San Miguel Quetzaltepec is a town and municipality

Municipalities of Mexico State

The Mexican state of Mexico is made up of 125 municipios :-External links:* Estado de México / State of Mexico...

 in Oaxaca

Oaxaca

Oaxaca , , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca is one of the 31 states which, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 571 municipalities; of which 418 are governed by the system of customs and traditions...

 in south-western 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...

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It is part of the Sierra Mixe

Sierra Mixe

The Sierra Mixe or Mixes District is a district in the east of the Sierra Norte Region of the Mexican state of Oaxaca. It comprises 17 municipalities and covers 4,930 km2 at an average elevation of 1,200 meters above sea level....

 district within the Sierra Norte de Oaxaca

Sierra Norte de Oaxaca

La Sierra Norte de Oaxaca is a heavily-wooded region in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico.It is 62 km from the city of Oaxaca on Federal highway 175, heading east towards Tuxtepec....

 Region.
The name "Quetzaltepec" means "hill of the quetzal

Quetzal

Quetzals are strikingly colored birds in the trogon family . They are found in forests and woodlands, especially in humid highlands, with the five species from the genus Pharomachrus being exclusively Neotropical, while the single Euptilotis species is almost entirely restricted to western Mexico...

", a tiny bird with a large red and green tail that is now rare in the area.

Environment

The municipality covers an area of 199.03 km² at an altitude of 1,200 meters above sea level.
The average temperature is 20° C. Rainfall is variable.
Trees inclide pitch pine, cedar and oaks.
Fruits are mango, oranges, limes, lemons, pineapple, mamey, guava, bananas, sugar cane, custard apple, sapodilla plum, mountain grape, avocado, cuajinicuil, chayote and peaches.
Wild animals include fox, wild cat, wild boar, armadillo, squirrel and deer.

Economy

As of 2005, the municipality had 1,419 households with a total population of 6,015 of whom of 5,428 people spoke an indigenous language.
The main economic activity is coffee cultivation, with small-scale production of other crops and some animal husbandry.
Timber is logged for use in construction of local houses.
The Union of Indigenous Communities of the Isthmus Region

Union of Indigenous Communities of the Isthmus Region

The Union of Indigenous Communities of the Isthmus Region , is a farmer's cooperative in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. It was established in 1982 to assist in production, marketing and distribution of locally produced coffee and other products....

, a cooperative founded in 1982, assists in production and distribution of the local products, notably coffee, under a fair trade

Fair trade

Fair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries make better trading conditions and promote sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a higher price to producers as well as higher social and environmental standards...

 label.

Events

In June 2003 a group of Indian activists tried to seize the town hall, triggering in which three people died and ten were wounded.
The group claimed that the local government was stealing public funds.
In February 2006 the town of San Juan Bosco Chuxnaban, which is in the municipality, was invaded by over 60 heavily armed state judicial police who used tear gas and gunfire during their arrest of three residents.
The detainees were apparently Zapatista

Zapatista Army of National Liberation

The Zapatista Army of National Liberation is a revolutionary leftist group based in Chiapas, the southernmost state of Mexico....

 supporters opposed to the PRI

Institutional Revolutionary Party

The Institutional Revolutionary Party is a Mexican political party that held power in the country—under a succession of names—for more than 70 years. The PRI is a member of the Socialist International, as is the rival Party of the Democratic Revolution , making Mexico one of the few...

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