Boroughs of Mexico

In Mexico, boroughs, into which some municipalities and the Federal District are divided for administrative purposes, are known as delegaciones (sing. delegación). Boroughs can either be second-level semi-autonomous administrative divisions –as it is the case in the Federal District– or third-level non-autonomous administrative divisions –as it is the case in all other municipalities that have implemented this particular territorial organization. The limits, nature and competencies of boroughs are usually described in the constitutions of the states they are part of, or in the laws enacted by the municipality itself, and may differ from municipality to municipality.

Since Mexico City does not belong to any particular state, but to the federation, it is a federal district, and as such, a first-level administrative division on par with the states of Mexico, even if it differs in the nature of its autonomy and legislative powers. The 16 boroughs in which the Federal District is divided are semi-autonomous, in that a head of government, called simply "head of the borough" (jefe delegacional, in Spanish), is elected by the residents through direct suffrage. However, unlike the municipalities of Mexico, they do not have regulatory powers, and many of the services are still provided by the government of the Federal District itself.

The boroughs of the Federal District are, nonetheless, second-level administrative divisions, and are usually included in cross-municipal statistical comparisons with the municipalities of Mexico, which are the internal divisions of the states.

The boroughs of other municipalities are territorial or administrative divisions and in some cases they pertain exclusively to the urbanized areas of the municipality, which is a second-level administrative division. As such, and unlike the boroughs of Federal District, boroughs of municipalities are third-level administrative divisions. They are non-autonomous, but function merely as the internal divisions whereby the administration of public services is organized. Not all municipalities are divided into boroughs; some municipalities only use auxiliary councils or presidencies (presidencia auxiliar in Spanish) to administer the cities or towns that are not adjacent to the city that serves as the seat of the municipal council (ayuntamiento in Spanish), whereas boroughs are usually -but not always- used when the entire municipality is urbanized and is coextensive with a single city.

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