Coahuila

For the Native American people, see Cahuilla.
Coahuila
State
Estado Libre y Soberano
de Coahuila de Zaragoza

Flag
Seal

Anthem:

State Anthem of Coahuila
(Español: Himno Coahuilense)

State of Coahuila within Mexico
Coordinates: 27°18′N 102°3′W / 27.300°N 102.050°W / 27.300; -102.050Coordinates: 27°18′N 102°3′W / 27.300°N 102.050°W / 27.300; -102.050
Country Mexico
Capital Saltillo
Largest City Saltillo
Municipalities 38
Admission May 7, 1824[1]
Order 16th[a]
Government
 • Governor Ruben Moreira Valdez
 • Senators[2] Guillermo Anaya
Ernesto Saro B.
Jesús María Ramón
 • Deputies[3]
Area[4]
 • Total 151,595 km2 (58,531 sq mi)
  Ranked 3rd
Highest elevation[5] 3,710 m (12,170 ft)
Population (2015)[6]
 • Total 2,954,915
 • Rank 15th
 • Density 19/km2 (50/sq mi)
 • Density rank 26th
Demonym(s) Coahuilense
Time zone CST (UTC−6)
 • Summer (DST) CDT (UTC−5)
Postal code 25 - 27
Area code
ISO 3166 code MX-COA
HDI Increase 0.776 High Ranked 5th of 32
GDP US$ 21,556.31 mil[b]
Website Official Web Site

^ a. Joined to the federation under the name of Coahuila y Texas also recognized as Coahuila y Tejas.

^ b. The state's GDP was 275,920,781 thousand of pesos in 2008,[7] amount corresponding to 21,556,311.01 thousand of dollars, being a dollar worth 12.80 pesos (value of June 3, 2010).[8]

Coahuila (Spanish pronunciation: [koaˈwila]), formally Coahuila de Zaragoza (IPA: [koaˈwila ðe saɾaˈɣosa]), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, compose the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is located in Northeastern Mexico on the US border.

Coahuila borders the Mexican states of Nuevo León to the east, Zacatecas and San Luis Potosí to the south, and Durango and Chihuahua to the west. To the north, Coahuila accounts for a 512 kilometres (318 mi) stretch of the Mexico–United States border, adjacent to the U.S. state of Texas along the course of the Rio Grande (Río Bravo del Norte). With an area of 151,563 square kilometres (58,519 sq mi), it is the nation's third-largest state. It comprises 38 municipalities (municipios). In 2010, Coahuila's population is 2,748,391 inhabitants.

The five largest cities in Coahuila are the state capital city of Saltillo; the second largest is Torreón, third largest is Monclova (a former state capital), fourth largest is Ciudad Acuña, and fifth largest is Piedras Negras.

History

The Spanish explored the north of Mexico some decades after their victory in "Tenochtiitlán" (Mexico City) the capital of the Aztecs. Such exploration was delayed because the northern climate was harsher and there was no gold. The first Spanish settlement in the region now called Coahuila was at Minas de la Trinidad in 1577. Saltillo was settled in 1586, to form part of the province of Nueva Vizcaya of the Vice-royalty of New Spain. Later it became one of the first provinces of Nueva Extremadura to be explored by Europeans.

"Coahuila and Texas" was one of the constituent states of the newly independent United Mexican States under their 1824 Constitution, and included Texas, Coahuila and Nuevo León. Later in the same year Nuevo León was detached, but Texas remained a part of the state until 1835, when it seceded to form the Republic of Texas. Monclova was the capital of the state from 1833 to 1835.

In 1840 Coahuila briefly became a member of the short lived Republic of the Rio Grande.

On February 19, 1856, Santiago Vidaurri annexed Coahuila to his state, Nuevo León, but it regained its separate status in 1868.

During the Mexican Revolution, Francisco Villa attacked the city of Torreón.

On April 4, 2004, the border city of Piedras Negras was flooded. More than 30 people died and more than 4,000 lost their homes. In 2007 Coahuila became the first state in Mexico to offer civil unions (Pacto Civil de Solidaridad) to same-sex couples.[9]

Geography

The Sierra Madre Oriental runs northwest to southeast through the State, and the higher elevations are home to the Sierra Madre Oriental pine-oak forests. The northernmost fingers of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the Sierra del Burro and the Sierra del Carmen, reach to the border with the United States at the Rio Grande.

East of the range, the land slopes gently toward the Rio Grande, and is drained by several rivers, including the Salado and its tributary, the Sabinas River. The Tamaulipan mezquital, a dry shrubland ecoregion, occupies the eastern portion of the State, and extends across the Rio Grande into southern Texas.

The portion of the State west of the Sierra Madre Oriental lies on the Mexican Plateau, and is part of the Chihuahuan Desert. The Bolsón de Mapimí is a large endorheic basin which covers much of the western portion of the State and extends into adjacent portions of Chihuahua, Durango, and Zacatecas. The Nazas River, which flows east from Durango, and the Aguanaval River, which flows north from Zacatecas, empty into lakes in the Bolsón. Torreón, the most populous city in the State, lies on the Nazas in the irrigated Laguna Region, the (Comarca Lagunera), which straddles the border of Coahuila and Durango.

Coahuila contains two biosphere reserves. Maderas del Carmen lies on the northern border of the State, and includes sections of the Chihuahuan desert and sky islands of pine-oak forest in the Sierra del Carmen. The springs, lakes, and wetlands of Cuatro Ciénegas lie west of Monclova on the west slope of the Sierra Madre.

Coahuila is largely arid or semi-arid, but the rivers of the State support extensive irrigated agriculture, particularly cotton. The Parras district in the southern part of the State produces wines and brandies. The pine-oak forests of the Sierra Madre produce timber.

Flora and fauna

Demographics

Religion in Coahuila (2010 census)[10]
Roman Catholicism
  
 80.4%
Other Christian
  
 12.0%
Other Religion
  
 0.0%
No religion
  
 5.5%
Unspecified
  
 2.1%
Historical population
YearPop.±%
1895 242,021—    
1900 296,938+22.7%
1910 362,092+21.9%
1921 393,480+8.7%
1930 436,425+10.9%
1940 550,717+26.2%
1950 720,619+30.9%
1960 907,734+26.0%
1970 1,114,956+22.8%
1980 1,557,265+39.7%
1990 1,972,340+26.7%
1995 2,173,775+10.2%
2000 2,298,070+5.7%
2005 2,495,200+8.6%
2010 2,748,391+10.1%
2015[11] 2,954,915+7.5%

The last population census run across Mexico in the year 2010, reports Coahuila de Zaragoza as having 2,748,391 inhabitants, which, considering its size, means that the state has a very low density, in fact as low as only 15 persons per square kilometer.

Coahuila's population is mainly made up of Criollos along with Mestizos. Less than 7,500 natives reside in Coahuila, or merely 0.3% of the total population. The rest of the population is composed of North American, Canadian, and Japanese communities.

The rest of the demographic particulars in the state are very similar to national averages, such as a high life expectancy (reaching 75 years of age) and a Catholic majority.

Education

Basic education

Basic public education in Coahuila is mainly managed by the state's Secretary of Education, but federal-sustained schools are also very common. There are also a lot of private schools in the main cities of the state.

Higher education

Some of the most recognized universities in Coahuila include:

Iberoamerican University (Universidad Iberoamericana)

A private university part of the Jesuit University System with a campus in Torreón and a university extension center in Saltillo.

Technological Institute of La Laguna (Instituto Tecnológico de la Laguna)

The most recognized public technological university of La Laguna Region located in the city of Torreón.

Monterrey Institute Of Technology and Higher Studies

It is the most known technological university in Mexico with two campuses: one in Saltillo and another one in Torreón.

Autonomous University of Coahuila (Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila)

It is considered the best public university of the states and it has campuses and schools all across Coahuila.

Economy

About 95% of Mexico's coal reserves are found in Coahuila, which is the country's top mining state.

Torreón has Met-Mex Peñoles, a mining company. The city is the world's largest silver producer and Mexico's largest gold producer. It also has Lala, a dairy products company, which produces 40% of Mexico's milk consumption.

Saltillo also has a growing automobile industry, hosting General Motors and Chrysler assembly plants.

As of 2005, Coahuila's economy represents 3.5% of Mexico's total gross domestic product or US$22,874 million.[12] Coahuila's economy has a strong focus on export oriented manufacturing (i.e. maquiladora / INMEX). As of 2005, 221,273 people are employed in the manufacturing sector.[13] Foreign direct investment in Coahuila was US$143.1 million for 2005. The average wage for an employee in Coahuila is approximately 190 pesos per day.

On the other hand, Coahuila is the Mexican state with the highest level of public debt in the nation.

Municipalities

Coahuila is subdivided into five regions and 38 municipalities (municipios). For a full list with municipal seats, see: municipalities of Coahuila.

Major communities

Saltillo, the capital of Coahuila.

List of governors

Main article: Governor of Coahuila

This list is incomplete

Notable people

See also

References

  1. ↑ "La diputación provincial y el federalismo mexicano" (in Spanish).
  2. ↑ "Senadores por Coahuila LXI Legislatura". Senado de la Republica. Retrieved October 20, 2010.
  3. ↑ "Listado de Diputados por Grupo Parlamentario del Estado de Coahuila". Camara de Diputados. Retrieved October 20, 2010.
  4. ↑ "Resumen". Cuentame INEGI. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Relieve". Cuentame INEGI. Retrieved October 20, 2010.
  6. ↑ "Encuesta Intercensal 2015" (PDF). Retrieved December 8, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Coahuila.". 2010. Retrieved October 20, 2010.
  8. ↑ "Reporte: Jueves 3 de Junio del 2010. Cierre del peso mexicano.". www.pesomexicano.com.mx. Retrieved August 10, 2010.
  9. ↑ "Mexican state moves to allow same-sex unions", Advocate News, Gay.com, January 11, 2007
  10. ↑ "Censo de Población y Vivienda 2010". INEGI. Retrieved 2013-02-04.
  11. ↑ "Encuesta Intercensal 2015" (PDF). INEGI. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  12. ↑ Industrial Costs in Mexico - A Guide for Foreign Investors 2007. Mexico City: Bancomext. 2007. p. 90.
  13. ↑ Industrial Costs in Mexico - A Guide for Foreign Investors 2007. Mexico City: Bancomext. 2007. p. 92.
  14. ↑ Benjamin, Thomas, and William McNellie. Other Mexicos: Essays on Regional Mexican History, 1876-1911. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1984.
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