Ocosingo

Ocosingo
Municipality
Ocosingo Location in Mexico
Coordinates:
Country	Mexico
State	Chiapas
Area
• Total	3,326.93 sq mi (8,616.71 km2)
Population (2010)
• Total	198,877

Ocosingo is a city and its surrounding municipality (municipio) of the same name in the Mexican state of Chiapas.

Overview

The municipality borders the Usumacinta River along a portion where the river forms the international border with Guatemala.

As of 2010, the municipality had a total population of 198,877, up from 170,280 as of 2005.

As of 2010, the city of Ocosingo had a population of 41,878, up from 35,065 as of 2005. Other than the city of Ocosingo, the municipality had 1,387 localities, the largest of which (with 2010 populations in parentheses) were: Nueva Palestina (10,588), Frontera Corozal (5,184), Tenango (4,436), Abasolo (2,884), classified as urban, and Damasco (2,380), Taniperla (2,106), San Quintín (1,732), Cristóbal Colón (1,623), Santo Domingo (1,584), Cintalapa (1,571), Perla de Acapulco (1,527), Santa Elena (1,508), El Censo (1,500), El Sibal (1,472), Nuevo Francisco León (1,420), El Zapotal (1,385), Las Tazas (1,381), Sibaca (1,359), Arroyo Granizo (1,349), Ubilio García (1,318), El Limonar (1,289), Patria Nueva (San José el Contento) (1,282), Zaragoza (1,163), Los Pinos (1,073), Ramón F. Balboa (1,065), Agua Azul (1,064), Lacandón (1,062), El Tumbo (1,044), and Lacanjá Tzeltal (1,030), classified as rural.

Ocosingo was given city status on 31 July 1979.[1]

Several notable Maya archaeological sites are nearby, including Bonampak and Toniná.

Ocosingo rose to national prominence during the Zapatista uprising of 1994. It was occupied by the EZLN along with several other towns in Chiapas (including San Cristóbal). The EZLN retreated from most towns before the arrival of the Mexican army but not so in Ocosingo. Thus, the town saw several days of intense fighting, leaving dozens of rebels, soldiers and civilians dead.

Statue of a Maya woman at the central roundabout in Ocosingo.

Inner view of the church in Ocosingo

References

• Link to tables of population data from Census of 2005 INEGI: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática
• Chiapas Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México