Lázaro Cárdenas is the head of one of the 113 municipalities that make up the state of Michoacán, located in the south of the state, right on the border with the state of Guerrero, which is bounded by the Balsas River. According to the most recent Population and Housing Count, carried out in 2010 by INEGI, Ciudad Lázaro Cárdenas had a population of 178,817 inhabitants in that year. It is worth mentioning that Ciudad Lázaro Cárdenas is totally conurbated with Las Guacamayas and La Orilla, which is why it is the 4th Urban Area of Michoacán in terms of population.
The city takes its name from the illustrious general Lázaro Cárdenas del Río, who was president of the Mexican Republic from November 30,1934 to December 1,1940. Lázaro cárdenas is the spearhead of the great industrialization project of the Michoacan coast called its "Fourth Development Pole" set, which began to crystallize from the 1970s. This project based its viability on the rich ferrous deposits of Las Truchas, whose mineral wealth was already known since the post classic period.