Almost three quarters of the municipality form part of the park, making it an important ecological centre with numerous lakes and various species of wildlife and fauna.

In 1845, the area of Vaciamadrid, previously part of the village of Vallecas, was joined to the town of Rivas, with the unified municipality originally called Ribas de Jarama.

The current mayor is Pedro del Cura, who took office in 2014 after José Masa's resignation, and was re-elected in 2015.

Mayors Thorough most of its modern democratic history, the municipality of Rivas has been ruled by United Left, belonging to the so-called "red belt" of the region.

The city has three teams playing at the top level in their respective sports, Rivas Osos in american football since 2000; Rivas Ecópolis plays in the women's basketball top division, the Liga Femenina de Baloncesto and Dridma Rivas Softball club plays in the Liga Nacional Sófbol Femenino División de Honor, the highest division of softball in Spain