La Libertad, El Petén

La Libertad on the map of Guatemala

La Libertad is a more than 7,000 inhabitants small town in Guatemala. La Libertad is located in the department of Petén, and is the administrative center of Municipalities, which covers 5271 km ² and has a population of 35,000. End of 2011, La Libertad lost much of its administrative area, since the former rural community ( aldea ) Las Cruces was elevated to a municipality.

Geography

The village of La Libertad is located about 30 km southwest of Petén Itzá lake at 190 m height. From Flores, of the lakeside capital of the department of Petén, the National Highway 5 via La Libertad and Sayaxché the further south Alta Verapaz. La Libertad forms the southwestern boundary of a little denser besiedelteren region south of Petén Itzá lake, which has a relatively dense network of secondary roads. About this La Libertad is also connected to the CA Highway 13, which leads to Izabal in eastern Peténs. After Guatemala City there are more than 500 km.

As with all municipios Peténs the main village is located on a major thoroughfare, while the administrative territory stretches far back in sparsely populated regions. With 7047 km ² La Libertad to 2011 was not only one of the largest Municipalities of Guatemala, but also in terms of area greater than 17 of the 22 departments of the country. It comprised the western lowland Peténs bounded by the Río San Pedro in the north, from the Río Usumacinta in the west and the Río de la Pasión in the south. A 1775.264 square kilometers of land along the Río Usumacinta lost La Libertad end of 2011, when the rural community of Las Cruces was raised to the independent municipality. This leaves approximately 5,272 square kilometers of the slightly better -developed lowland area in La Libertad. On the north-west runs in a south-easterly direction up to 672 m high Sierra del Lacandón ( National Park ), the rolling foothills ( Montañas Chiquibul ) occupy the center and the east of the municipios. This area, which still belongs to the municipality of La Libertad is still largely covered by tropical rainforest. The climate is hot and humid.

The adjacent municipios are San Andrés in the north, San Benito and San Francisco in the East, Sayaxché in the south and Las Cruces in the southwest and west. Many hamlets and rural settlements in the northwest of the municipios are accessible by the National Road 13 extending there from just over gravel roads and dirt tracks.

History

In the train of the conquest by the Spanish conquistadors, the Lacandon fled from Yucatán to the then largely uninhabited land on the Usumacinta Itza settled at Petén Itzá lake down (again). Over time Kekchi attracted to from the south and then in addition to Spaniards and Ladinos also Highland Maya. And today's La Libertad was founded by immigrants from Yucatán, first as Finca Sacluk. 1795 the village received the name Guadalupe Sacluk. On 7 February 1880, was rechristened La Libertad and became the capital of Petén, a status it lost back to Flores because of inadequate infrastructure already on 24 October 1882. Around 1880 the municipality had 1,500 inhabitants, of whom one-third live in the capital. In the following years a number of ranchers migrated from the Mexican Chiapas. In 1926, in La Libertad and the first time a plane landed in Petén.

Population

The population is now two-thirds of Ladinos, the remaining inhabitants are Mayan different ethnicity. In recent decades, the population has increased greatly. At present, likely in the municipality of La Libertad around 40,000 people live, including more than 80 percent in the country.

Economy

La Libertad lives mainly from agriculture, especially the cultivation of corn and beans, as well as animal husbandry. In the area crude oil is produced. In La Libertad is a small oil refinery and an airfield for general aviation. Because of the beautiful landscape and the rich Mayan heritage tourism also plays a role.