Alcalde

Alcalde (; Spanish: [alˈkalde]) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An alcalde was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian cabildo (the municipal council) and judge of first instance of a town. Alcaldes were elected annually, without the right to reelection for two or three years, by the regidores (council members) of the municipal council. The office of the alcalde was signified by a staff of office, which they were to take with them when doing their business. In modern Spanish, an alcalde is simply a mayor. A woman who holds the office is termed an alcaldesa. In New Spain (Mexico), alcaldes mayores were chief administrators in colonial-era administrative territories termed alcaldías mayores; in colonial-era Peru the units were called corregimientos. Alcalde was also a title given to Indigenous (Native American) leaders inside the Spanish missions, who performed a large variety of duties for the Franciscan missionaries.