Alvarado is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the

Mexican state A Mexican State (), officially the Free and Sovereign State (), is a constituent federative entity of Mexico according to the Constitution of Mexico. Currently there are 31 states, each with its own constitution, government, state governor, a ...

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

. The municipality is part of the state's Papaloapan Region and its municipal seat is established at the homonymous city of Alvarado.

History

In 1816, the citizens of the village of San Cristóbal de Alvarado sought the designation of ''Town'' from

Ferdinand VII Ferdinand VII (; 14 October 1784 – 29 September 1833) was King of Spain during the early 19th century. He reigned briefly in 1808 and then again from 1813 to his death in 1833. Before 1813 he was known as ''el Deseado'' (the Desired), and af ...

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

of Spain. The King granted the village the title of Town on 8 September 1816 by Royal Decree, at a cost of 92,800 maravedís. Almost two years later, on 5 September 1818, Ferdinand VII authorized the first Honorable ''Ayuntamiento'' or

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

. On 3 October 1818, the first City Council was established with Tomás Hondal serving as first Mayor. Once the Independence War was over, the State enacted its own Constitution in which the state territory was divided in 4

departments Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military * Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

and 12

cantons A canton is a type of administrative division of a country. In general, cantons are relatively small in terms of area and population when compared with other administrative divisions such as counties, departments, or provinces. Internationally, th ...

. The municipality of Alvarado was assigned to the Canton of Veracruz in the Department of Veracruz.

Geography

The municipality has an area of and an elevation of . It is located in the state's Papaloapan region and is bordered by the municipalities of Boca del Río, Tlalixcoyan,

Medellín Medellín ( ; or ), officially the Special District of Science, Technology and Innovation of Medellín (), is the List of cities in Colombia, second-largest city in Colombia after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia Departme ...

, Ignacio de la Llave, Ixmatlahuacan, Acula,

Tlacotalpan Tlacotalpan is a city in Tlacotalpan Municipality in the Mexican state of Veracruz, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1998 primarily for its architecture and colonial-era layout. The town was established in 1550 on what was originally an ...

and Lerdo de Tejada.

Hydrography

The municipality is crossed by the

Papaloapan The Papaloapan River () is one of the main rivers of the Mexican state of Veracruz. Its name comes from the Nahuatl ''papaloapan'' meaning "river of the butterflies". In 1518 Juan de Grijalva's expedition spotted the river, naming it Río de Alvar ...

and

Blanco Blanco (''white'' or ''blank'' in Spanish) or Los Blancos may refer to: People *Blanco (surname) Fictional characters *Blanco, a hobbit in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth *Blanco Webb, character in the BBC sitcom ''Porridge'' *Graboid#El Blanco, ...

rivers, both of which drain into the Alvarado Lagoon complex. The Alvarado Lagoon complex is formed, from north to south, by the Camaronera, Buen País, Alvarado and Tlalixcoyan lagoons.

Orography

Alvarado is located in the state's central

coast A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...

al zone, within the Sotavento plains.

Dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...

s are common in rural and urban areas; an example of this is the neighborhood of (), built on the Rosary dunes which are inside the city of Alvarado.

Climate

In this region there is hot/sub-

humid Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present. Humidity depe ...

—the wetter of the sub-humids— weather with abundant rains in summer. The maximum average temperature is and as minimum average temperature, varying from to every year. The dry season is from January to May and the period of rains starts in June. The ''norte'' season starts in November and intensifies in January.

Infrastructure

Roads

The municipality is connected mainly through two

Mexican Federal Highway Federal Highways () are a series of highways in Mexico. These highways link Mexico's 32 federal entities with each other or with a neighboring country, and they are wholly or mostly built by Mexico's federal government with federal funds or ...

s and a few state and municipal roads. * Highway 180 covers much of the municipality from north to south, connecting Alvarado with the municipalities of Medellín and Boca del Río to the north, and Lerdo de Tejada to the south. Prior to the building of the Alvarado toll bridge in the 1960s, ferries were used at the Papaloapan River's mouth to cross the river. * Highway 175 starts at Buenavista, at the south end of the municipality, connecting with Tlacotalpan to the west. Highway 175 passes over an upstream section of the Papaloapan River via the Tlacotalpan toll bridge. Regarding state and municipal roads, the small network connects a few locations in the north and northwest areas of the municipality.

Demographics

As 2020, Alvarado had a population of 57, 305 and 216 localities. The municipal seat, Alvarado is the biggest locality with a population of 20,797. Other important localities are Antón Lizardo (6,284 hab.), Lomas del Sol (2,177 hab.), Playas del Conchal (1,889 hab.) and Paso Nacional (1,828 hab.).

Government

Municipal

Local government, or (), is led by the () with support of the

Syndic ''Syndic'' (; Greek: ) is a term applied in certain countries to an officer of government with varying powers, and secondly to a representative or delegate of a university, institution or other corporation, entrusted with special functions or p ...

, and the (). The mayor is elected by popular election for a 4-year term with non-limited, non-consecutive re-elections.

State and Federal

The municipality is part of the XXIII State Electoral district and XIX Federal Electoral District.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alvarado (Municipality) Municipalities of Veracruz