Mérida, Yucatán
Mérida (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈmeɾiða] ) is the capital of the Mexican state of Yucatán, and the largest city in southeastern Mexico. The city is also the seat of the eponymous municipality. It is located in the northwest corner of the Yucatán Peninsula, about 35 km (22 mi) inland from the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. In 2020, it had a population of 921,770 while its metropolitan area, which also includes the cities of Kanasín and Umán, had a population of 1,316,090.[4]
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Mérida is also the cultural and financial capital of the Yucatán Peninsula. The city's rich cultural heritage is a product of the syncretism of the Maya and Spanish cultures during the colonial era. The Cathedral of Mérida, Yucatán was built in the late 16th century with stones from nearby Maya ruins and is the oldest cathedral in the mainland Americas.[5] The city has the third largest old town district on the continent.[6] It was the first city to be named American Capital of Culture, and the only city that has received the title twice.[7]
Mérida is among the safest cities of Mexico as well as in the Americas.[8] In 2015, the city was certified as an International Safe Community by the Karolinska Institute of Sweden for its high level of public security.[9] Forbes has ranked Mérida three times as one of the three best cities in Mexico to live, invest and do business.[10] In 2022, the UN-Habitat's City Prosperity Index recognized Mérida as the city with the highest quality of life in Mexico.[11]
Several facilities can be found where to practice sports:
The city is home to the Mérida Marathon, held each year since 1986.[32]
Mérida has many regional hospitals and medical centers. All of them offer full services for the city, and in case of the regional hospitals, for the whole Yucatán peninsula and neighboring states.
The city has one of the more prestigious medical faculties in Mexico (UADY). Proximity to American cities like Houston allow local doctors to crosstrain and practice in both countries making Mérida one of the best cities in Mexico in terms of health services availability.
Hospitals:
In 2000, the Mérida municipality had 244 preschool institutions, 395 elementary, 136 Jr. high school (2 years middle school, 1 high), 97 High Schools and 16 Universities/Higher Education schools. Mérida has consistently held the status of having the best performing public schools in Mexico since 1996. The public school system is regulated by the Secretariat of Public Instruction.[37] Attendance is required for all students in the educational system from age 6 up to age 15.[37] Once students reach high school, they are given the option of continuing their education or not; if they chose to do so they are given two tracks in which they can graduate.[37]
Nevertheless, education in Merida has a variety of quality throughout the city. This mainly has to do with the different social strata and where they reside. Mayan indigenous population are at the bottom of the spectrum and this can be represented in the type of education that the children are receiving. Upper class is usually located in the north, as it is less populated and has higher living costs.[38] For the most part, private schools are located in the northern part of the city. The only students who attend these schools are those of high class and of non-Maya descent.[39] A distressing statistic of how this affects the indigenous communities can be noted, "In Yucatan only 8.9 % of the Mayans have achieved junior high and solely the 6.6% have studied beyond that point. The 83.4% of the Mayans 15 years old and older dropped out of school before finishing junior high."[40]
Many laws have been set in place to avoid discrimination between the Spanish speakers and the Mayan speakers as the "Law says that it is a duty of the Mexican State to guarantee – guarantee, not just try, not just attempt – that the indigenous population has access to the obligatory education, bilingual and intercultural in their methods and contents."[40] Despite this having been set into law, there is no bilingual or cultural accepting program after elementary school.[40] The system for indigenous education only serves about one third of the Mayan speaking population of the area.[40] Many Maya[41] children are forced to learn Spanish and cease using their native tongue, which may be challenging for them to do. This in turn causes many of the students to feel that learning at school is not their strong suit and may even end up dropping out early in their education.[40]
There are several state institutions offering higher education:
Among several private institutions:
Mérida has several national research centers. Among them