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Tabasco

[tuh-bas-koh; Sp. tah-vahs-kaw]

Tabasco, state (1990 pop. 1,501,744), 9,783 sq mi (25,338 sq km), E Mexico, on the Gulf of Campeche. Villahermosa is the capital. Tabasco is predominantly a tropical plain, once densely forested, that is broken by numerous rivers, swamps, and lagoons. The climate is sultry, and rainfall in some areas exceeds 200 in. (508 cm) annually. The state is subject to severe flooding, most recently in 1999 and in 2007, when waters inundated more than three fourths of the state, destroying the state's crops and affecting more than 1 million people. Although Tabasco has modern roads and railways, rivers (especially the Grijalva and the Usumacinta) are still used for travel and transport. Tropical agriculture (bananas, cacao, sugarcane, hardwoods, and fruits) and cattle raising were the leading economic activities, but rich oil fields discovered along the coast have become Tabasco's economic mainstay. The area, first explored by the Spanish in 1518, was conquered in 1530 by Francisco de Montejo. During the 17th and early 18th cent., Tabasco was contested between Spain and England. From 1921 to 1935 it was the virtual fiefdom of the caudillo Tomás Garrido Canabal.

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Tabasco

State (pop., 2000: 1,891,829), southeastern Mexico. It covers an area of 9,756 sq mi (25,267 sq km), and its capital is Villahermosa. Pre-Columbian Indian cultures included those of the Quiché, Olmec, Tabasca, and Nahua peoples. The area was first visited by Europeans in 1518; in 1519 Hernán Cortés clashed with the Indians, who were partially subdued in the 1530s and '40s. Tabasco became a state in 1824. Agriculture, forestry, beekeeping, commercial fishing, and cattle-raising provided much of the state's income before petroleum exploitation began in the 1960s. The state is now a major oil producer.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.

Tabasco

Tabasco is a state in Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Veracruz to the west, Chiapas to the south, and Campeche to the north-east. To the east Tabasco borders with the Petén department of Guatemala, and to the north with the Bay of Campeche (part of the Gulf of Mexico). Tabasco is in the northern half of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.

The state capital is Villahermosa.

Government and politics

The Constitution of the State of Tabasco provides that the government of Tabasco, like the government of every other state in Mexico, consists of three powers: the executive, the legislative, and the judiciary.

Executive power is vested in the office of the Governor. The Governor is directly elected by the citizens, using a secret ballot, and serves a six-year term with no possibility of re-election. Legislative power resides in the Congress of Tabasco, a unicameral legislature composed of 35 deputies. Judicial power rests with the Superior Court of Justice of Tabasco.

Local elections in Tabasco were held on 15 October 2006.

Municipalities

Tabasco is subdivided into 17 municipios (municipalities) in four zones: The Chontalpa, the Center, the Sierra, and the River. See Municipalities of Tabasco.

Major communities

Regions

Some of its major rivers are the Grijalva and the Usumacinta, which run through the Tabasco Plain. The Tabasco plain is a coastal plain, with heavy rainfall, and covered in rainforest. It also contains beautiful rivers and waterfalls in the rainforest.

Tourist attractions

Tourist attractions include, along with many others, the Olmec ruins of La Venta, and the Mayan ruins of Comalcalco. The town of Puerto Ceiba in the municipality of Paraíso is known for being the place where poet Carlos Pellicer Cámara got inspiration for much of his work.

The state capital Villerhmosa is the primary loding location for most tourists visiting the Mayan ruins in Palenque in the adjacent state of Chiapas.

Flooding

Tabasco was subject to heavy rain in late October and early November 2007, causing widespread flooding. There are estimates that approximately 80% of Tabasco's land area was under water, affecting over 1,000,000 residents.

"The situation is extraordinarily serious: This is one of the worst natural disasters in the history of the country," President Felipe Calderón said in a televised address on the night of 1 November 2007.

Planned hydropower infrastructure

Tabasco is contemplating construction of a hydropower infrastructure. Tabasco’s hydropower resources could be more important than hydrocarbons if they were correctly used.

The volume of the annual rainfall is favorable for the development of mini hydroelectric projects. The National Commission for the Conservation of Energy (CONAE) estimates that the exploitation of mini hydroelectric power has reached 3,200 MW.