Municipalities of Quintana Roo

Map of Mexico with Quintana Roo highlighted
Map of Mexico with Quintana Roo highlighted

Quintana Roo is a state in southeast Mexico established out of the Quintana Roo Territory in 1974 with seven municipalities, which has since grown into eleven municipalities. According to the 2020 Mexican census, it has the twenty-fourth largest population of all states with 1,857,985 inhabitants and is the 19th largest by land area spanning 44,705.2 square kilometres (17,260.8 sq mi).[1][2]

Municipalities in Quintana Roo are administratively autonomous of the state according to the 115th article of the 1917 Constitution of Mexico.[3] Their legal framework derives from the state Constitution.[4] Every three years, citizens elect a municipal president (Spanish: presidente municipal) by a plurality voting system. The president heads a concurrently elected municipal council (ayuntamiento) responsible for providing public services for their constituents. The municipal council consists of trustees and councillors (regidores y síndicos).[5] 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.[6] 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 locally.[6]

As of 2020, the largest municipality by population is Benito Juárez with 911,503 residents while the smallest is Isla Mujeres with 22,686 residents.[1] The largest municipality by land area is Felipe Carrillo Puerto which spans 12,939.30 km2 (4,995.89 sq mi), and the smallest is Cozumel with 488.00 km2 (188.42 sq mi).[2] The newest municipality is Puerto Morelos which was created out of Benito Juárez in 2016.[7]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference census2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b "México en cifras - Medio Ambiente - Quintana Roo" (in Spanish). Mexico: INEGI. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  3. ^ Constitución Política de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos [Political Constitution of the United Mexican States] (Article 115) (in Spanish). 1917. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
  4. ^ Constitución Política del Estado libre y soberano de Quintana Roo [Political Constitution of the free and sovereign State of Quintana Roo] (PDF) (in Spanish). October 19, 2018. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
  5. ^ OECD (November 12, 2004). New Forms of Governance for Economic Development. OECD Publishing. p. 121. ISBN 978-9-2640-1532-6.
  6. ^ 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)
  7. ^ Por el que se crea el municipio de Puerto Morelos del Estado de Quintana Roo [Why the municipality of Puerto Morelos is created in the State of Quintana Roo.] (PDF) (Directive 342) (in Spanish). January 6, 2016. p. 5.