Jalisco is one of the 31 Mexican states that, together with the Mexican Federal District, conform the 32 federal entities of Mexico.

Jalisco is located in central-western Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Nayarit to the northwest, Zacatecas, Aguascalientes and San Luis Potosí to the north, Guanajuato to the east and Colima and Michoacán to the south. To the west, Jalisco has a significant share of coastline on the Pacific Ocean.

Jalisco is the fourth most populated federal entity in Mexico. It is also one of the most developed in terms of cultural, trade and economic level in the country. Some municipalities in the state have a standard of living comparable to the one found in countries like Spain and Italy, but, like in the rest of Mexico, these living standards are not representative of all of the state's municipalities due to the widespread economic inequalities found in the state. The capital of Jalisco is the city of Guadalajara, whose metropolitan area includes the municipalities of Guadalajara, Juanacatlán, El Salto, Tlaquepaque, Tonala, Tlajomulco de Zuniga, Ixtlahuacán de los Membrillos and Zapopan, forming the second largest metropolitan area in Mexico after Mexico City.

Etymology

The state's name, meaning "sandy plain," derives from the Nahuatl words xalli (meaning "sand" or "gravel") and ixtli (meaning "face," or, by extension, "plain") with the suffix -co (place).

Geography

Jalisco is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the west, and the state of Nayarit to the northwest, Zacatecas and Aguascalientes to the north, Guanajuato to the east, and Colima and Michoacán to the south. It has an area of , which constitutes about 4% of the total territory of Mexico.

The state is formed by four characteristic physiographic regions, which are the Mexican Plateau, Sierra Madre Occidental, Sierra Madre del Sur, and the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt.

Mexico's largest freshwater lake, Lake Chapala, lies within the boundaries of Jalisco.

Government and politics

The Constitution of the State of Jalisco provides that the government of Jalisco, like the government of every other state in Mexico, formally consists of three branches: the executive, the legislative and the judiciary.

Executive power rests with the Governor of Jalisco, who is directly elected through secret ballot to a 6-year term, with no possibility of reelection. Legislative power rests with the Congress of Jalisco which is a unicameral legislature composed of 40 deputies. Judicial power is invested in the Superior Court of Justice of Jalisco.

Municipalities and regions

main: Municipalities of Jalisco Like the rest of Mexico, the state of Jalisco is divided into municipalities (communes), most of which are named after the town that serves as the municipal seat. Unlike English-language municipalities, Mexican municipalities (or municipios) include both a central city or town and surrounding villages, towns and rural land. Each municipio has a municipal president. The largest municipio in Jalisco is Mezquitic.