Temax Municipality

Temax
Municipality
Principal Church of Temax, Yucatán
Municipal location in Yucatán
Temax Location of the Municipality in Mexico
Coordinates: 21°02′55″N 89°02′20″W / 21.04861°N 89.03889°W / 21.04861; -89.03889Coordinates: 21°02′55″N 89°02′20″W / 21.04861°N 89.03889°W / 21.04861; -89.03889
Country	Mexico
State	Yucatán
Government
• Type	2012–2015
• Municipal President	Miguel Alonso Pacheco Díaz
Area
• Total	329.52 km2 (127.23 sq mi)
Elevation	7 m (23 ft)
Population (2010)
• Total	6,817
Time zone	Central Standard Time (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	Central Daylight Time (UTC-5)
INEGI Code	084
Major Airport	Merida (Manuel Crescencio Rejón) International Airport
IATA Code	MID
ICAO Code	MMMD
Website	Official Website

Temax Municipality (In the Yucatec Maya Language: “place of monkeys”) is one of the 106 municipalities in the Mexican state of Yucatán containing 329.52 square kilometres (127.23 sq mi) of land and located roughly 80 kilometres (50 mi) northeast of the city of Mérida.

It is unknown which chieftainship the area was under prior to the arrival of the Spanish. After the conquest the area became part of the encomienda system. The encomienda was established for the minor children of Juan de Sosa in 1549. In 1579 it passed to Juan de Sosa Velázquez and in 1607 three-quarters passed to Bernardo de Sosa Velázquez and one-quarter passed to Pedro de Sosa. In 1639 Juan de Villa Real was the encomendero and by 1688 Ana Dorantes possessed the trust.

Yucatán declared its independence from the Spanish Crown in 1821 and in 1825, the area was assigned to the coastal region with its headquarters in Izamal Municipality. It was designated as its own municipality by 1922.

Temax, though now a sleepy town, in the recent past its history had witnessed a disturbed and fascinating period on account of momentous caste wars during the middle of the nineteenth century. Situated as it is between the henequen area and the poorly inhabited inland region and the "settled plantations society" there were rebellions to stop land encroachments by the plantation community. In this context, Temax played a central role in creating an environment of insurgency led by Pedro Crespo, their powerful and aggressive political leader. The state authorities of Yucatán played a diplomatic role in recognizing the influence of Crespo and brokered peace with him by delegating autonomous power to Temax.

The municipal president is elected for a three-year term. The town council has seven councilpersons, who serve as Secretary and councilors of public services, public safety, ecology, nomenclature, markets and roads.

The Municipal Council administers the business of the municipality. It is responsible for budgeting and expenditures and producing all required reports for all branches of the municipal administration. Annually it determines educational standards for schools.