Сьюдад-дель-Кармен: Жемчужина Мексиканского залива

City in the Mexican state of Campeche

Ciudad del Carmen or Carmen is a city in the southwest of the Mexican state of Campeche. Ciudad del Carmen is located at on the southwest of Carmen Island, which stands in the Laguna de Términos on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. as of 2010, Ciudad del Carmen had a population of 169,466, up from the 2005 census of 154,197. In July 2006, Ciudad del Carmen celebrated its 150th anniversary as a city. The city is nicknamed "The Pearl of the Gulf". Ciudad del Carmen was a small city mostly devoted to fishing until the 1970s when oil was discovered in the region; since then it has grown and developed substantially. To this day Carmen is known as one of the best locations to find seafood in Mexico. As late as the early 1980s the city could long be reached only by ferry boats called "pangas" or small motorboats ("lanchas") operating between Ciudad del Carmen and Zacatal; this changed with the construction of a causeway bridge to the mainland in the 1980s (eastbound) and another one in 1994 (westbound). The construction of the first bridge was motivated by the sinking of one of the island's pangas which resulted in the death of nearly everyone on board. The bridge Puente El Zacatal, constructed in 1994, is one of the longest in Latin America. This border area at the western edge of the Yucatán Peninsula was previously part of the state of Yucatán, then of Tabasco; since 1863 it has been part of the state of Campeche. In 1840 the city had a population of about 7,000. The city is also the seat of the state of Campeche's Carmen municipality, which includes the city and the surrounding area. The 2010 census population of the municipality of Carmen was 221,094 people, second only to the capital municipality of Campeche. of the Bay of Campeche indicates Isla del Carmen as two islands: Triest I and Port Royal I. On the opposite side of the lagoon there is a waterway marked as Logwood Creek; this indicates that the residents were probably English and logging was another of their activities. The city got its current name on July 16, 1717, in honor of the Virgin of Carmen, believed to be the protector of the island, when the Spanish forces, commanded by Alonso Felipe de Andrade evicted the pirates from the island and took control the city after a long period of occupation. Since then, every year at the end of July, Ciudad del Carmen turns into the very center of the regional social, cultural and religious festivities, on the fair that celebrates the island's protector virgin.

He was granted the title of villa by governmental provision of October 2, 1828, with his respective shield: a lion perched on the island that is eaten by the eagle; Around it bears the following legend: "La Laguna by Yucatán and both by the Mexican Republic". In 1841, the town of Carmen was granted, by decree of October 26, the port height category because of the importance of its maritime trade. He also participated in national vicissitudes, struggles between federalists and centralists, and military conflicts. Following the fate of the peninsula, when they experience the split of the Mexican Republic in the 1840s, they chose separation and neutrality; in 1846, in the war against the United States, he followed the criteria that he had adopted on December 8 of that same year the City Hall of San Francisco de Campeche: without being oblivious to popular pressure, in a meeting he pronounced for a postponement of reinstatement until the national government is stable. The historian Bolivar points out that El Carmen was occupied by US forces, commanded by the Commodore Perry who made the line of the Parish; The state authorities contacted the occupation forces. According to Luis Ramírez Aznar, the political group of Santiago Méndez had established communication with Commodore Perry through a special shipment from José Robira, a man of Spanish nationality who had been raised in the United States and settled in Carmen; Méndez himself had visited the Commodore in the port of Veracruz. The neutrality of Yucatán was accepted on the condition of facilitating the occupation of Isla del Carmen, which would be a US base in the region because of its importance. Robira presided over a popular meeting in which the neighbors asked Commodore Perry not to withdraw from the island when peace was signed between the United States and Mexico, until the Supreme Government was in a position to care for the security and defense of Carmen. This exhibition, signed on June 5, 1848, referred to the belligerence between the two countries, as well as the Caste War that had the peninsula in alarm:
Now that the war of the barbarians has made so much progress and that as a result of them an imminent immigration flows daily to this island, that this brings with it only the devouring hunger and the most regrettable indigence: the exponents beg continue the military occupation of this island, as long as the Mexican government can send forces to occupy and defend it, leaving the liquid products of customs revenues for the benefit of the hapless Yucatán Peninsula. From 1848, due to the social war, the population of Carmen and Sabancuy increased; the Party would count 12,352 inhabitants in the year of 1852, added those established in Palizada. By the year 1849, there was already agricultural production by the course of Palizada, Cerillos and Atasta. The existence of trapiches allowed to process panela, sugar and brandy; rice, corn, cotton, and vegetables, onions, peanuts and sweet potatoes were grown, among others. The town of Carmen caught fire on the days of March 16 to 18, 1850. The guano of the roofs, the weather and the weakness of the buildings caused them to be swept by fire, a tragedy whose origin was suspicious. But the population survived and three years later it was planned with the impulse of the authority exercised by General Tomás Marín. The fire left those who had been prosperous merchants in misery; An example is the disappearance of the Preciat and Gual company, which lost goods for 10,000 pesos and buildings that were calculated with a value of 30,000 pesos; or the MacGregor house, which disappeared when three buildings that cost 20,000 pesos were reduced to ashes; Domingo Trueba lost in merchandise and buildings 56,000 pesos. Others were fortunate not to lose all of their assets in the fire, and two of the most important dye stick marketers were saved: Benito Anizán and Victoriano Nieves. Esteban Paullada also saved his estate.

Shortly thereafter, in November 1853, only the region that comprised Isla del Carmen was declared federal territory; subsequently, its jurisdiction was extended on July 15, 1854, extending from Punta Varaderos to the San Pedro and San Pablo river, on the coast. The City of San Francisco de Campeche, at the motion of the alderman Francisco Estrada Ojeda, agreed to recommend to the Superior Government of the peninsula to make every possible effort to return the Territory of Carmen to the state; the Yucatán government asked the Constituent Congress of 1856 for the restitution of that separate party and, after some discussions, the peninsular entity was reinstated with 77 votes in favor by 8 against, which resulted in the dissolution of the territory of Carmen, recovering Tabasco and Yucatán their respective territories. A situation that paralyzed political concerns needs to be clarified; Justo Sierra O'Reilly dealt with the points on the items at the time, remembering that only the spirit of the party and interests drove that detachment, sponsored by the dictator Antonio López de Santa Anna, whose purposes were, during 27 months of his regime, split the great states of the nation to more easily impose the yoke and the influence of centralist power. Because of the importance acquired and its marked development, the government of the president Comonfort decreed, on July 10, 1856, the title of city for Carmen, a fact that approved the Congress of the Union on September 17 of that same year. The population, before being part of the state, had already managed to integrate its personality: among the most characteristic neighborhoods were El Guanal, which was populated by families of Palizada, Atasta and San Francisco de Campeche; the del Jesús neighborhood, that of Tila, founded by Yucatecan families who came fleeing from the Caste War; La Puntilla, of fishermen; El Salitral, close to the stream of the French, and that of Fatima, just to name a few.

The conflict in the Yucatán Peninsula, between the politicians Méndez and Barbachano, continued, the caste war did the same. Major difficulties in the peninsula were presented in 1857 due to irregularities in the election of the state governor, Pantaleón Barrera. Pablo García, who was then 33 years old and had been elected deputy, left the session room of the local Congress in Mérida in July, arguing falsehood of the electoral process. Immediately the uprisings began in different towns, mainly in the Campeche district, asking for new elections to be called; military forces persecuted the rebels, but placated some, others appeared. On the night of August 6, 1857, several Campechanos grouped around García and Pedro Baranda seized the bulwarks of Santiago and the Soledad in San Francisco de Campeche, as well as the artillery mastery. When the negotiations took place, they requested the dismissal of the Campeche City Council for its mendist affiliation, as well as that of the Customs administrator and other conditions that were not entirely justified. Shortly after, on August 9, Congress and Governor Pantaleón Barrera were unknown in the minutes of that date, due to lack of freedom in the elections. They stopped City Hall and named other people. Pablo García was appointed political and military chief, and began receiving accessions from other places in the district. García's actions to unify in August 1857 the decision of the break with Yucatán, were not easy and he had to exercise the authority he held. Consequently, on the 19th he addressed the political chief of El Carmen asking him not to prevent the free manifestation of the lagoons, of whom he had knowledge that they wished to adhere to his project. He warned him that in order to protect the free expression he had instructed Captain Andrés Cepeda Peraza to disembark in Las Pilas with the forces under his command and, approaching the population, give the inhabitants an opportunity to express their opinions. Days later, thanks to Nicolás Dorantes and Ávila, García learned that he had the support of the lagoons. The fact was not peaceful, since there were victims: Jerónimo Castillo and Santiago Brito, who had resisted García's objectives, died within the proclamation. Likewise, Pablo García separated José del Rosario Gil from the political headquarters of Carmen and sent José García y Poblaciones from Campeche, to whom he also granted the party's military command. From August to December 1857 numerous populations adhered to the proclamation of García and Barrera left the government in the hands of Martín F. Peraza. For all these reasons, it was no accident that in April 1858 there was a majority consensus for the creation of the new state. On May 3, 1858, the Territorial Division Agreement was signed, which among other points stipulated the respective dividing line, obligations in the war against the natives, taxes and tariffs; It was published in San Francisco de Campeche with the solemnity of the case on May 15. Immediate consequence of the Agreement was the issuance of a four point document whereby the Government Board of the District of Campeche and Isla del Carmen declared that it was willing to establish itself in a state, recognizing Pablo García as governor and establishing that the designation of commander would fall in Pedro Baranda; They also appointed a Governing Council that would be integrated with five members. The final decree of the creation of the new state was issued on April 29, 1863. The state was formed with one of the Yucatecan districts: that of Campeche (the others were Mérida, Tekax, Izamal and Valladolid), the district of Campeche was formed by the parties of Carmen, Champotón, Campeche, Hecelchakán and Bolonchenticul. The first governor was Mr. Pablo García y Montilla.

The suspension of the payment of the external debt gave the opportunity to England, Spain and France to get, again, a hegemonic place in Mexico, and sent their fleets to demand payment, arriving at Veracruz in January 1862. On February 12, at four in the afternoon, the French war steamer "Le Granade" anchored in the Bay of Carmen, with the excuse landed armaments in the month of May. The struggle between the adherents to the conservative cause and the faithful to the Republic of Juarez became manifest, a meeting of authorities and connoted persons was called and, after a vote, Carmen remained as a French colony, the liberals had Than exile from the city. In San Francisco de Campeche forces were organized to reconquer the island, the troops of the intervention under the command of Don Pedro Pucurul arrived at Palizada and in San Joaquin they fought. Loyal Carmelites addressed a proclamation to the inhabitants of the island to resist and defend the homeland, among the first was Arturo Shields. In Carmen, nature came to the rescue and the crew of "La Granade" died, in its entirety, of yellow fever, the only one who was saved was Captain Hoquart. Campeche was the last bulwark of the liberals in the peninsula and after violent fighting they were dominated by the imperialist forces, giving the arrival to the country of Maximilian and Carlota. At the end of 1865, the Empress made a trip to the peninsula arriving at Carmen on December 17 aboard the Tabasco steam. In early 1866, Pablo Gracia and other loyal Campechens returned to Carmen, entering Tabasco, to reorganize the release of Campeche. On April 23, 1867, the liberal forces, under the command of Don Juan Carbo, and the fleet, under the command of Vicente Campan, entered Carmen to take the place, upon obtaining it they were handed over by the political prefect of the territory José María Ponce. The state began the path of progress, a statistical report of March 1871 indicated that they had exported to Europe, in the 1861 1870s, the figure of 4 million 650 thousand 139 quintals of dye stick. Every day there were more than 25 ships of different nationalities docked at the docks and many others were waiting to dock. The dye stick extract plant was established with Belgian and French capital and the first electric current generator for lighting in the country was installed there, it was the year 1874.

Obeying an economic trend, guided by the transition of land to private individuals, the Porfirio Díaz government handed over large concessions to foreign companies and connoted people in the region. At the end of 1907, in El Carmen, two groups faced conflicting ideas, the one of friends of the Porfirian regime called "Club dos de Abril", who met at the pharmacy of Don Jesus Cervera, and the other called "The hornet" , who met in the pharmacy of Carlos González l.

On September 11, at the beginning of his campaign, Don Francisco I. Madero arrived by boat to Carmen from Tabasco, accompanied by his wife, Ms. Sara Pérez de Madero, from the graduates José María Pino Suárez and Serapio Rendón and other supporters and collaborators from Tabasco. At night there was a rally in Zaragoza square, where Mr. Pino Suárez, Mr. Rendón and Francisco I. Madero himself took the floor. Once the power was reached in 1912, there was a great economic collapse, the dissatisfied against President Madero faced a frank struggle, the Porfiristas for their part, struggled to regain power, all these facts led the country to the Tragic Decade. In the state the governor Manuel Castilla Brito rebelled. In July 1914, Victoriano Huerta's forces were in frank defeat, Venustiano Carranza became the head of the revolution. Among the officers of the Venustiano Carranza pre constitutional army, came the young Joaquín Mucel Acereto, who had lived in Carmen since childhood and abandoned his engineering studies at the beginning of the movement. Colonel Mucel is sent as chief of arms and governor. With the arrival of Mucel, several young Carmelites decided to enlist in the army, among them, Ramón Arcovedo, Ramón Vadillo, Alfonso Rosiñol del Valle, Benjamin Pérez, Marcos Almeida and José Ruiz.

Between 1946 and 1947, the inhabitants of the Isla del Carmen were looking for a way out of their economic crisis, according to data from Leriche, several were the projects that had in mind, from a great hotel until a factory of buttons, of all these projects the only one that was consummated was the installation of seafood packers. While these possibilities were being discussed on the island, domestic and foreign shrimp companies increased their presence on the coasts of Carmen, where the virgin [pink shrimp] banks of the Gulf were located. Shrimp activity had an anarchic start, somewhat chaotic; however, it would mark Carmen's economy for the next 35 years. The benefits between this industry and those that preceded it, such as dye stick and precious wood, allowed the diversification of occupational activities in the region. The discovery of oil, by fisherman Rudesindo Cantarell in March 1971 off the coast of Carmen, meant a new stage in the life of the city and an element of great importance in the destiny of the country.

Ciudad del Carmen is located on an island covering an area of , the island is in length and is in its widest parts. The island is mainly above sea level.

Like most of the cities along the Yucatán's Gulf Coast, Ciudad del Carmen exhibits a Tropical savanna climate. The city, situated on Carmen Island, has a pronounced dry season that lasts from January through May, with the wet season finishing out the year. September and October bring copious rainfall, with both months averaging well over 200 millimeters.

The vast majority of the inhabitants in Ciudad del Carmen come from other places. This extreme emigration and immigration pattern displays diversity in culture and lifestyle; the petroleum industry is in part responsible for this phenomenon that results in a rich and extraordinary culture mix.

In the mid 1970s Ciudad del Carmen was transformed from a fishing and shrimping city into a hub for oil when Pemex discovered large amounts of petroleum off the coast. Ever since, Carmen has become a home for Mexican and foreign oil workers alike, including many Texans, and now houses many foreign companies.