Nuevo León
| State of Nuevo León | |||
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| Country |  Mexico |
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| Capital | Monterrey | ||
| Municipalities | 51 | ||
| Largest City | Monterrey | ||
| Government | |||
| - Governor | Natividad González Parás ( PRI) |
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| - Federal Deputies | PAN: 7 PRI: 5 |
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| - Federal Senators | PAN :2 PRI: 1 |
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| Area Ranked 13th |
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| - Total | 64,210 km² (24,791.6 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2005) | |||
| - Total | 4,199,292 (Ranked 8th) | ||
| Time zone | CST (UTC-6) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) | ||
| HDI (2004) | 0.8513 - high Ranked 2nd |
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| ISO 3166-2 | MX-NLE | ||
| Postal abbr. | N.L. | ||
| Website: Nuevo León State Government | |||
Nuevo León (Spanish for "New León", after the former kingdom in Spain) is a state located in northeastern Mexico. It borders the states of Tamaulipas to the north and east and San Luis Potosí to the south, and Coahuila to the west. To the north, Nuevo León accounts for a 15 kilometer (9 mi) stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border adjacent to the U.S. state of Texas.
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Overview
It was originally founded by Alberto del Canto, although frequent raids by Chichimecas, the natives of the north, prevented the establishment of almost any permanent settlements. Subsequent to the failure of del Canto to populate Nuevo León, Luis Carvajal y de la Cueva, at the head of Portuguese and Spanish settlers, requested permission from the Spanish King to attempt to repopulate the area which would be called the New Kingdom of León, it eventually became (with the provinces of Coahuila, Nuevo Santander and Texas) one of the Easter Internal Provinces in Northern New Spain.[1][2]
In the 19th century, Nuevo León was in a growth spurt and the bargain land deals attracted immigrants of German, Slavic, French, Italian, Jewish and Anglo-American origin. The capital of Nuevo León is Monterrey, the third largest city in Mexico with over three million residents. Monterrey is a modern and affluent city, and Nuevo León has been completely industrialized.
Economy
Highly industralized, Nuevo León possesses a standard of living similar to that of countries such as Croatia or Slovakia. In 2005, the per capita GDP of the state was 133,130 pesos, the highest of any Mexican state (not counting the Federal District).[3]
One of its municipalities, San Pedro Garza García, has the highest income per capita in Mexico. It is one of the largest cities in the nation and home of powerful conglomerates, such as Cemex (third largest cement company in the world, after Lafarge and Holcim), Bimbo (bakery and pastry), Maseca (food and grains), Banorte (the only high-street bank in Mexico wholly owned by Mexicans), Alfa (Sigma, Alestra, Nemak, Alpek and Hylsa (recently bought by Ternium), i-service (HelpDesk), Vitro SA (glass), FEMSA (Coca-Cola in Latin America), and Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma (brewers of Sol, Tecate, XX, Bohemia, Indio and Nochebuena).
Nuevo Leon also boasts a rich agricultural core, called the "orange belt", which comprises the municipalities of Allende, Montemorelos, Hualahuises, General Teran and Linares. Small but productive investments have been transforming traditional harvests (mainly based on orange and cereals) into agroindustrial developments that are producing increasing revenues for the local economy.
In contrast with the relative wealth of industrial Nuevo Leon and the orange belt, the Southern part of the state (municipalities of Galeana, Arramberri, Zaragoza, Doctor Arroyo and Mier y Noriega) remains rural and less productive. Most of The South of the state is at the mercy of a very dry weather that represents a major hurdle for agriculture and livestock.
As of 2007, Nuevo Leon’s economy represents 11.4% of Mexico’s total gross domestic product or 105 billion USD.[4] Nuevo Leon's economy has a strong focus on export oriented manufacturing (i.e. maquiladora / INMEX). As of 2005, 431,551 people are employed in the manufacturing sector.[5] Foreign direct investment in Nuevo Leon was 1,213.1 million USD for 2005. The average wage for an employee in Nuevo Leon is approximately 190 pesos per day.[6]
Government
See main article Politics and government of Nuevo León.
Official name: Estado Libre y Soberano de Nuevo León (Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León). Official motto: Latin: Semper Ascendens (Always Ascending).
Type of government: Republican and representative according to 30th article of the local constitution.
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Executive: In 6 July 2003 gubernatorial election, Alianza Ciudadana – an electoral alliance between the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and the Green Ecological Party of Mexico (PVEM) – regained control of the state from President Fox's party National Action Party (PAN). The new governor, Natividad González Parás of the PRI, was sworn in on 4 October 2003 for a period of six years.
Cabinet: Chosen directly by the Governor except for the General Comptroller and the State General Attorney, which are elected by Congress from a list of names provided by the Governor.
Legislative: The State has a unicameral chamber. The LXXI Congress of Nuevo León is composed of 42 deputies, 26 of them chosen by first-past-the-post electoral districts and 16 of them by proportional representation on a party-list basis. The parties represented are the PRI with 15 deputies, the PAN with 22 deputies, the Partido del Trabajo (PT) with two deputies, the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) with one, and the New Alliance party (PANAL) with two deputies.
Judiciary: Judicial power rests in the Superior Court of Justice of Nuevo León, led by Minister Gustavo Adolfo Guerrero Gutiérrez.
Political parties: Official recognition is given by the State Electoral Commission to those parties getting more than 1.5% of the votes in the last election (Art.40 of the State Electoral Law), which are the ones represented in Congress. Also NL Collection has a big part of the Nuevo Leon government, they pretty much run the whole thing
Geography
Nuevo León has an extreme climate, and there is very little rainfall throughout the year. The territory covers 64,924 square kilometers (25,067.3 sq mi), and can be divided into three regions: a hot, dry region in the north, a temperate region in the mountains, and a semi-arid region in the south. The Sierra Madre Oriental mountain range affects in an important way the lay of the land forming the Galeana and Doctor Arroyo plateaus, the Iguana, Picachos, Papagayos, and Santa Clara mountain ranges, and the Pilón, Ascensión, and Río Blanco valleys. As for hydrography, the San Juan River supplies the El Cuchillo dam, which provides water for Monterrey and the metropolitan area. There are also the Cerro Prieto, La Boca, Vaquerías, Nogalitos, and Agualeguas dams. Laguna de Labradores is a major lake in Nuevo León, and Pozo del Gavilán is a natural well. Both are located in the Galeana municipality. The flora of the region includes brush and pastures in the low regions, and pine and oak trees in the mountains. The fauna includes black bears, mountain lions, javelinas, foxes, coyotes, and white-tailed deer, along with smaller species.
Demographics
As of 2005, Nuevo Leon's population was about 4.1 million. Almost 80% of it concentrates in the metropolitan area of Monterrey.
Municipalities
Nuevo León is divided into 51 municipalities (municipios). See municipalities of Nuevo León.
Major communities
- Apodaca
- Cadereyta Jiménez
- Ciudad Benito Juárez
- General Escobedo
- Guadalupe
- Linares
- Monterrey
- Sabinas Hidalgo
- San Nicolás de los Garza
- San Pedro Garza García
- Santa Catarina
See also
- History of Nuevo León
- Fiestas of Nuevo León
Sources
- Human Development Report for Mexico 2002
- (Spanish) Historia de Nuevo León by Israel Cavazos
- (Spanish) Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México
- (Spanish) Comisión Estatal Electoral de Nuevo León
- (Spanish) Ley Estatal Electoral de Nuevo León, 1996
References
- ↑ Gerhard, Peter. The North Frontier of New Spain. Princeton, Princeton University Press, 1982.
- ↑ En los albores de la independencia: Las Provincias Internas de Oriente durante la insurrección de don Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, 1810-1811. by Isidro Vizcaya Canales
- ↑ INEGI, Población total por entidad federativa según sexo, 2000 y 2005 and PIB estatal
- ↑ Industrial Costs in Mexico - A Guide for Foreign Investors 2007. Mexico City: Bancomext. 2007. pp. 96.
- ↑ Industrial Costs in Mexico - A Guide for Foreign Investors 2007. Mexico City: Bancomext. 2007. pp. 92.
- ↑ "Nuevo Leon Regional Investment Guide". UnderstandMexico. Retrieved on 2008-03-09.
External links
- (Spanish) Nuevo León State Government
- (Spanish) Mexico Development Gateway
- (Spanish) Towns, cities, and postal codes in Nuevo León
- Museum Republic of the Rio Grande
- (Spanish) Canto a Nuevo León
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