevos municipios de Chiapas: SGG". El Estado (in Spanish). September 21, 2017. Archived from the original on January 6, 2018. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  5. ^ "Desaparecen Concejo Municipal por controversia constitucional" (in Spanish). MuralChiapas. April 20, 2016. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  6. ^ Briseño, Patricia (November 11, 2021). "SCJN ratifica límites históricos entre Oaxaca y Chiapas". Excélsior (in Spanish). Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  7. ^ López, Isaí (November 11, 2021). "SCJN deja sin efecto decreto del Congreso de Chiapas que creó municipio Belisario Domínguez". El Heraldo de Chiapas (in Spanish). Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  8. ^ Constitución Política de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos (Article 115) (in Spanish). 1917. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
  9. ^ OECD (November 12, 2004). New Forms of Governance for Economic Development. OECD Publishing. p. 121. ISBN 9264015329.
  10. ^ a b International Business Publications (2009). Mexico Company Laws and Regulations Handbook. p. 42. ISBN 978-1-4330-7030-3. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  11. ^ López, Isaí (4 October 2019). "Honduras de la Sierra, el nuevo municipio". El Heraldo de Chiapas (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 October 2020.