Guadalajara

Guadalajara (/ˌɡwɑːdələˈhɑːrə/,Spanish pronunciation: [ɡwaðalaˈxaɾa]) is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of Jalisco, and the seat of the municipality of Guadalajara. The city is in the central region of Jalisco in the Western-Pacific area of Mexico. With a population of 1,495,189 it is Mexico's fourth most populous municipality. The Guadalajara Metropolitan Area includes seven adjacent municipalities with a reported population of 4,328,584 in 2009, making it the second most populous metropolitan area in Mexico, behind Mexico City. The municipality is the second most densely populated in Mexico, the first being Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl in State of Mexico.

Guadalajara is the 10th largest city in Latin America in population, urban area and gross domestic product. The city is named after the Spanish city of Guadalajara, the name of which came from the Andalusian Arabic wād(i) l-ḥijāra (واد الحجارة or وادي الحجارة), meaning "river/valley of stones". The city's economy is based on industry, especially information technology, with a large number of international firms having manufacturing facilities in the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area. Other, more traditional industries, such as shoes, textiles and food processing are also important contributing factors.

Guadalajara, Castile-La Mancha

Guadalajara (/ˌɡwɑːdələˈhɑːrə/; Spanish pronunciation: [ɡwaðalaˈxaɾa]) is a city and municipality in the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha, Spain, and in the natural region of La Alcarria. It is the capital of the province of Guadalajara. It is located roughly 60 kilometres (37 miles) northeast of Madrid on the Henares River, and has a population of 84,803 (2012).

History

Pre-Moorish settlements

A Roman town called Arriaca, possibly founded by a pre-Roman culture, is known to have been located in that region. There is however no archeological proof of its existence, only references in texts such as the Ruta Antonina, which describe it as being in the hands of the Carpetani when encountered by the Romans. The city, as Caracca, was incorporated into the Roman province of Hispania Tarraconensis. The city was on the high road from Emerita (modern Mérida) to Caesaraugusta (modern Zaragoza), 22 M. P. northeast of Complutum (modern Alcalá de Henares).

Al-Andalus foundation

Guadalajara (Spanish Congress Electoral District)

Guadalajara is one of the 52 electoral districts (circunscripciones) used for the Spanish Congress of Deputies - the lower chamber of the Spanish Parliament, the Cortes Generales. It is the sixth smallest district in terms of electorate. Nonetheless, the electorate grew by 10% between 2000 and 2004, a figure well above the Spanish average growth of 1.7%.

It is one of the five electoral districts which correspond to the provinces of Castilla La Mancha. Guadalajara is the largest municipality accounting for almost 40% of the electorate and there are no other municipalities with electorates over 15,000.

Boundaries and electoral system

Under Article 68 of the Spanish constitution the boundaries must be the same as the province of Guadalajara and under Article 140 this can only be altered with the approval of congress. Voting is on the basis of universal suffrage in a secret ballot. The electoral system used is closed list proportional representation with seats allocated using the D'Hondt method. Only lists which poll 3% or more of all valid votes cast, including votes "en blanco" i.e. for "none of the above" can be considered for seats. Under article 12 of the constitution, the minimum voting age is 18.