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)
- governor of a province.
- police official (in Central America).
- (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
- 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
- First, we see a high degree of deference to and dependence on the jefe político.
- 1997, Don E Dumond, The Machete and the Cross
- 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
- The Indians sometimes petitioned the jefe políticos (governors) for help.
- 2004, Francie R Chassen-Lopez, From Liberal to Revolutionary Oaxaca
- In order to keep this peace, jefes políticos could call on armed forces to guarantee the state’s order and security.