Oaxaca

This article is about the state in Mexico. For the statistician and economist, see Ronald Oaxaca .

Oaxaca
Capital	Oaxaca de Juarez
surface	93,952 km² (rank 5 )
population	3,801,962 (Rank 10 )
Population density	37 inhabitants per km² (2010)
governor	Alejandro Murat Hinojosa ( PRI ) (2016-2022)
Federal MPs	Morena = 4 PT = 4 PES = 2 (10 federal constituencies)
Senators	Morena = 2 PVEM = 1
ISO 3166-2	MX-OAX
Postal abbreviation	Oax.
Website	www.oaxaca.gob.mx

Oaxaca ( wɑˈhɑkɑ ^{? / I} ), officially Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca (Spanish Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca ) is one of the 31 states of Mexico . It is named after its capital, Oaxaca de Juárez . Oaxaca is south of the isthmus of Tehuantepec .

The mountainous state is bordered by Puebla to the northwest, Veracruz to the northeast , Guerrero to the west and Chiapas to the east . In the south, it is bordered by around 600 km of coastline from the Pacific . Its area is about 94,000 km², which makes it 4.8% of the area of ​​Mexico. 3.51 million people live in Oaxaca. It is home to over 16 different ethnic groups, making it one of the most culturally diverse states. The state has a high indigenous population. Just like other states in Mexico, Oaxaca has its own constitution, penal code and coat of arms.

Surname

The state is named after its capital Oaxaca de Juárez (see there for the origin of the word) .

In colonial times the area of the valley region as was Las Cuatro Villas called because it consisted of four spatially separated from each other small towns that administratively 1521-1530 as the possessions of the governor general of New Spain used Hernán Cortés were summarized. The name Oaxaca was later transferred to the state.

geography

Three mountain ranges intersect in the Oaxaca area: the Sierra Madre Oriental , the Sierra Madre del Sur and the Sierra Atravesada . The only plains are a narrow strip on the Pacific coast, the central high valleys and, in the north, a piece on the border with Veracruz . The average height is 1500 meters above sea level.

The main river in Oaxaca is the Río Papaloapan , which is fed by the Río Tomellín and Río Santo Domingo . The highest mountain is the Cerro Nube ( Quie Yelaag in Zapotec). It is located in the Sierra Madre del Sur and its summit is the eleventh highest in Mexico at 3750 meters.

climate

Due to its diverse geography, Oaxaca includes different climatic zones: cool, pine-covered mountain ridges, hot, dry, cactus-covered valleys and hot, humid jungles in the lower regions of the Papaloapan and the Pacific coast.

Population development

Although Oaxaca has one of the highest birth rates in Mexico, its population growth is not above the country's average. The reason for this is the emigration to other states of Mexico and abroad.

year	population
1990	3,019,560
1995	3,228,895
2000	3,438,765
2005	3,506,821
2010	3,801,962
2015	3,967,889

history

The first traces of human settlement in Oaxaca can be traced back to approx. 11,000 BC. To date. In a cave called Guilá Naquitz near the town of Mitla, remains of cultivated plants from around 8000 to 7000 BC were found. Chr.

The first settlements in the fertile central high valleys of Oaxaca are based on radiocarbon dating to approx. 1500 BC. Dated. The first settlers were probably Olmecs .

Around 200 BC In the 4th century BC the mountain top of Monte Albán (white mountain) was probably removed by the Zapotecs and the first temples were built. Between 200 BC They extended their influence to the whole of Oaxaca.

Between 300 and 700 the city was at its height and the Zapotecs ruled their entire empire in Central America from there. After the Zapotecs left Monte Albán around 950 for unknown reasons, it was taken over by the Mixtecs .

In 1458 the Aztecs occupied Oaxaca under Moctezuma I. The successor Moctezuma I established a military post and the entire region fell into the tributary of the Aztecs .

The Spanish conqueror Hernán Cortés took the Oaxaca Valley in 1521 and received it as a gift from the Spanish King Charles V in 1528 . This made Cortés, who from then on bore the title of Marqués del Valle de Oaxaca , one of the richest aristocrats in Spain .

In 1544 construction began on the cathedral in Oaxaca City. In 1812 Oaxaca was captured by the rebels around José María Morelos . From 1847 to 1852, the future Mexican President Benito Juárez was governor of Oaxaca. His most important quote is “El respeto al derecho ajeno es la paz” , which means something like “Respect for the right of one's neighbor guarantees peace”. This sentence is also affixed in oversized letters on a mountain in the capital.

In 2006, a protest by the teachers' union in Oaxaca City led to a nationwide uprising. In connection with this, the state capital was held by insurgents for five months.

→ Main article : Conflict in Oaxaca

politics

The executive power is exercised by the governor of the state. He has the right to nominate the Government Secretary-General and "... all other secretaries and public organs of the government of the state ..." and to present legislative initiatives to the legislative branch. The term of office is six years. Except in the event of death, there is no possibility of deselection within this period.

The legislature is formed by the State Congress with 42 MPs. 25 of these are determined by majority voting and 17 by proportional representation. The legislative period is three years and re-election is not possible.

The judiciary is exercised by the Supreme Court, the judges of the first instance and the jury. The Supreme Court is run by judicial officers and judges. The judicial officers are appointed by the state governor. The term of office is fifteen years and they can be re-elected.

economy

Oaxaca is one of the poorest states. With a value of 0.687, Oaxaca ranks next to last among the 31 states of Mexico in the human development index in 2015 .

The main economic factor is agriculture. Sugar cane, lemons, oranges, alfalfa, barley, corn, avocado, pine cones, rice, melons, aloe, coffee and tobacco are grown in Oaxaca. Oaxaca is the primary state of origin of the mezcal .

Mining in Oaxaca is becoming increasingly important after Canadian mining companies in particular have secured the mining rights for large parts of the country.

Another important economic factor is tourism. This is divided into four sub-areas:

• Beaches and natural attractions: Bahías de Huatulco , Puerto Escondido , Santa María del Tule , Hierve el Agua, Guilá Naquitz, Gheo Shih, etc.
• Eco, alternative and adventure tourism: boating and kayaking, sport fishing, camping, mountain biking, abseiling, rural tourism, etc.
• Festivals and celebrations: Semana Santa , Guelaguetza, Velas Istmeñas, Todos Santos, Noche de Rábanos, Virgen de Juquila, Virgen de Guadalupe, Virgen de la Soledad, Santo Cristo de Tlacolula etc.
• Archaeological zones: Monte Albán , Mitla , Yagul , San José Mogote, Dainzú , Yucuita, Yucuñudahui and Zaachila

Municipal structure

In Mexico the municipality is the lowest level of the three-part political territorial administration; above are the states and the federation. In Mexico there are currently a total of 2448 Municipios, of which there are 570 (almost 25%) in Oaxaca , which are mostly smaller here than in other states. The parish council and local officials are either elected through political parties or determined by the parish assembly according to traditional customary law (usos y costumbres) .

Oaxaca is also divided into 30 districts (Distritos electorales, electoral districts), each district has its own judge and a tax administration. These districts are in turn grouped into eight regions.

The common law of the indigenous people

→ Main article : Indigenous peoples

Of the 570 parishes of Oaxaca, 418 administer themselves according to traditional customary law (usos y costumbres) and only 152 according to the party system common in the rest of the republic.

Common law is exercised by the community assembly (asamblea). The community representatives do not belong to any party, are usually elected for a relatively short period of time (1–3 years), do their service to the community without pay and can be recalled at any time by the community assembly. Despite these grassroots democratic elements, women are still the exception as community representatives.

The community offices are part of the cargo system , a hierarchy of religious and secular functions within the village community that begins in puberty with the assumption of messenger and police duties by "topile" and ends at an advanced age with the judicial office of "alcalde".

Closely linked to this is the tequio , a free service that is spent on weekends with other community members, for example with maintenance work on the road through the village.

Although the origins of indigenous customary law predate the Spanish conquest, many of its elements stem from the colonial era. Others came with the administrative structures for collective land ownership, which were established with the land reform achieved in the Mexican Revolution .

Cultural and natural heritage

The UNESCO has included in the list of 11 December 1987, the historic center of Oaxaca City and the ruins of Monte Albán World Heritage added. In addition to the world cultural heritage, UNESCO has also recognized large parts of the state as a biosphere reserve . There are approximately 200 species of reptiles, 2204 species of plants, 530 species of birds, 212 species of mammals, and 93 species of amphibians in the Oaxaca area.

Personalities

• Benito Juárez (1806–1872), President, born in San Pablo Guelatao
• Porfirio Díaz (1830–1915), Mexican President
• José Vasconcelos (1882–1959), philosopher
• Rufino Tamayo (1899–1991), painter
• Francisco Gutiérrez Carreola (1906–1945), painter and graphic artist
• Andrés Henestrosa (1906–2008), politician
• Francisco Toledo (1940–2019), painter
• Ruth Nivon Machoud (* 1990), Mexican-Swiss triathlete
• María José Portillo Ramírez (* 1999), tennis player

Worth seeing

There are 4,000 archaeological sites in Oaxaca, of which only 800, such as Monte Albán, Mitlá and Yagul, have so far been investigated. Other attractions include the state capital.

Web links

Commons : Oacaca  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• State homepage (Spanish)
• State Tourist Office (Spanish)
• Information on the archaeological sites in Oaxaca from the Ministry of Archeology and History (Spanish)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ INEGI. Censo de Población y Vivienda 2010.
2. ↑ Mexico: States and Cities - Population Statistics in Maps and Tables. Retrieved July 26, 2018 . 
3. ↑ Enciclopedia de los Municipios y Delegaciones de México - Estado de Oaxaca: Historia
4. ↑ Guilá Naquitz - Phaseolus, Cucurbita, atlatl, Lagenaria, Apodanthera
5. ↑ The National Academy of Sciences: War and early state formation in Oaxaca, Mexico , PMC 208728 (free full text)
6. ^ Constitución Política del Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca, Artículo 79, Capítulo III Sección Segunda.
7. ^ Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab. Retrieved August 12, 2018 . 
8. ↑ Gobierno de Oaxaca - Usos y Costumbres ( Memento of the original from June 13, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 

Coordinates: 16 ° 54 '  N , 96 ° 25'  W