Santa Cruz del Rincón Xkuaa | |
|---|---|
  Santa Cruz del Rincón Location of Santa Cruz del Rincón Show map of Guerrero Santa Cruz del Rincón Santa Cruz del Rincón (Mexico) Show map of Mexico | |
| Coordinates:16°59′45″N98°44′10″W / 16.99583°N 98.73611°W /16.99583; -98.73611[1] | |
| Country |  Mexico |
| State |  Guerrero |
| Incorporated | 21 May 2022 |
| Seat | Santa Cruz del Rincón |
| Government | |
| • President | Godofredo Avilés Mendoza |
| Area | |
• Total | 88.72 km2 (34.25 sq mi) |
| Elevation [1] (of seat) | 606 m (1,988 ft) |
| Population (2020 Census)[2] | |
• Total | 6,851 |
| • Density | 77.22/km2 (200.0/sq mi) |
| • Seat | 1,677 |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central) |
| Postal codes | 41524–41527[3] |
| Area code | 757 |
Santa Cruz del Rincón (Me'phaa:Xkuaa, "flat place"[4]) is amunicipality in theMexicanstate ofGuerrero. It is located about 100 kilometres (62 mi) southeast of the state capital ofChilpancingo. Its creation from the municipality ofMalinaltepec was approved in 2021 and went into force on 21 May 2022.
The municipality of Santa Cruz del Rincón is located at the headwaters of theMarquelia River in the transition zone between theCosta Chica and theSierra Madre del Sur of eastern Guerrero.[4] It borders the municipalities of Malinaltepec to the north,Iliatenco to the northeast, andSan Luis Acatlán to the south and west. The highest point of Santa Cruz del Rincón is its tripoint with Malinaltepec and Iliatenco at Cerro Ardilla, 1,763 metres (5,784 ft) above sea level.[5] The municipality covers an area of 89.55 square kilometres (34.58 sq mi).[2] Since 2011, 23.8 square kilometres (9.2 sq mi) of the part of the municipality east of the main north–south highway has been protected as a Voluntary Conservation Area.[6]
Santa Cruz del Rincón has asubhumid temperate climate with rain in the summer. Average temperatures range between 22 and 26 °C (72–79 °F).[7]
Due to a lack of basic infrastructure and services, Santa Cruz del Rincón and its surrounding communities had been demanding the creation of an independent municipal government since 1964.[8] On 31 August 2021, theGuerrero state congress approved the formation of the municipality of Santa Cruz del Rincón from nineteen localities previously belonging to Malinaltepec.[2] The state constitutional amendment establishing the municipality was passed on 13 January 2022 and went into force on 21 May 2022.[9]
Santa Cruz del Rincón will hold its first elections as an independent municipality in 2024. An interim administration was appointed in September 2023, led bymunicipal president Godofredo Avilés Mendoza.[10] The municipal government of Santa Cruz del Rincón consists of a municipal president, a councillor (Spanish:síndico), and six trustees (regidores).[11]
TheCRAC–PC [es], acommunity self-defence group serving indigenous communities in eastern Guerrero, operates in the area.[4]
In the 2020 Mexican Census, the localities that now comprise the municipality of Santa Cruz del Rincón recorded a population of 6851 inhabitants.[2] The municipal seat, also named Santa Cruz del Rincón or just El Rincón, recorded a population of 1677 inhabitants in the 2020 Census.[1] Other localities in the municipality with over a thousand people are El Potrerillo and Tierra Colorada, which recorded populations of 1393 and 1020 inhabitants respectively in the 2020 Census.[12][13] According to the 2010 Census, 70% of the population in Santa Cruz del Rincón spoke the Me'phaa orTlapanec language.[4]
The economy of Santa Cruz del Rincón is based on agriculture: corn, coffee and hibiscus are the main crops.[4]
A paved highway runs north to south through the municipality, connecting it withTlapa de Comonfort to the north andMarquelia to the south.[4]
Several educational institutions operate in Santa Cruz del Rincón, including a public library, a junior high school and a high school, a branch of theNational Pedagogic University,[2] and a branch of UNISUR (Universidad Intercultural de los Pueblos del Sur), which offers informal education for indigenous youth.[14]