jefe político

English

Alternative forms

• jefe politico (without accents)

Etymology

Spanish jefe político, from jefe (“chief, leader”) + político (“political”)

Noun

jefe político (plural jefe políticos or jefes políticos)

1. governor of a province.
2. police official (in Central America).
3. (obsolete) right-hand man of a state governor (in Mexico).

Usage notes

Both the original Spanish plural jefes políticos and a more Anglicized plural jefe políticos are in use.

As jefe “chief” is the head noun, the form to be advocated by traditional grammar is jefes político (compare passers-by, brothers-in-law, etc.) but this form does not appear to be in wide use.

Quotations

• 1993, Knut Walter, The Regime of Anastasio Somoza [1]

  The jefe político even objected to the term concentración de masas, defining it as Marxist in its origins and therefore subversive.

• 1995, Jeffrey L Gould, To Die in This Way [2]

  First, we see a high degree of deference to and dependence on the jefe político.

• 1997, Don E Dumond, The Machete and the Cross [3]

  A fresh column of troops from the capital and a new jefe político restored some order, forcing Novelo to hide in the countryside.

• 2000, Mark Pendergrast, Uncommon Grounds [4]

  The Indians sometimes petitioned the jefe políticos (governors) for help.

• 2004, Francie R Chassen-Lopez, From Liberal to Revolutionary Oaxaca [5]

  In order to keep this peace, jefes políticos could call on armed forces to guarantee the state’s order and security.