QUIROGA: a MEXICAN MUNICIPIO — BRAND 



111 



of livestock with their patented brands and other 

 marks, and reinscriptions and renewals of brands, 

 in general 1870 to date with some breaks. 



MUNICIPAL FINANCES 



The mnnicipal treasurer is appointed by the 

 ayuntamiento, and must post bond. His chief 

 duties are to collect municipal imposts, maintain 

 the treasury office and records, each December 

 make an inventory of municipal property and 

 other assets, make payments on authorization of 

 the municipal president and the financial com- 

 mittee, and prepare a monthly statement with 

 copies for the ayuntamiento, State congress. State 

 department of the interior, and State auditor's 

 office. Since March 16, 1941, Don Justo Campu- 

 zano Torres has been the municipal treasurer. 



The municipal income is derived from the taxes, 

 imposts, and other sources specified by State and 

 Federal laws. The existing law is the Ley de 

 Hacienda para los Municipios del Estado, published 

 in Morelia, December 23, 1939. The law lists 

 some 21 categories for sources of income, which are 

 divided into five groups. These are carried on 

 the books in Quiroga within 12 general branches 

 or ramos. We wUl discuss the more important 

 categories by number and name, and arranged in 

 the order of the groups. The first eight items are 

 referred to as normal taxes or derechos. 



1. Derechos de abasfo. — Butchers, owners, and/or 

 handlers of cattle (all quadrupeds killed for food) 

 must pay a ta.x upon the slaughter of the animal or 

 animals in the ahasto or municipal slaughterhouse. 

 Quiroga has had three abastos or rastros during 

 the past one hundred years. The slaughterhouse 

 is always situated on the outskirts of town near a 

 good supply of water. At present the "now 

 slaughterhouse" is located at the exit from town 

 on Calle Zaragoza. Either the treasurer or the 

 inspector del rastro is present to check the title and 

 brand of each animal before it is killed, and to see 

 that the derechos (listed under Nos. 6 and 9) on 

 brands and sales have been paid. All animals 

 (oxen, swine, sheep, and goats) presumably must be 

 slaughtered in the public abasto, but in actual 

 practice there are very few sheep and goats killed, 

 and this is normally done elsewhere. The treasur- 

 er must file the papers proving title to the animal 

 or animals slaughtei-cd. The inspector or ericar- 

 gado de la matanza must keep a book in which daily 

 entries must be made of every animal killed: kind 



of animal, color of skin, original owner's brand, 

 brands of later owners, special markings, origin 

 (farm, rancho, etc.) of the animal, weight, taxes 

 paid, names of the last buyer and seller, and the 

 number on the record paper filed with the treasurer. 

 The informer of clandestine slaughter receives 50 

 percent of the fine. Animals that die or that are 

 killed away from the abasto must be taken there 

 for sanitary inspection. The i-eason for so much 

 attention to details in connection with the derechos 

 de abasto becomes apparent when an inspection of 

 the municipal accounts reveals that between one- 

 fifth and one-third of the municipal income is 

 derived from this tax. The actual tax is computed 

 on the basis of 0.04 of a peso (i. e., 4 centavos) per 

 kilogram of the weight of the dressed ox or pig 

 plus the hide or skin, and 0.06 per kOogram on 

 sheep and goats. Fresh, dried, and barbecued 

 meats, upon which a tax has not previously been 

 paid, must be taxed upon being brought from one 

 7mmicipw into another. In recent years 250 to 

 350 oxen and 350 to 450 hogs have been killed 

 annually. Recent receipts have run (rounded to 

 the nearest peso) monthly: 



19iS t9U 



January $344 $244 



February 243 205 



March 221 233 



April 193 243 



May 190 197 



June 143 184 



July 177 206 



August 223 169 



September 253 202 



October 301 193 



November 251 182 



December 237 275 



2. Derechos de mercados. — These taxes are paid 

 by those who occupy space within the public 

 markets; by those who have space, stalls or booths 

 in porches, halls, entrances, and other accessories 

 of buildings; and by those who use the streets and 

 public roads. Traveling merchants and those 

 who use the streets pay $0.05 to $10 daily, accord- 

 ing to the nature and cost of their goods. Mer- 

 chants in puestos (hterally "places") in and away 

 from the mercado or plaza pay $0.05 to $0.30 per 

 square meter daily. Semipermanent or movable 

 stalls and booths {expendios o puestos semifijos) 

 in or along side of public places and streets cost 

 $0.05 to $0.75 daily. On feast or fail- days (in- 

 cluding all Sundays) rates may be increased 100 

 percent. These derechos are collected daily, and 



