Municipalities of Chihuahua

Map of Mexico with Chihuahua highlighted
Map of Mexico with Chihuahua highlighted

Chihuahua is a state in Northwest Mexico that is divided into 67 municipalities.[1] According to the 2020 Mexican census, Chihuahua is the 12th most populous state with 3,741,869 inhabitants and the largest by land area spanning 247,798.08 square kilometres (95,675.37 sq mi).[1][2]

Municipalities in Chihuahua are administratively autonomous of the state according to the 115th article of the 1917 Constitution of Mexico.[3] 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).[4] 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.[5] 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.[5]

The largest municipality by population is Ciudad Juárez, Mexico's sixth largest municipality, with 1,512,450 residents or approximately 40.4 percent of the state population.[1] The smallest municipality by population is Huejotitán, with 824 residents.[1] The largest municipality by land area is Ahumada, which spans 16,927.60 km2 (6,535.78 sq mi), and the smallest is Santa Bárbara, which spans 346.15 km2 (133.65 sq mi).[2] The first municipality to incorporate was Rosales, on July 8, 1820, and the newest municipality is Guachochi, which incorporated on January 9, 1963.[6]

  1. ^ a b c d "Censo de Población y Vivienda 2020 - SCITEL" (in Spanish). INEGI. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Landarea was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Constitución Política de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos (Article 115) (in Spanish). 1917. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
  4. ^ OECD (November 12, 2004). New Forms of Governance for Economic Development. OECD Publishing. p. 121. ISBN 978-9264015326.
  5. ^ 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)
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Incorporationdate was invoked but never defined (see the help page).