Jalisco - Government and Regions

Government and Regions

The capital of the state is Guadalajara which is also its cultural and economic center. The state government consists of a governor, a unicameral legislature and a state judiciary branch. The Guadalajara metropolitan area consists of the city along with seven other municipalities in the Centro region of the state. This is the second most populous metro area in Mexico after that of Mexico City. Six of the municipalities are considered to be the area’s nucleus: Guadalajara, El Salto, Tlajomulco de Zúñiga, Tlaquepaque, Tonalá and Zapopan, with two others, Juanacatlán and Ixtlahuacán de los Membrillos as suburbs. These municipalities extend over an area of 2.734km2 with a population density of 133.2 inhabitants per hectare (2005). The most highly concentrated municipality in the zone is the municipality of Guadalajara, followed by Zapopan.

The state as a whole consists of 125 municipalities which were organized into twelve administrative regions in 1996, called Norte, Altos Norte, Altos Sur, Ciénega, Sureste, Región Sur, Sierra de Amula, Costa Sur, Costa Norte, Sierra Occidental, Valles and Centro.

Altos Norte has eight municipalities: Villa Hidalgo, Unión de San Antonio, Teocaltiche, San Juan de los Lagos, San Diego de Alejandría, Ojuelos de Jalisco, Lagos de Moreno and Encarnación de Díaz.

Altos Sur consists of twelve municipalities: Yahualica de González Gallo, Valle de Guadalupe, Tepatitlán de Morelos, San Miguel el Alto, San Julián, San Ignacio Cerro Gordo, Mexticacán, Jesús María, Jalostotitlán, Cañadas de Obregón, Arandas and Acatic.

The Centro Region consists of thirteen municipalites: Zapotlanejo, Zapopan, Villa Corona, Tonalá, Tlaquepaque, Tlajomulco de Zúñiga, San Cristóbal de la Barranca, Juanacatlán, Ixtlahuacán del Río, Guadalajara, El Salto, Cuquío and Acatlán de Juárez.

The Ciénega Region contains thirteen municipalities: Zapotlán del Rey, Tuxcueca, Tototlán, Tizapán El Alto, Poncitlán, Ocotlán, La Barca, Jocotepec, Jamay, Degollado, Chapala, Ayotlán and Atotonilco El Alto.

The Costa Norte has three municipalities: Tomatlán, Puerto Vallarta and Cabo Corrientes.

The Costa Sur has six municipalities: Villa Purificación, La Huerta, Cuautitlán de García Barragán, Cihuatlán, Casimiro Castillo and Autlán de Navarro.

The Norte Region has ten municipalities: Villa Guerrero, Totatiche, Santa María de los Ángeles, San Martín de Bolaños, Mezquitic, Huejúcar, Huejuquilla El Alto, Colotlán, Chimaltitán, and Bolaños.

The Sierra de Amula has eleven municipalities: Unión de Tula, Tuxcacuesco, Tonaya, Tenamaxtlán, Tecolotlán, Juchitlán, El Limón, El Grullo, Ejutla, Chiquilistlán and Atengo.

The Sierra Occidental has eight municipalities: Talpa de Allende, San Sebastián del Oeste, Mixtlán, Mascota, Guachinango, Cuautla, Ayutla and Atenguillo.

The Sur Region has sixteen municipalities: Zapotlán el Grande, Zapotitlán de Vadillo, Zapotiltic, Zacoalco de Torres, Túxpan, Tonila, Tolimán, Teocuitatlán de Corona, Techaluta de Montenegro, Tapalpa, Sayula, San Gabriel, Gómez Farías, Atoyac, Atemajac de Brizuela and Amacueca .

The Sureste Region has ten municipalities: Valle de Juárez, Tecalitlán, Tamazula de Gordiano, Santa María del Oro, Quitupan, Pihuamo, Mazamitla, La Manzanilla de La Paz, Jilotlán de los Dolores and Concepción de Buenos Aires .

The Valles Region has fourteen municipalities: Teuchitlán, Tequila, Tala, San Martín Hidalgo, San Marco, San Juanito de Escobedo, Magdalena Municipality, Jalisco, Hostotipaquillo, Etzatlán, El Arenal, Cocula, Ameca, Amatitán and Ahualulco de Mercado .