Development Strategy in the Northern State of Jalisco from the Institutional Perspective

3. Overview Of The Northern Region Of Jalisco

The Northern Region of the State of Jalisco, is located on the northern tip of the state of Jalisco (ZNEJ). Its territory is equivalent to 10305.46 km2, which corresponds to 12.86% of the total area of the State of Jalisco. Jalisco is bordered on the North by the states of Nayarit and Zacatecas, to the East by the State of Zacatecas, on the West by the State of Nayarit and South, the state of Zacatecas and Municipalities of Jalisco Tequila and Hostotipaquillo. The region includes 10 municipalities: Bolaños, Chimaltitán, Colotlán, Huejúcar, Huejuquilla high, Mezquitic, San Martin de Bolaños, Santa Maria de los Ángeles, Totatiche and Villa Guerrero.

The Northern Region of Jalisco, is one of the regions of Jalisco with more potential and yet the most backward (Romero, 2009). On a very general overview, it is mentioned that the population of the region represents only 1.04% of the state population. The 60% of municipalities in Jalisco are classified as rural and semi-urban 40%. The Northern Region of the State of Jalisco (ZNEJ) has a strong presence of indigenous cultures. According to INEGI (2010) 4 of the 10 municipalities of the ZNEJ, have the highest percentage of indigenous-speaking population of the state, Mezquitic with 75.9% and Bolaños with 64.4%. It follows them the municipalities of Huejuquilla el Alto with 6.5% and Villa Guerrero with 5.5, prevailing culture of the Huichol people in Mezquitic and Bolaños mainly.