Municipalities of Guanajuato

Map of Mexico with Guanajuato highlighted
Map of Mexico with Guanajuato highlighted

Guanajuato is a state in North Central Mexico that is divided into 46 municipalities.[1] According to the 2020 Mexican census, Guanajuato is the sixth most populous state with 6,166,934 inhabitants and the 22nd largest by land area spanning 30,691.61 square kilometres (11,850.10 sq mi).[1][2]

Municipalities in Guanajuato 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 in Guanajuato and third largest in Mexico is León, with 1,721,215 residents or approximately 27.9% of the state population.[1] The smallest municipality by population is Atarjea with 5,296 residents.[1] The largest municipality by land area is San Felipe which spans 3,014.92 km2 (1,164.07 sq mi), and the smallest is Pueblo Nuevo which spans 60.05 km2 (23.18 sq mi).[2] The first state constitution, Constitución Política del Estado Libre de Guanajuato, resulted in the formation of the first 17 municipalities in Guanajuato on April 15, 1826.[6][7] The newest municipality is Doctor Mora, incorporated on September 22, 1935.[7]

  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 9264015329.
  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. ^ Gobierno de México (1824). "Constitución Federal de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos" (PDF). UNAM.mx. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 3, 2016. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  7. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Incorporationdate was invoked but never defined (see the help page).