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Cañon del Sumidero near Tuxtla Gutierrez,
Chiapas, Mexico |
Chiapas is the southernmost state of Mexico, located towards the southeast of the country. Chiapas is bordered by the states of Tabasco to the north, Veracruz to the northwest, and Oaxaca to the west. To the east Chiapas borders Guatemala, and to the south the Pacific Ocean.
Chiapas has an area of 28,528 square miles (73,887.2 kmē). The 2005 census population was 4,293,459 people.
In general Chiapas has a humid, tropical weather.
In the north, in the area bordering Tabasco, near Teapa,
rainfall can average more than 3,000 mm (118 in) per
year . In the past, natural vegetation at this region
was lowland, tall perennial rainforest, but this vegetation
has been destroyed almost completely to give way to
agriculture and ranching. Rainfall decreases moving
towards the Pacific Ocean, but it is still abundant
enough to allow the farming of bananas and many other
tropical crops near Tapachula. On the several parallel
"sierras" or mountain ranges running along the center
of Chiapas, climate can be quite temperate and foggy,
allowing the development of cloud forests like those
of the Reserva de la Biosfera el Triunfo, home to a
handful of quetzals and horned guans.
The state capital city is Tuxtla Gutiérrez;
other cities and towns in Chiapas include San Cristóbal
de las Casas, Comitán, and Tapachula. Chiapas
is also home to the ancient Maya ruins of Palenque,
Yaxchilan, Bonampak, Chinkultic, and Tonina.
Most people in Chiapas are poor, rural small farmers.
About one quarter of the population are of full or predominant
Maya descent, and in rural areas many do not speak Spanish.
The state suffers from the highest rate of malnutrition
in Mexico, estimated to affect over 40% of the population.
Other social issues involve the increasing presence
of the Central American gangs known as Maras, and illegal
immigration from Central America in general, mostly
directed towards the United States, but further aggravating
the panorama of local poverty. This floating influx
of people is frequently subject to abuse and human rights
violations from Mexican authorities.
In 1994, there was an outbreak of violence between
the Mexican Government and the Zapatista Army of National
Liberation (the EZLN or Zapatistas). Today, the EZLN
(Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional,
named in honour of Emiliano Zapata) has rejected the
use of force and seek to be recognized as a voice of
the disenfranchised. There are currently 32 "rebel
autonomous zapatista municipalities" (independent
Zapatista communities, MAREZ in Spanish), controlled
by the EZLN in Chiapas: examples of these communities
are Ocosingo and Las Margaritas.
Source: Wikipedia
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