The notion of mayor it is used with reference to the position held by the highest authority of a municipality or town hall . The mayor, in this way, is the highest-ranking public official in a municipal administration.
For example: "In the midst of the corruption scandal, the mayor presented his resignation", "Tomorrow the mayor will lead the inauguration of a new public school", "The former mayor of the city will present himself as a candidate for deputy in the next national elections".
The duties and powers of the mayor depend on the regional legal organization, as well as the mode of election. According to city in question, the mayor can be reelected or not and govern for periods that usually extend from four to six years.
The figure of the mayor changed throughout the history . In ancient times, it was customary for the mayor to be a mayor or a judge . From the development of democracy, the mayor became an elected official through voting and with functions delimited by the Constitution .
The office of mayor may receive different names depending on the region. In Argentina , the equivalent figure is that of the mayor, which is the authority that occupies the highest level in the hierarchy of a municipality. The exception is the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires , where the most important official is called Goverment's head .
If we focus on the Brazilian territory, the municipalities are in charge of the prefeitos , Meanwhile in Mexico the municipal president is the figure more important at that level.
Requirements to become mayor
Among the basic requirements to access this important government position are the following:
* have reached the age of majority;
* have the citizenship of the country in which it is intended to exercise;
* not having overlooked military duties;
* have no penalty or sentence pending execution or compliance;
* have the relevant registration in the electoral roll;
* In countries with more than one official language, speak at least two of them.
The list of requirements has differences between one country and another, but in all cases it is more extensive. For example, another of the conditions may be that the candidate for mayor has resided in the corresponding municipality for a certain amount of time without interruptions, or is not in full performance of another position paid public
Some common functions of the mayor
As mentioned in previous paragraphs, the country in which we focus the study is decisive when defining the functions of the mayor, as well as any other government figure. For that reason, below are some of the most common:
* He leads the executive body of the local government, which must legally represent the Municipality and is the authority maximum from an administrative point of view;
* in accordance with the provisions of the law corresponding (such as the Organic of Municipalities, in Peru), the mayor must carry out the convening of any session of the Municipal Council, as well as preside and terminate them;
* He is responsible for the execution of all the agreements drawn up in the Municipal Council, to which he must also propose various Projects that aim to raise the quality of life of the locality for which it watches;
* must be in charge of promulgating and publishing all ordinances;
* is in charge of the formation of the investment program and of the integral plan of local sustainable development, which must be submitted for approval by the Municipal Council;
* advocate for rights and the interests of all the inhabitants of his locality.
