Santa Inés Yatzeche is a town and

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' ...

Oaxaca Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of the Mexico, United Mexican States. It is divided into municipalities of Oaxaca, 570 munici ...

in southeastern

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and is the third smallest municipality in Oaxaca behind Santa Cruz Amilpas and Natividad.

History

The community, which lies on the Atoyac River in the southern Valle Grande, has a long history. Archaeological studies have shown that it was a flourishing center for hundreds of years before the rise of

Monte Albán Monte Albán is a large pre-Columbian archaeological site in the Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán Municipality in the southern Mexico, Mexican state of Oaxaca (17.043° N, 96.767°W). The site is located on a low mountainous range rising above the plain i ...

around 500, when it suffered a loss of 75% of its population.

Population

The community is now relatively poor. As of 2000, only 7% of households earned more than twice the minimum wage. Most of the inhabitants, who speak Zapotec, had not completed six years of education. The villagers must travel to Zimatlán to sell produce, and to

Oaxaca City Oaxaca de Juárez (), or simply Oaxaca (Valley Zapotec languages, Zapotec: ''Ndua''), is the capital and largest city of the eponymous Administrative divisions of Mexico, Mexican state of Oaxaca. It is the municipal seat for the surrounding munici ...

to obtain wage-paying work. As of 2005, the total population was 975, of whom 908 spoke an indigenous language, living in 210 homes.

Geography

The municipality covers an area of 11.48 km² at an average elevation of 1,460 meters above sea level. It is part of the

Zimatlán District Zimatlán District is located in the west of the Valles Centrales de Oaxaca, Valles Centrales Region of the State of Oaxaca, Mexico. Municipalities The district includes the following municipalities: *Ayoquezco de Aldama *Ciénega de Zimatlán ...

of the Valles Centrales region. The climate is temperate and main economic activity is agriculture and livestock husbandry.

References

Municipalities of Oaxaca {{Oaxaca-geo-stub eo:Ayoquezco de Aldama (komunumo)