officially recognized as a town in 1813 with a population of about 5,000, three-quarters of which were Zoques. In 1821, the authorities of the town proclaimed independence from both Spain and the regional colonial government of Guatemala, along with other areas in what would become Chiapas. However, this declaration was not accepted by either Guatemala or Mexico. In 1823, various cities tried to form an independent state of Chiapas, but this did not settle the political situation. A referendum was held in 1824, with Tuxtla voting to become part of Guatemala. However, the results came out in favor of joining with Mexico. Tuxtla protested voting irregularities but by October of that year, it accepted the results.
For most of the 19th century, Liberal and Conservative factions would struggle for power in Mexico, with Tuxtla favoring Liberal ideology. The first newspaper in the city was published in 1827 called Campana Chiapaneca under Joaquin Miguel Guti�rrez. Guti�rrez died in 1838, fighting for Liberal ideals. The community would be named after him ten years later. In 1829, Tuxtla officially became a city, declared so by the governor of the state. The continued struggle between Liberals and Conservatives would cause the state capital to move between the colonial power center of San Crist�bal and the Liberal base of Tuxtla. Tuxtla was capital for brief periods in 1834-35, 1858�1861 and 1864-1867 when the Liberals were in power. When Conservatives were in power, Tuxtla was the head of a department called the West District. It was not until the Porfirio D�az era when major reform came to the state and with it the permanent placement of the capital to Tuxtla in 1892, where it has been since. In the 19th century, the city hall functioned as the state government building when Tuxtla was the capital but eventually a new �state government palace� was built.
The first library in the state was founded here in 1910.
