Guerrero

Guerrero, Vicente, 1782-1831, Mexican revolutionist and president (Apr.-Dec., 1829). He fought under the command of Morelos y Pavón, spreading the revolution in the south. Guerrero won victory after victory. When Morelos was defeated and executed, Guerrero continued to wage guerrilla warfare, harassing the royalists. He fought on when most of the revolutionary leaders had been defeated or had given up the struggle for freedom. When Agustín de Iturbide was sent out in 1820 to defeat him, Guerrero won minor victories over Iturbide's troops but was later persuaded to adhere to the Plan of Iguala (1821) and to accept Iturbide's leadership. Thus the revolution lost its popular cast and passed into the hands of the landowning creoles and the clergy. Guerrero accepted Iturbide's empire in 1822 but later joined the revolution begun by Santa Anna. The flimsy structure of Iturbide's government fell, and Guerrero was elected a member of the provisional government. He became a liberal party leader in opposition to the conservative Nicolás Bravo, and helped to put down Bravo's revolution against President Guadalupe Victoria (1828). Defeated in the election of 1828, Guerrero charged fraud and, with the help of Santa Anna, led a successful revolution and was made president (1829). In his administration the Spanish invaders of Mexico were driven back by Santa Anna. In Dec., 1829, Anastasio Bustamante, the vice president, led a revolt against Guerrero, who retired to the south, where he conducted sporadic warfare throughout 1830. He was finally captured and shot.

Guerrero, state (1990 pop. 2,620,637), 24,887 sq mi (64,457 sq km), S Mexico, on the Pacific Ocean. The capital is Chilpancingo. Dominated by the Sierra Madre del Sur, which reaches 12,149 ft (3,703 m) in the Pico de Teotepec, Guerrero is extremely mountainous except for a narrow coastal strip, which has a harbor at Acapulco. The state's major river is the Río de las Balsas. The climate of the coast and the deep valleys is hot and rainy, but the highlands are temperate and drier. Tourism, centered at Acapulco, is an economic mainstay. Agriculture (the growing of coffee, tobacco, cotton, tropical fruits, and cereals), forest products, and mining are the state's other chief economic activities. Mineral resources include gold, silver, lead, zinc, iron, coal, precious stones, and sulfur. The silverwork of Taxco is famous. The Cacahuamilpa caverns, with rock formations that date back 80 million years and some of which rise more than 70 ft (21 m), are in the NE part of the state and belong to the national park system. Little industrialization has occurred in Guerrero, despite its abundant hydroelectric power, and it remains one of Mexico's poorest states. Historically, Guerrero was divided among the states of Michoacán, Mexico, Puebla, and Oaxaca; the state was not established until 1849. Some of the heaviest fighting of the Mexican war for independence (1810-21) from Spain took place in the area, which was later named for Vicente Guerrero, one of the revolutionary leaders. A small antigovernment guerrilla group appeared in Guerrero in the late 1990s but appeared to be contained by the Mexican army.

State (pop., 2000: 3,079,649), southwestern Mexico. It covers 24,819 sq mi (64,281 sq km), and its capital is Chilpancingo. Bounded by the Pacific Ocean, it lies almost entirely—except for a narrow coastal plain—within the Sierra Madre del Sur, the valleys of which are fertile but difficult to access. Its principal river is the Balsas. Named after the independence leader Vicente Guerrero (1782–1831), the region became a state in 1849. Its best-known cities are Acapulco and Taxco, a preserved colonial town. It derives its income from agriculture, mining, and tourism.

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The State of Guerrero is a state in the southern meridional region of Mexico. With an area of , it occupies about 3.3% of Mexican territory. It borders the Pacific Ocean to the south (500 km), Michoacán to the west (524 km), Oaxaca to the east (241 km), and Mexico State (216 km), Morelos (88 km), and Puebla to the north (128 km). Guerrero is named in honor of the second president of the republic, General Vicente Ramón Guerrero Saldaña (August 10, 1782 – February 14, 1831), a hero of the Mexican War of Independence. In 2003, the population was estimated at 3,167,400 people.

The state capital is Chilpancingo de los Bravo. Besides Chilpancingo, its principal cities are Acapulco, Petatlan, Taxco, Iguala, and Zihuatanejo.

Guerrero is an important tourist destination. There are three main areas of tourism, known as the Triángulo del Sol (triangle of the sun). The first is Acapulco. The second is Taxco, a colonial town noted for its silverware. The third is Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo. Ixtapa was a destination created by the federal government during the slow economy of the 1980s to increase tourism.

History

During the 14th and 15th centuries, the mountain and coastal regions of Guerrero were occupied by Nahuatl-speaking people who practiced Slash and burn farming in the tropical forests and cultivated small irrigated fields along the numerous river valleys. The Spanish conquest brought dramatic declines in the native population. However, unlike many other portions of Mexico, this decline was not offset by significant Spanish settlement. Rough topography, the low potential for economic development, and perceived health hazards were disincentives to settlement. As a result, agriculture and cattle raising were not common in the region until well into the 19th century. While Guerrero has experienced significant population growth and economic development during the last 60 years, the geographic pattern and character of this growth remain strongly influenced by the state's rugged physiography and limitations on transportation.

Geography

In most of Guerrero, a hot and humid climate with a summer rainy season prevails, although it has a complex geographical morphology that allows a more temperate climate in the central and northern regions.

Government and politics

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

Executive power rests in the governor of Guerrero, who is directly elected by the citizens, using a secret ballot, to a 6-year term, with no possibility of reelection. Legislative power rests in the Congress of Guerrero, which is a unicameral. Judicial power is invested in the Superior Court of Justice of Guerrero.

Municipalities

The State of Guerrero is divided into 7 regions (regiones): Acapulco, Centro, Costa Chica, Costa Grande, Montaña, Norte, and Tierra Caliente. These are subdivided into 81 municipalities, each headed by a municipal president (mayor). Most municipalities are named after the city that serves as municipal seat; e.g., the municipal seat of the Municipality of Chilpancingo is the City of Chilpancingo de los Bravos.

Major communities

• Ciudad Altamirano
• Acapulco (Acapulco de Juárez)
• Chilpancingo (Chilpancingo de los Bravo)
• Iguala (Iguala de la Independencia)
• Taxco (Taxco de Alarcón)
• Tlapa de Comonfort
• Zihuatanejo

Municipalities

Acapulco De Juarez, Ahuacuotzingo, Ajuchitlan Del Progreso, Alcozauca De Guerrero, Alpoyeca, Apaxtla, Arcelia, Atenango Del Rio, Atlamajalcingo Del Monte, Atlixtac, Atoyac De Alvarez, Ayutla De Los Libres, Azoyu, Benito Juarez, Buenavista De Cuellar, Coahuayutla De Jose Maria Izazaga, Cocula, Copala, Copalillo, Copanatoyac, Coyuca De Benitez, Coyuca De Catalan, Cuajinicuilapa, Cualac, Cuautepec, Cuetzala Del Progreso, Cutzamala De Pinzon, Chilapa De Alvarez, Chilpancingo De Los Bravo, Florencio Villarreal, General Canuto A Neri, General Heliodoro Castillo, Huamuxtitlan, Huitzuco De Los Figueroa, Iguala De La Independencia, Igualapa, Ixcateopan De Cuauhtemoc, Jose Azueta, Juan R Escudero, Leonardo Bravo, Malinaltepec, Martir De Cuilapan, Metlatonoc, Mochitlan, Olinala, Ometepec, Pedro Ascencio Alquisiras, Petatlan, Pilcaya, Pungarabato, Quechultenango, San Luis Acatlan, San Marcos, San Miguel Totolapan, Taxco De Alarcon, Tecoanapa, Tecpan De Galeana, Teloloapan, Tepecoacuilco De Trujano, Tetipac, Tixtla De Guerrero, Tlacoachistlahuaca, Tlacoapa, Tlalchapa, Tlalixtaquilla De Maldonado, Tlapa De Comonfort, Tlapehuala, La Union, Xalpatlahuac, Xochihuehuetlan, Xochistlahuaca, Zapotitlan Tablas, Zirandaro, Zitlala, Eduardo Neri,

Notes

External links

• Guerrero State Government
• Towns, cities, and postal codes in Guerrero