Juchitán de Zaragoza
Encyclopedia
Juchitán de Zaragoza is an indigenous town in the southeast of the Mexican
state
of Oaxaca
.
It is part of the Juchitán District
in the west of the Istmo de Tehuantepec region
With a 2005 census population of 70,714 inhabitants, it is the fourth-largest city in the state (just barely behind Salina Cruz
). The majority of the indigenous inhabitants are Zapotecs and Huaves. The town also serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality, with which it shares a name. The municipality has an area of 414.64 km² (160.1 sq mi) and a population of 85,869, the state's third-largest in population.
It is located 26 km northeast of the city of Tehuantepec
. Its Palacio Municipal dates back to the middle of the 19th century and perhaps is the widest "palace" in Mexico
with 31 arches in it front portal. Its main church is the Parroquia de San Vicente Ferrer (Parish of San Vicente Ferrer) which dates from the 17th century. To the west of the Palacio is a large market where local products can be seen and a local variant of the Zapotec
language can be heard.
Juchitán is famous for being the first Mexican town to elect a left wing pro-socialist municipal government in the 20th century, when Leopoldo de Gyves won the elections for mayor
in 1980 against the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI).
The people of Juchitán have led some local revolts over time: In 1834, "Che Gorio Melendre", a native of Juchitán, directed a revolt against the government of Oaxaca, demanding the control of salt mine
s on the coast located at the southwest of Juchitán and for local autonomy of the county
. The revolt was interrupted by the Mexican-American War in 1847. Irregular troops commanded by Melendre joined the resistance against the invasion. After the invasion by the United States
, the governor of Oaxaca
, Benito Juárez
responded to the local demands of Che Gorio Melendre on May 19, 1850 by sending troops to burn the city of Juchitán and to assassinate their leader Melendre.
On September 5, 1866, during the French
invasion of Mexico, the indigenous people of Juchitán, Unión Hidalgo
, San Blas Atempa
, and Ixtaltepec defeated the Royal French Army
stationed in Tehuantepec
. Most of the army of Porfirio Díaz
, later the dictator
of Mexico, were natives of Juchitán. José Fructuoso Gómez, nicknamed Che Gómez directed a 1910 revolt in support of the Mexican Revolution
, allied with Zapata
and Villa
. In the 1970s, a group of left wing students, workers and farmers organized with the intent of taking control of the local county through election
s, instead of by force. In February 2001, Juchitán municipality received the caravan of Zapatista Army of National Liberation
(EZLN).
The violent history of Juchitán involves the strategic geopolitical
location of the area, which is located on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec
, the thin part of Mexico between the Pacific Ocean
and the Gulf of Mexico
. The zone has been coveted by many countries since the McLane-Ocampo Treaty
, which was signed in December 1859. Under the treaty, President Benito Juárez
received a loan in exchange for the use of the isthmus of Tehuantepec by the United States
. In 1970s an attempt to resurrect the treaty, called the Alfa-Omega project, was aborted. In 2000, the project was finally approved as the Plan Puebla Panama
.
Gamesa
and Iberdrola are currently making important investments in Juchitán, to create a big wind power eolic park -called Proyecto La Venta II- able to produce at least 88 megawatts of energy. The project will make Juchitán the center of the alternative energies in Mexico becoming an example to the rest of Latin America as the eolic park would be the largest in all the region. This project has been criticized because of the lack of information given by Gamesa, Iberdrola and the Mexican Government about its possible ecological, political and cultural consequences on a region where its culture is based on the property of the land used by the Proyecto La Venta II.
Citizens of Juchitán have also made contributions in the arts, such as paint
ing, poetry
, music
, folk dance
, and sculpture
.
In 2006, it was renamed as "Heroica Ciudad de Juchitán de Zaragoza" (Heroic City of Juchitán de Zaragoza), degree given by the State Congress
in regard of its inhabitants' defense against the French Invasion.
In May, residents celebrate the Fiesta de las Velas (Festival of the Candles) in honor of its patron saint San Vicente Ferrer, with a large procession.
15 de Agosto, 5 de Septiembre, Álvaro Obregón, Cerro Cristo, Charis, Chicapa de Castro, Colonia 19 de Marzo (Colonia San José), Colonia de la Amistad, Colonia Jesús González Cortaza, Colonia José Yola, Colonia Mariano Montero, Colonia San Vicente, Colonia Santa Rosita, Dos Arbolitos, Dos Hermanos, El Caballero Burro, El Chamizal (Toledo Cueto), El Chaparral, El Porvenir, El Tamarindo, Emiliano Zapata, Esquipulas 1, Esquipulas 2, Estero Guiee, Gaspar Torres Urbieta, Huanacastal, La Esperanza, La Estancia (Santa Cecilia), La Guadalupana, La Liebre (Paraje la Liebre), La Negrita, La Providencia, La Venta, La Ventosa 1, La Ventosa 2, Los Aguacates, Los Cocos Los Ordaz II, Los Vicentes Minerva, Onésimas (Argelino Solórzano), Parada San Vicente, Pepe y Lolita, Piedra Larga, Playa San Vicente, Primera Curva, Rancho Adelma, Rancho Babel López Sánchez, Rancho Chuvalessa, Rancho de los Vásquez (Colonia Palomar), Rancho Domitilo Marquez, Rancho Don Cutberto, Rancho el Ángel, Rancho Esquipulas, Rancho Francisco Rancho Guadalupe, Rancho Juanita, Rancho Lucita, Rancho Martín Vicente, Rancho Nemesio Valdivieso López, Rancho San Antonio, Rancho San Luis, Rancho Torres, Río Viejo (Mojonera), Salinas Santa Cruz, San Antonio, San Isidro, San José, Santa Clara, Santa Fe 1, Santa Fe 2, Santa Lucía, Santa María del Mar, and Santa Rita
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
state
States of Mexico
The United Mexican States is a federal republic formed by 32 federal entities .According to the Constitution of 1917, the states of the federation are free and sovereign. Each state has their own congress and constitution, while the Federal District has only limited autonomy with a local Congress...
of Oaxaca
Oaxaca
Oaxaca , , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca is one of the 31 states which, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 571 municipalities; of which 418 are governed by the system of customs and traditions...
.
It is part of the Juchitán District
Juchitán District, Oaxaca
Juchitán District is located in the east of the Istmo de Tehuantepec region of the State of Oaxaca, Mexico, covering the southern part of a low lying corridor through the mountains that separates the Gulf of Mexico from the Pacific ocean....
in the west of the Istmo de Tehuantepec region
Istmo de Tehuantepec, Oaxaca
Istmo de Tehuantepec is the largest region in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. It covers the southern part of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, the shortest route between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean before the Panama Canal was opened....
With a 2005 census population of 70,714 inhabitants, it is the fourth-largest city in the state (just barely behind Salina Cruz
Salina Cruz
Salina Cruz is a major seaport on the Pacific coast of the Mexican state of Oaxaca. It is the state's third-largest city and is municipal seat of the municipality of the same name.It is part of the Tehuantepec District in the west of the Istmo Region....
). The majority of the indigenous inhabitants are Zapotecs and Huaves. The town also serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality, with which it shares a name. The municipality has an area of 414.64 km² (160.1 sq mi) and a population of 85,869, the state's third-largest in population.
It is located 26 km northeast of the city of Tehuantepec
Tehuantepec
Tehuantepec is a city and municipality in the southeast of the Mexican state of Oaxaca. It is part of the Tehuantepec District in the west of the Istmo Region. The area was important in pre Hispanic period as part of a trade route that connected Central America with what is now the center of...
. Its Palacio Municipal dates back to the middle of the 19th century and perhaps is the widest "palace" in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
with 31 arches in it front portal. Its main church is the Parroquia de San Vicente Ferrer (Parish of San Vicente Ferrer) which dates from the 17th century. To the west of the Palacio is a large market where local products can be seen and a local variant of the Zapotec
Zapotec language
The Zapotec language are a group of closely related indigenous Mesoamerican languages spoken by the Zapotec people from the southwestern-central highlands of Mexico. Present-day native speakers are estimated to number over half a million, with the majority inhabiting the state of Oaxaca....
language can be heard.
Juchitán is famous for being the first Mexican town to elect a left wing pro-socialist municipal government in the 20th century, when Leopoldo de Gyves won the elections for mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
in 1980 against the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI).
The people of Juchitán have led some local revolts over time: In 1834, "Che Gorio Melendre", a native of Juchitán, directed a revolt against the government of Oaxaca, demanding the control of salt mine
Salt mine
A salt mine is a mining operation involved in the extraction of rock salt or halite from evaporite deposits.-Occurrence:Areas known for their salt mines include Kilroot near Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland ; Khewra and Warcha in Pakistan; Tuzla in Bosnia; Wieliczka and Bochnia in Poland A salt mine...
s on the coast located at the southwest of Juchitán and for local autonomy of the county
County
A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...
. The revolt was interrupted by the Mexican-American War in 1847. Irregular troops commanded by Melendre joined the resistance against the invasion. After the invasion by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the governor of Oaxaca
Oaxaca
Oaxaca , , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca is one of the 31 states which, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 571 municipalities; of which 418 are governed by the system of customs and traditions...
, Benito Juárez
Benito Juárez
Benito Juárez born Benito Pablo Juárez García, was a Mexican lawyer and politician of Zapotec origin from Oaxaca who served five terms as president of Mexico: 1858–1861 as interim, 1861–1865, 1865–1867, 1867–1871 and 1871–1872...
responded to the local demands of Che Gorio Melendre on May 19, 1850 by sending troops to burn the city of Juchitán and to assassinate their leader Melendre.
On September 5, 1866, during the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
invasion of Mexico, the indigenous people of Juchitán, Unión Hidalgo
Unión Hidalgo
Unión Hidalgo is a town and municipality in Oaxaca in south-western Mexico.It is part of the Juchitán District in the west of the Istmo de Tehuantepec region.The municipality covers an area of 132.69 km² at an average height of 20 meters above sea level...
, San Blas Atempa
San Blas Atempa
San Blas Atempa is a town and municipality in Oaxaca in south-western Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 148 km².It is part of the Tehuantepec District in the west of the Istmo Region.As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 16,899....
, and Ixtaltepec defeated the Royal French Army
French Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
stationed in Tehuantepec
Tehuantepec
Tehuantepec is a city and municipality in the southeast of the Mexican state of Oaxaca. It is part of the Tehuantepec District in the west of the Istmo Region. The area was important in pre Hispanic period as part of a trade route that connected Central America with what is now the center of...
. Most of the army of Porfirio Díaz
Porfirio Díaz
José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori was a Mexican-American War volunteer and French intervention hero, an accomplished general and the President of Mexico continuously from 1876 to 1911, with the exception of a brief term in 1876 when he left Juan N...
, later the dictator
Dictator
A dictator is a ruler who assumes sole and absolute power but without hereditary ascension such as an absolute monarch. When other states call the head of state of a particular state a dictator, that state is called a dictatorship...
of Mexico, were natives of Juchitán. José Fructuoso Gómez, nicknamed Che Gómez directed a 1910 revolt in support of the Mexican Revolution
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, and agrarianist movements. Over time the Revolution...
, allied with Zapata
Emiliano Zapata
Emiliano Zapata Salazar was a leading figure in the Mexican Revolution, which broke out in 1910, and which was initially directed against the president Porfirio Díaz. He formed and commanded an important revolutionary force, the Liberation Army of the South, during the Mexican Revolution...
and Villa
Pancho Villa
José Doroteo Arango Arámbula – better known by his pseudonym Francisco Villa or its hypocorism Pancho Villa – was one of the most prominent Mexican Revolutionary generals....
. In the 1970s, a group of left wing students, workers and farmers organized with the intent of taking control of the local county through election
Election
An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the...
s, instead of by force. In February 2001, Juchitán municipality received the caravan of Zapatista Army of National Liberation
Zapatista Army of National Liberation
The Zapatista Army of National Liberation is a revolutionary leftist group based in Chiapas, the southernmost state of Mexico....
(EZLN).
The violent history of Juchitán involves the strategic geopolitical
Geopolitics
Geopolitics, from Greek Γη and Πολιτική in broad terms, is a theory that describes the relation between politics and territory whether on local or international scale....
location of the area, which is located on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec
Isthmus of Tehuantepec
The Isthmus of Tehuantepec is an isthmus in Mexico. It represents the shortest distance between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean, and prior to the opening of the Panama Canal was a major shipping route known simply as the Tehuantepec Route...
, the thin part of Mexico between the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
and the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
. The zone has been coveted by many countries since the McLane-Ocampo Treaty
McLane-Ocampo Treaty
The McLane-Ocampo Treaty, formally the Treaty of Transit and Commerce, was an agreement between the United States and Mexico, signed in the port of Veracruz in Mexico on December 14, 1859, which would have sold the perpetual right of transit to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec to the U.S...
, which was signed in December 1859. Under the treaty, President Benito Juárez
Benito Juárez
Benito Juárez born Benito Pablo Juárez García, was a Mexican lawyer and politician of Zapotec origin from Oaxaca who served five terms as president of Mexico: 1858–1861 as interim, 1861–1865, 1865–1867, 1867–1871 and 1871–1872...
received a loan in exchange for the use of the isthmus of Tehuantepec by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In 1970s an attempt to resurrect the treaty, called the Alfa-Omega project, was aborted. In 2000, the project was finally approved as the Plan Puebla Panama
Plan Puebla Panama
The Puebla-Panama Plan is a multi-billion dollar development plan formally initiated in 2001, which is intended to "promote the regional integration and development" of the nine southern states of Mexico with all of Central America and Colombia...
.
Gamesa
Gamesa Corporación Tecnológica
Gamesa Corporación Tecnológica , is a manufacturing company principally involved in the fabrication of wind turbines and the construction of wind farms....
and Iberdrola are currently making important investments in Juchitán, to create a big wind power eolic park -called Proyecto La Venta II- able to produce at least 88 megawatts of energy. The project will make Juchitán the center of the alternative energies in Mexico becoming an example to the rest of Latin America as the eolic park would be the largest in all the region. This project has been criticized because of the lack of information given by Gamesa, Iberdrola and the Mexican Government about its possible ecological, political and cultural consequences on a region where its culture is based on the property of the land used by the Proyecto La Venta II.
Paint
Paint is any liquid, liquefiable, or mastic composition which after application to a substrate in a thin layer is converted to an opaque solid film. One may also consider the digital mimicry thereof...
ing, poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
, music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, folk dance
Folk dance
The term folk dance describes dances that share some or all of the following attributes:*They are dances performed at social functions by people with little or no professional training, often to traditional music or music based on traditional music....
, and sculpture
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
.
In 2006, it was renamed as "Heroica Ciudad de Juchitán de Zaragoza" (Heroic City of Juchitán de Zaragoza), degree given by the State Congress
Congress of Oaxaca
The Congress of Oaxaca is the legislature of Oaxaca, a state of Mexico. The Congress is unicameral....
in regard of its inhabitants' defense against the French Invasion.
In May, residents celebrate the Fiesta de las Velas (Festival of the Candles) in honor of its patron saint San Vicente Ferrer, with a large procession.
The municipality
As municipal seat, Juchitán has governing jurisdiction over the following communities:15 de Agosto, 5 de Septiembre, Álvaro Obregón, Cerro Cristo, Charis, Chicapa de Castro, Colonia 19 de Marzo (Colonia San José), Colonia de la Amistad, Colonia Jesús González Cortaza, Colonia José Yola, Colonia Mariano Montero, Colonia San Vicente, Colonia Santa Rosita, Dos Arbolitos, Dos Hermanos, El Caballero Burro, El Chamizal (Toledo Cueto), El Chaparral, El Porvenir, El Tamarindo, Emiliano Zapata, Esquipulas 1, Esquipulas 2, Estero Guiee, Gaspar Torres Urbieta, Huanacastal, La Esperanza, La Estancia (Santa Cecilia), La Guadalupana, La Liebre (Paraje la Liebre), La Negrita, La Providencia, La Venta, La Ventosa 1, La Ventosa 2, Los Aguacates, Los Cocos Los Ordaz II, Los Vicentes Minerva, Onésimas (Argelino Solórzano), Parada San Vicente, Pepe y Lolita, Piedra Larga, Playa San Vicente, Primera Curva, Rancho Adelma, Rancho Babel López Sánchez, Rancho Chuvalessa, Rancho de los Vásquez (Colonia Palomar), Rancho Domitilo Marquez, Rancho Don Cutberto, Rancho el Ángel, Rancho Esquipulas, Rancho Francisco Rancho Guadalupe, Rancho Juanita, Rancho Lucita, Rancho Martín Vicente, Rancho Nemesio Valdivieso López, Rancho San Antonio, Rancho San Luis, Rancho Torres, Río Viejo (Mojonera), Salinas Santa Cruz, San Antonio, San Isidro, San José, Santa Clara, Santa Fe 1, Santa Fe 2, Santa Lucía, Santa María del Mar, and Santa Rita
External links
- Historia de Tehuantepec, Historia de Salina Cruz, Noticias del Istmo
- Juchitán de Zaragoza municipal site
- EZLN arrives in Juchitan (26 February 2001
- Juchitán and the Authentic Searchers for Danger The ultimate Oaxaca travel guide
- Consejo Nacional de Energía Information about eolic energy available in Oaxaca
- Pueblos indígenas de México Zapotecos of the Isthmus monography