Iguala

Iguala
Municipal seat and city
A view of the city of Iguala taken from "Cerro del Tehuhue" Asta Bandera
Iguala Location in Mexico
Coordinates: 18°21′N 99°32′W / 18.350°N 99.533°W / 18.350; -99.533Coordinates: 18°21′N 99°32′W / 18.350°N 99.533°W / 18.350; -99.533
Country	Mexico
State	Guerrero
Municipality	Iguala de la Independencia
Population (2005)
• Total	110,390

Iguala (Spanish pronunciation: [iˈɣwala]), known officially as Iguala de la Independencia, is a historic city located 102 km (63 mi) from the state capital of Chilpancingo, in the Mexican state of Guerrero in southwestern Mexico.

The city of Iguala stands on Federal Highway 95 about 130 km (81 mi) SSW of Mexico City. Iguala is the municipal seat of the Municipality of Iguala de la Independencia, located in the north-central part of the state.

The city had a 2005 census population of 110,390 and the municipality 128,444. The area of the municipality is 567.1 km² (219.0 sq mi). The city is the third-largest community in Guerrero, after Acapulco and Chilpancingo.

General Vicente Guerrero was the first military leader to swear allegiance to the Mexican flag in Acatempan, on March 12, 1821. On February 24, the Plan de Iguala had been signed by Agustín de Iturbide and Vicente Guerrero, ending the long Mexican War of Independence.

Gaining independence from Spain was represented by the first national flag, known as the Flag of the Three Guarantees, which was made by José Magdaleno Ocampo. Thus, Iguala is called the birthplace of the Flag of Mexico.

On 26 September 2014, 43 students from the Raúl Isidro Burgos Rural Teachers' College in Ayotzinapa were kidnapped, disappeared, and likely murdered, provoking ongoing national protests and international attention.Mexican Federal Police and Iguala's police department and former mayor have been implicated in the students' kidnapping and disappearance; members of the Guerreros Unidos drug cartel in the mass murder. The governor of Guerrero state, Ángel Aguirre Rivero, resigned amid the scandal.