Parroquia
The term Parroquia (literal translation into German: Pfarrei, Kirchspiel , Parochie ; plural: Parroquias ) is used in various Spanish-speaking countries or regions to designate political administrative units that usually form the lowest level of local government.
Asturias and Galicia (Spain)
In the Spanish autonomous regions of Asturias and Galicia , parroquias are administrative units that subdivide areas below the municipal level (Spanish municipio , in Asturias and Galicia municipio or concejo ) Communities are to be compared (size between 8 and 40 square kilometers). Traditionally, the center of a Parroquia was usually a parish. In Asturias these units are more precisely called parroquias rurales (rural parishes). Below the concejo, they are separate legal entities and have their own decision-making powers for their area. They are set up on the initiative of the residents by the government councils of Asturias and Galicia. They are ruled by a president and a junta (assembly), with the president being a type of mayor or mayor who is directly elected. The junta must consist of at least two members and may have at most as many members as the Parroquia sends to the council of the Concejos.
Ecuador
In Ecuador , too, administrative units below a canton are referred to that are not related to church organizational structures and usually do not bear the name of parish churches. Most of them have worldly names. As part of the decentralization of the Ecuadorian state, the citizens of each parroquia elect a junta parroquial (parish assembly) every four years , which has certain powers in the regulation of public life on site. A distinction is made between urban and rural parishes, with the former being part of a municipality in which, in addition to the juntas parroquiales , a higher-level city council ( concejo municipal ) and a mayor are elected.
Venezuela
In Venezuela , a parroquia ( municipality ) is the subdivision of a municipality (administrative district), which in turn is the subdivision of the Estados federales ( states ).