Madero, formally Ciudad Madero, is a city and its coextensive municipality

Municipalities of Mexico

Municipalities are the second-level administrative division in Mexico . There are 2,438 municipalities in Mexico, making the average municipality population 45,616...

 in the state

States of Mexico

The United Mexican States is a federal republic formed by 32 federal entities .According to the Constitution of 1917, the states of the federation are free and sovereign. Each state has their own congress and constitution, while the Federal District has only limited autonomy with a local Congress...

 of Tamaulipas

Tamaulipas

Tamaulipas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 43 municipalities and its capital city is Ciudad Victoria. The capital city was named after Guadalupe Victoria, the...

, Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

. The city is located at 22.27°N, 97.83°W in the extreme southeastern part of the state, on the Gulf of Mexico

Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...

, just north and east of Tampico

Tampico

Tampico is a city and port in the state of Tamaulipas, in the country of Mexico. It is located in the southeastern part of the state, directly north across the border from Veracruz. Tampico is the third largest city in Tamaulipas, and counts with a population of 309,003. The Metropolitan area of...

 but still on the banks of the Río Pánuco, and forms part of the conurbation that includes the municipalities of Tampico

Tampico

Tampico is a city and port in the state of Tamaulipas, in the country of Mexico. It is located in the southeastern part of the state, directly north across the border from Veracruz. Tampico is the third largest city in Tamaulipas, and counts with a population of 309,003. The Metropolitan area of...

 and Altamira

Altamira, Tamaulipas

Altamira is a municipality and city in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. It is located immediately to the north of the municipalities of Tampico and Ciudad Madero, at the southern tip of the state of Tamaulipas, on the Gulf of Mexico. Additionally, it borders the municipalities of González on the...

 in Tamaulipas, as well as Pánuco

Pánuco, Veracruz

Pánuco is a city in the Mexican state of Veracruz, located in the state's Huasteca Alta region. It serves as the municipal seat of the surrounding Pánuco Municipality...

 and Pueblo Viejo in the state of Veracruz

Veracruz

Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave , is one of the 31 states that, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided in 212 municipalities and its capital city is...

, across the river to the south. Ciudad Madero is named after Mexican president

President of Mexico

The President of the United Mexican States is the head of state and government of Mexico. Under the Constitution, the president is also the Supreme Commander of the Mexican armed forces...

 and hero Francisco I. Madero

Francisco I. Madero

Francisco Ignacio Madero González was a politician, writer and revolutionary who served as President of Mexico from 1911 to 1913. As a respectable upper-class politician, he supplied a center around which opposition to the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz could coalesce...

. According to the 2005 INEGI census, the population of Ciudad Madero was 193,045, and its area was 46.6 km² (17.99 sq mi). It is the sixth-largest city in the state in population.

Ciudad Madero has a beach named "Playa Miramar", which, in recent years, has been expanding its services with new hotels and restaurants. Near the beach there is a lighthouse, named "Faro de Ciudad Madero" - although this has been replaced by a red beacon light atop a small tower, to guide approaching ships in to the channel of the Río Pánuco. However, in October 2006, the Ciudad Madero Planning Commission signaled its intention to build a new lighthouse because of the cultural and tourist values it would provide.

The citizens of Tampico often consider that Ciudad Madero is merely a rump of their own municipality - this leads to much local jesting and civic pride. In fact, although the two cities are politically and administratively independent, they are physically conjoined and form a part of a larger conurbation. The Tampico metropolitan area had a 2005 census population of 803,196 inhabitants.

External links

• Ayuntamiento de Ciudad Madero Official website