Guanajuato (state, Mexico)

Guanajuato (state, Mexico) state in central Mexico. Guanajuato is one of Mexico’s foremost mining and agricultural states. It also retains some of the best examples of colonial architecture in the country. It is bordered by the states of Jalisco on the west, Michoacán on the southwest, Quéretaro on the southeast, and San Luis Potosí on the north.

Guanajuato is located on Mexico’s high central plateau. The northern part of the state is quite mountainous and characterized by a dry, temperate climate. The south is hotter and more humid, with broad, fertile plains that form part of a large region known as the Bajío, some of the most productive agricultural land in the country. An important river, the Lerma, flows through Guanajuato and is utilized for hydroelectric power and irrigation. The state covers an area of 30,768 sq km (11,880 sq mi).

The capital city, also called Guanajuato, has numerous examples of colonial architecture, including ornate religious works in the Valenciana and San Augustín churches. The capital, built around a rich silver mining industry in the colonial period, is a religious and intellectual center. The University of Guanajuato, originally founded as the College of the Immaculate Conception in 1732, is one of the most important in the region. The state is densely populated and boasts numerous other major cities, including León in the north; Irapuato, Salamanca, Celaya, and Pénjamo in the central region; and San Miguel de Allende, a popular artistic community and home to thousands of United States citizens, in the east. In the early 1990s the state’s total population ranked fifth out of 31 Mexican states. The state’s population in 2005 was 4,893,812.

Guanajuato has long been one of the world’s most productive mining areas and is among the nation’s top producers of gold, silver, mercury, tin, copper, and sulfur. The state is highly industrialized and has been notable for its production of foodstuffs, leather goods, and clothing. Guanajuato is linked by highway to every major city in the surrounding states. Widespread irrigation also makes it one of Mexico’s most productive agricultural states, with major crops including corn, beans, tomatoes, garlic, onions, strawberries, grapes, and apples. The raising of livestock is also important to Guanajuato’s economy.

The region has played a central role in Mexican history from the pre-Columbian era, when the Toltec civilization advanced into central Mexico, until late in the 20th century. The movement for Mexican independence from Spain was initiated in a small village in the state on September 16, 1810, and led by a local priest, Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla. Some of the major battles of the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920) were fought in the state, including conflicts at Celaya and León, which both resulted in the defeat of forces fighting under revolutionary General Francisco “Pancho” Villa. Guanajuato’s religious conservatism contributed to the state’s playing a central role in the Cristero Rebellion (1927-1929), a religiously motivated conflict between the national government and Mexicans who opposed efforts to limit the power of the Catholic church. In the 1980s and 1990s, the state was at the center of efforts to reform Mexico’s political system and challenge the power of the dominant Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). During that time, Guanajuato was one of only two states (Baja California was the other) that was governed consecutively by politicians from the National Action Party, Mexico’s leading opposition party.