Lázaro Cárdenas is a port city in Michoacán bordered to the east by Guerrero. Lázaro Cárdenas is located in the southern part of the Mexican state of Michoacán. It was formerly known as Los Llanitos, but changed its name as a tribute to Lázaro Cárdenas del Río, a Michoacán-born politician who was president of Mexico from 1934 to 1940. The city's coordinates are 17°57′00″N 102°12′00″W, where the Río Balsas drains into the Pacific Ocean. In the 2005 census, the city's population was 74,884.