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Guerrero

 
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Guerrero
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State (pop., 2000: 3,079,649), southwestern Mexico. It covers 24,819 sq mi (64,281 sq km), and its capital is Chilpancingo. Bounded by the Pacific Ocean, it lies almost entirely — except for a narrow coastal plain — within the Sierra Madre del Sur, the valleys of which are fertile but difficult to access. Its principal river is the Balsas. Named after the independence leader Vicente Guerrero (1782 – 1831), the region became a state in 1849. Its best-known cities are Acapulco and Taxco, a preserved colonial town. It derives its income from agriculture, mining, and tourism.

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Columbia Encyclopedia: Guerrero
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Guerrero, state (1990 pop. 2,620,637), 24,887 sq mi (64,457 sq km), S Mexico, on the Pacific Ocean. The capital is Chilpancingo. Dominated by the Sierra Madre del Sur, which reaches 12,149 ft (3,703 m) in the Pico de Teotepec, Guerrero is extremely mountainous except for a narrow coastal strip, which has a harbor at Acapulco. The state's major river is the Río de las Balsas. The climate of the coast and the deep valleys is hot and rainy, but the highlands are temperate and drier. Tourism, centered at Acapulco, is an economic mainstay. Agriculture (the growing of coffee, tobacco, cotton, tropical fruits, and cereals), forest products, and mining are the state's other chief economic activities. Mineral resources include gold, silver, lead, zinc, iron, coal, precious stones, and sulfur. The silverwork of Taxco is famous. The Cacahuamilpa caverns, with rock formations that date back 80 million years and some of which rise more than 70 ft (21 m), are in the NE part of the state and belong to the national park system. Little industrialization has occurred in Guerrero, despite its abundant hydroelectric power, and it remains one of Mexico's poorest states. Historically, Guerrero was divided among the states of Michoacán, Mexico, Puebla, and Oaxaca; the state was not established until 1849. Some of the heaviest fighting of the Mexican war for independence (1810-21) from Spain took place in the area, which was later named for Vicente Guerrero, one of the revolutionary leaders. A small antigovernment guerrilla group appeared in Guerrero in the late 1990s but appeared to be contained by the Mexican army.

Wikipedia: Guerrero
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For other uses, see Guerrero (disambiguation).
State of Guerrero

Flag
Coat of arms
Location within Mexico
Country  Mexico
Capital Chilpancingo
Municipalities 76
Largest City Acapulco
Government
 - Governor Zeferino Torreblanca (PRD)
 - Federal Deputies PRD: 9
 - Federal Senators PRD: 2
PRI: 1
Area
Ranked 14th
 - Total 64,281 km2 (24,819 sq mi)
Population (2005)
 - Total 3,115,202(Ranked 11th)
Time zone CST (UTC-6)
 - Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
HDI (2004) 0.7296 - medium
Ranked 30th
ISO 3166-2 MX-GRO
Postal abbr. Gro.
Website Guerrero State Government

The State of Guerrero is a state in the southern meridional region of Mexico. With an area of 64,282 square kilometers (24,819.4 sq mi), it occupies about 3.3% of Mexican territory. It borders the Pacific Ocean to the south (500 km), Michoacán to the west (524 km), Oaxaca to the east (241 km), and Mexico State (216 km), Morelos (88 km), and Puebla to the north (128 km). Guerrero is named in honor of the second president of the republic, General Vicente Ramón Guerrero Saldaña (August 10, 1782 – February 14, 1831), a hero of the Mexican War of Independence. In 2003, the population was estimated at 3,167,400 people.

The state capital is Chilpancingo de los Bravo. Other important cities include Acapulco, Petatlan, Taxco, Iguala, and Zihuatanejo.

Guerrero is an important tourist destination. There are three main areas of tourism, known as the Triángulo del Sol (T0riangle of the Sun). The first is Acapulco. The second is Taxco, a colonial town noted for its silverware. The third is Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo. Ixtapa was a destination created by the federal government during the slow economy of the 1980s to increase tourism.

Contents

History

During the 14th and 15th centuries, the mountain and coastal regions of Guerrero were occupied by Nahuatl-speaking people who practiced slash and burn farming in the tropical forests and cultivated small irrigated fields along the numerous river valleys. The Spanish conquest brought dramatic declines in the native population.[1] However, unlike many other portions of Mexico, this decline was not offset by significant Spanish settlement. Rough topography, the low potential for economic development, and perceived health hazards were disincentives to settlement. As a result, agriculture and cattle raising were not common in the region until well into the 19th century.[2] While Guerrero has experienced significant population growth and economic development during the last 60 years, the geographic pattern and character of this growth remain strongly influenced by the state's rugged physiography and limitations on transportation.[3]

Geography

In most of Guerrero, a hot and humid climate with a summer rainy season prevails, although it has a complex geographical morphology that allows a more temperate climate in the central and northern regions.

The Sierra Madre del Sur range runs east and west through the state. The area north of the range lies in the basin of the Balsas River, which forms northwestern and western border of the state. South of the range, a number of short rivers drain towards the Pacific.

Flora and fauna

Five terrestrial ecoregions extend across the state.

The Southern Pacific dry forests lie on the southern slopes of the Sierra Madre del Sur, extending from the coast up to 1400 meters elevation. The forests are predominantly deciduous during the long dry season. The Sierra Madre del Sur pine-oak forests occupy the higher slopes of the Sierra Madre del Sur. These forests harbor a great diversity of species, including many endemic orchids, butterflies, and birds. The Balsas dry forests lie in the basin of the Balsas River, north of the Sierra Madre del Sur, and are notable for the diversity of mammal species, including jaguarundi, coati, ocelot, and collared peccary. The northernmost part of the state includes portions of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt pine-oak forests, which occupy the mountainous northern rim of the Balsas basin. The Mexican South Pacific mangroves are found in coastal lagoons along the coast of Michoacan, Guerrero, and Oaxaca.

There are a variety of species of vegetation and wildlife in Guerrero. Notably this is an original location of the domestication of the Wild turkey and also the southern extent of the range of the subspecies of the Wild turkey that occurs in this region.[4] Other birdlife native to Guerrero include the Broad-billed Hummingbird.[5]

Demography

The state of Guerrero reports a population of 3´115,202 inhabitants, which represents only 3% of the nations total, and has had a birth rate of as little as 0,2% annually for the past five years.

14% of those over 5 years speak a native tongue, being the Nahuatl, Mixteco and Tlapaneco the most common ones, and 80% of the same segment speak no Spanish at all.

Regarding other statistics, 58% of the population lives in urban areas, being Acapulco de Juarez de region with the highest concentration of people as it is the permanent home to 24% of the state population; also worth mentioning the facts that 73,215 persons or 2,4% of the states citizens migrated to the United States during 2005; that life expectancy in the state reaches 73 years in average; and that 89% of locals follow the catholic faith.

Demonym: Guererriense

Education

The state is lagging behind the national average, as 20% of the population over 15 years of age are illiterate, while one municipality, Cochoapa El Grande reports a disturbing 96% rate of illiteracy.

Institutions of higher education include:

  • Universidad Autónoma de Guerrero

Government and politics

The Constitution of the State of Guerrero provides that the government of Guerrero, like that of every other state in Mexico, consists of three powers: the executive, the legislative, and the judiciary.

Executive power rests in the governor of Guerrero, who is directly elected by the citizens, using a secret ballot, to a 6-year term, with no possibility of reelection. Legislative power rests in the Congress of Guerrero, which is a unicameral. Judicial power is invested in the Superior Court of Justice of Guerrero.

Municipalities

Regions and municipalities of Guerrero
Main article: Municipalities of Guerrero

The State of Guerrero is divided into 7 regions (regiones): Acapulco, Centro, Costa Chica, Costa Grande, Montaña, Norte, and Tierra Caliente. These are subdivided into 81 municipalities, each headed by a municipal president (mayor). Most municipalities are named after the city that serves as municipal seat; e.g., the municipal seat of the Municipality of Chilpancingo is the City of Chilpancingo de los Bravos.

Major communities

Municipalities

Acapulco de Juarez, Ahuacuotzingo, Ajuchitlan del Progreso, Alcozauca de Guerrero, Alpoyeca, Apaxtla, Arcelia, Atenango del Rio, Atlamajalcingo del Monte, Atlixtac, Atoyac de Alvarez, Ayutla de Los Libres, Azoyu, Benito Juarez, Buenavista de Cuellar, Coahuayutla de Jose Maria Izazaga Cocula, Copala, Copalillo, Copanatoyac, Coyuca de Benitez, Coyuca de Catalan, Cuajinicuilapa, Cualac, Cuautepec, Cuetzala del Progreso, Cutzamala de Pinzon, Chilapa de Alvarez, Chilpancingo (Chilpancingo de los Bravo), Florencio Villarreal, General Canuto A. Neri, General Heliodoro Castillo, Huamuxtitlan, Huitzuco de los Figueroa, Iguala de la Independencia, Igualapa, Ixcateopan de Cuauhtemoc, Jose Azueta, Juan R. Escudero, Leonardo Bravo, Malinaltepec, Martir de Cuilapan, Metlatonoc, Mochitlan, Olinala, Ometepec, Pedro Ascencio Alquisiras, Petatlan, Pilcaya, Pungarabato, Quechultenango, San Luis Acatlan, San Marcos, San Miguel Totolapan, Taxco de Alarcon, Tecoanapa, Tecpan de Galeana, Teloloapan, Tepecoacuilco de Trujano, Tetipac, Tixtla de Guerrero, Tlacoachistlahuaca, Tlacoapa, Tlalchapa, Tlalixtaquilla de Maldonado, Tlapa de Comonfort, Tlapehuala, La Union de Isidoro Montes de Oca, Xalpatlahuac, Xochihuehuetlan, Xochistlahuaca, Zacapocstepec Zapotitlan Tablas, Zirandaro, Zitlala, Eduardo Neri,

Notes

  1. ^ Acuña, R. (1987). Relaciones Geográficas del Siglo XVI: Michoacán. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. 
  2. ^ Gerhard, P. (1972). A Guide to the Historical Geography of New Spain. University of Cambridge Press. 
  3. ^ Lambert, D.P. (1994). "Regional Core-Periphery Imbalance: The Case of Guerrero, Mexico, Since 1821". Yearbook, Conference of Latin Americanist Geographers (20): 59–71. 
  4. ^ C. Michael Hogan. 2008. Wild turkey: Meleagris gallopavo, GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg
  5. ^ Carl Eduard Hellmayr, Boardman Conover, Charles Barney Cory. Catalogue of birds of the Americas, Part 2, Issue 1, Field Museum of Natural History

External links

v • d • e
Political divisions of Mexico
Flag of Mexico.svg

Coordinates: 17°36′47″N 99°57′00″W / 17.61306°N 99.95°W / 17.61306; -99.95


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