The states are divided into districts and these into municipios, the executive head of which is a jefe politico.
The governors of the federal territories are appointees of the president of the republic, and the jefe politico of each territorial municipio is an appointee of the governor.
The larger political divisions of the state (partidos, distritos, &c.) are governed by a jefe politico, or prefect, and the smaller by a municipal council called an ayuntamiento.
Each of the twenty-two departments is administered by an official called a jefe politico, or political chief, appointed by the president, and each is subdivided into municipal districts.
The Galapagos Islands were declared a dependency of the province of Guayas in 1885, but are practically independent and constitute a second territory under the administration of a jefe territorial appointed by the national executive.