Guerrero Negro
Guerrero Negro is the largest town located in the municipality of Mulegé in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur. It had a population of 13,596 in the 2020 census. The town is served by Guerrero Negro Airport.
Community
The town is on Mexican [Federal Highway 1|Federal Highway 1].The town has a celebration each year to hail the annual arrival of the gray whales that calve in the lagoons of Baja California Sur. This festival occurs during the first half of February. The port of San Blas, also in BCS, has a similar festival on February 24 and 25.
History
Guerrero Negro was founded in 1957 when Daniel Ludwig built a salt works there to supply the demand of salt in the western United States. The salt mine was established around the Ojo de Liebre coastal lagoon to take advantage of its strong salinity. This company, called Exportadora de Sal, S.A., of C.V., eventually became the greatest salt mine in the world, with a production of seven million tons of salt per year, exported to the main centers of consumption in the Pacific basin, especially Japan, Korea, the United States, Canada, Taiwan and New Zealand.Ludwig also constructed the hotel Acapulco Princess in the port of Acapulco, Guerrero. In 1973, he sold the salt company to the Mexican government and the corporation Mitsubishi, 51% and 49% respectively.
The Autonomous [University of Baja California Sur] opened an extension campus in Guerrero Negro in 1995, offering degrees in economics and agricultural engineering in its first year.