Mezcalapa

Mezcalapa is a municipality in the Mexican state of Chiapas, located approximately 71 kilometres (44 mi) northwest of the state capital of Tuxtla Gutiérrez. Its municipal seat is Raudales Malpaso.

Mezcalapa
Municipality
View of Chiapas Bridge in Mezcalapa from the south shore of the Malpaso Reservoir.
Mezcalapa
Location of Mezcalapa
Mezcalapa
Mezcalapa (Mexico)
Coordinates: 17°11′21″N 93°36′17″W[1]
Country Mexico
State Chiapas
Gazetted23 November 2011
SeatRaudales Malpaso
Government
 • PresidentJuan Alberto Sánchez Hernández
Area
 • Total847.31 km2 (327.15 sq mi)
Elevation
[1] (of seat)
138 m (453 ft)
Population
 (2010 Census)[1]
 • Total20,950
 • Density25/km2 (64/sq mi)
 • Seat
6,817
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (Central)
Postal codes
29600–29609[3]
Area code968
WebsiteOfficial website

Geography

The municipality of Mezcalapa is located in northwestern Chiapas on its border with the states of Veracruz and Tabasco. It borders the Chiapan municipalities of Ostuacán to the northeast, Tecpatán to the east, Ocozocoautla de Espinosa to the south, and Cintalapa to the southwest, as well as the Veracruzan municipality of Las Choapas to the northwest and the Tabascan municipality of Huimanguillo to the north. The municipality covers an area of 847.31 square kilometres (327.15 sq mi).[2]

The rugged terrain of Mezcalapa has been extensively deforested and converted to pastureland.[4][5] Much of the southern part of the municipality is covered by the Malpaso or Nezahualcóyotl Reservoir, the third largest in Mexico by total capacity,[6] created by the Malpaso Dam on the Grijalva River at Raudales Malpaso.

Mezcalapa has a tropical climate. Average temperatures in the municipality range between 20 and 28 °C (68–82 °F), and average annual precipitation ranges between 1,500 and 3,500 millimetres (59–138 in).[5]

History

Prior to the construction of the Malpaso Dam in the early 1960s, the Zoque people were the main inhabitants of the area that is now Mezcalapa, which was then part of the municipality of Tecpatán.[7] The construction of the dam brought in thousands of workers from other parts of Mexico, while flooding Zoque villages in the reservoir area such as Quechula. The workers and many of the displaced Zoque lived near the dam construction site, which grew to become the settlement of Raudales Malpaso.[8] Demands to create a new municipality in the area had been made as early as 1963[8] and were finally satisfied on 23 November 2011, when the decree establishing Mezcalapa as a new municipality was gazetted.[9] The new municipality combined the western half of Tecpatán with six communities in Ocozocoautla de Espinosa on the south shore of the Malpaso Reservoir.[8]

Administration

The following people have served as municipal president of Mezcalapa:

  • Fernando Ugarte González, 2012–2015[10]
  • María del Carmen Guzmán Esteban, 2015–2018[11]
  • Juan Alberto Sánchez Hernández, 2018–2021[12]

Demographics

In the 2010 Mexican Census, the localities that now comprise the municipality of Mezcalapa recorded a total population of 20,950 inhabitants.[1]

There are 206 localities in the municipality, of which only the municipal seat Raudales Malpaso is designated as urban. It recorded a population of 6817 inhabitants in the 2010 Census.[1]

Economy and infrastructure

Cattle ranching and dairy production are important economic activities in Mezcalapa.[13] Since the impoundment of the Malpaso Reservoir, fish farming has also become an important activity.[4]

The Nezahualcóyotl hydroelectric plant at Raudales Malpaso provides nearly half of the hydroelectric capacity in the entire Grijalva basin.[14]

The tolled Federal Highway 145D runs north–south through the eastern part of the municipality, crossing the Malpaso Reservoir on the Chiapas Bridge and linking Chiapas with southern Veracruz. Federal Highway 187 begins at Raudales Malpaso and intersects with Federal Highway 145D before continuing north into Tabasco. Another paved highway connects Raudales Malpaso with Tecpatán to the east.[15]

References
  1. "Catálogo Único de Claves de Áreas Geoestadísticas Estatales, Municipales y Localidades" (in Spanish). INEGI. August 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  2. Government of Chiapas. REGIÓN III – MEZCALAPA (PDF) (Report) (in Spanish). p. 1. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  3. "Consulta de Códigos Postales". Catálogo Nacional de Códigos Postales. Mexican Postal Service. 23 October 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  4. "Tecpatán". Estado de Chiapas. Enciclopedia de los Municipios y Delegaciones de México (in Spanish). INAFED. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  5. "Compendio de Información Geográfica Municipal 2010: Tecpatán, Chiapas" (in Spanish). INEGI. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  6. "Presas". Cuéntame (in Spanish). INEGI. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  7. Pérez Domínguez, Jesús David (June–September 2018). "Migración y dispersión poblacional en Tecpatán, Chiapas" [Migration and population dispersion in Tecpatán, Chiapas]. Revista Espacio I+D Innovación Más Desarrollo (in Spanish). 7 (17): 91–102. doi:10.31644/IMASD.17.2018.a07. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  8. Niño Maldonado, Cinthia; Kauffer, Edith (20 July 2020). "Dinámicas territoriales en torno a la construcción de la presa Malpaso, Chiapas (1960-2011): construir, trabajar y permanecer" [Territorial Dynamics around the Malpaso Dam in Chiapas (1960-2011): Building, Working and Staying]. Sociedad y Ambiente (in Spanish) (23): 1–35. doi:10.31840/sya.vi23.2138. ISSN 2007-6576. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  9. "Decreto Número 008" (PDF). Periódico Oficial del Estado de Chiapas, Segunda Sección (in Spanish). 23 November 2011. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  10. "Archivos de Resultados Electorales" (in Spanish). IEPC Chiapas. 13 December 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  11. "Histórica participación femenina en los pasados comicios electorales de Chiapas". Chiapas en Contacto (in Spanish). 8 October 2015. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  12. "Configuración política de Chiapas 2018-2021". Alcaldes de México (in Spanish). 13 December 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  13. López Gómez, Irma (October 2013). Caracterización del Sistema Silvopastoril en la Producción de Leche Orgánica, en el Grupo Malpaso, Sociedad de Producción Rural de Responsabilidad Limitada. Mezcalapa, Chiapas (PDF) (Lic.) (in Spanish). Intercultural University of Chiapas. pp. 2–3. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  14. "Central Hidroeléctrica Netzahualcóyotl". Premio Obras Cemex. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  15. Municipio de Mezcalapa (PDF) (Map). 1:180,000. CEIEG. 2019. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
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