Córdoba Province (Argentina)
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| Córdoba Province | |||
| Provincia de Córdoba | |||
| Province | |||
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| Divisions | 26 departments | ||
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| Capital | Córdoba (official) Río Cuarto (alternative) |
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| Area | 165,321 km2 (63,831 sq mi) | ||
| Population | 3,066,801 (2001) | ||
| Density | 18.6 /km2 (48 /sq mi) | ||
| Governor | Juan Schiaretti (PJ) | ||
| - Senators | Luis Juez, Norma Morandini, Ramón Mestre jr. | ||
| ISO 3166-2 code | AR-X | ||
| Demonym | cordobés/esa | ||
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| Website: http://www.cba.gov.ar | |||
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Córdoba (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈkorðoβa]) is a province of Argentina, located in the center of the country. Its capital, Córdoba, is the second largest city in the country.
Neighboring provinces are (clockwise from the north): Santiago del Estero, Santa Fe, Buenos Aires, La Pampa, San Luis, La Rioja and Catamarca.
Together with Santa Fe and Entre Ríos, the province is part of the economic and political association known as the Center Region.
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[edit] History
Before the Spanish conquista the region now called Córdoba Province was inhabited by indigenous groups, most notably the Comechingones and Sanavirones.
Once settled in Alto Perú, the Spaniards searched for a route to the Río de la Plata port in the Atlantic Ocean to transport the Peruvian gold and silver to Europe.
Córdoba de la Nueva Andalucía (nowadays the city of Córdoba) was founded as a middle point on that route on July 6, 1573 by Jerónimo Luis de Cabrera. The Colegio Convictorio de Nuestra Señora de Monserrat was founded by the Jesuits in 1599, followed by the National University of Córdoba, Argentina's first university, in 1622. The city continued to grow as an important cultural center, supported by the trade of precious metals from Perú. In 1761 a printing press was installed in the University.
In 1783, seven years after the consolidation of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, the Intendency of Córdoba became the capital of what now includes the La Rioja, Mendoza, San Juan and San Luis Province, dividing the former Tucumán Intendency in two. Rafael de Sobremonte was its first governor, when Córdoba City had 38,800 inhabitants.
After the May Revolution in 1810, governor Gutiérrez de la Concha joined a meeting that decided to ignore the authority of the Buenos Aires Junta. Ortiz de Ocampo attacked the city and executed the leaders of the opposition, among whom was Santiago de Liniers, leader of the resistance during the British invasions of the Río de la Plata.
Under the hand of Juan Bautista Bustos, and especially after 1820, Córdoba and Buenos Aires struggled for control of the Nation which, at that time, had neither legislative nor executive branches. Córdoba sought a federal organization of the provinces while Rivadavia pushed for a centralised government in Buenos Aires. For 15 years the province was submerged in internal revolts that started to stabilize in 1868 under the provisional government of Félix de la Peña.
During the presidency of Sarmiento an astronomic observatory (1871) and the Faculty of Physic Sciences and Mathematics (1873) were inaugurated.
The creation of the railways and the consequent immigration brought a second wave of population growth to Córdoba. From 1887 on, several agricultural colonies (San Francisco, Marcos Juárez, etc.) emerged, while former rest-point Fraile Muerto (Bell Ville), Ferreira (Villa María) and Los Luceros (Río Segundo), on the route to Buenos Aires, became agricultural, commercial and industrial centers, respectively.
The University Reform movement, which originated in Córdoba in 1918, was influential not only in Argentina but throughout South America. Modernization of the curricular contents and the improvement of the students' rights were the main achievements of the movement and in Córdoba, and were largely enacted by Governor Amadeo Sabattini, who became Argentina's most progressive governor at the time and enacted civil and land reforms that would later set the national standard.
After World War II, many foreign workers and workers from other provinces in Argentina were seduced by Córdoba's industrial development, led by the expansion of the car industry. It was during Arturo Frondizi's presidency (1958–1962) that most new auto industries settled in the city of Córdoba and its surroundings.
As in the rest of the country, Peronist groups emerged in 1955 following the coup that removed Juan Perón from office. These Peronist groups, together with other socialist and anarchist groups, began opposing Argentina's third military dictatorship not long after its 1966 takeover resulted in massive arrests of academics, psychologists and other non-violent intellectuals. Worker and student participation in politics grew due to the widespread discontent with the appointed governor's heavy-handedness, culminating in the violent May, 1969, popular revolt known as the Cordobazo. This revolt, mirrored by the Rosariazo and others in several parts of the country, undermined the power of dictator Onganía and ultimately led to his ouster by more moderate military factions.
Cordoba has continued to prosper, despite left-wing violence in 1973, right-wing political interference in 1974, government atrocities in 1976–77, 1978–81 "free trade" policies that battered Cordoba's sizable industrial sector, the 1980s debt crisis and, of course, the recent acute financial crisis.
[edit] Economy
Córdoba has the second largest provincial economy in Argentina, behind only the Province of Buenos Aires. Córdoba's GDP was estimated at US$27.7 billion in 2006 and has long contributed about 8% of the national GDP. Its per capita income (US$9,040) is slightly above the national average.[1]
Agriculture and livestock provide 10% of the province's output,[2] well above the national average. The agriculture is centered around soybeans, wheat and maize, and other cereals. Cattle and sheep enjoy the grass of Córdoba's green hills. The province provides the nation with 15% of its beef production and 28% of its dairy output. The food industry around oil, milk and cereal derivatives is also very important, candy maker Arcor being one of the most important.
The installation of the Fábrica Militar de Aviones in 1927, and subsequent state-owned industries established Córdoba among the most important industrial centers in Argentina; the facility was purchased by Lockheed Martin in 1995. Beginning around 1955, foreign investment in Córdoba's automotive, agricultural machinery and food processing industries further added to its industrial profile. Today, 250 manufacturers of either motor vehicles or auto parts operate in Córdoba, making it Argentina's "motor province." Industry represents another 17% of the province's income, and the energy production that supports it is based mainly on 15 hydroelectric dams (2.35 billion kW/hours a year), and the Embalse nuclear power plant (600 MWe of capacity, about 2 billion kWh, yearly).
Mining includes many different minerals, and construction material such as marble and lime. Uranium is also extracted to feed Argentina's three atomic plants.
Tourism, as in the rest of Argentina, is a growing industry favoured by the mild climate, a number of small rivers, and low green hills. Around 3 million tourists, both foreign and Argentina, visit Córdoba every year. The province has 500,000 hotel beds, including hostels, tourist farms and other types of accommodation. Important festivities include the Cosquín National Folk Music, and Jesús María Folk and Taming Festivals.
Córdoba is connected by rail with Buenos Aires, Rosario, Mendoza and Tucumán. The Ingeniero Ambrosio L.V. Taravella International Airport, known as Pajas Blancas, handles international and domestic air traffic, while the Las Higueras Río Cuarto Airport handles only domestic flights.
[edit] Government
Córdoba has a unicameral legislature elected by universal suffrage. Until December 2001, the legislature was bicameral (a Chamber of Deputies and a Senate), but following the 2001 constitutional reform, this division was abolished. The unified legislature is made up of 70 members: 26 elected to represent each of the provincial departments, and 44 elected by the people of the province as a whole and assigned by a proportional system.[3]
The head of government is the governor, accompanied by a vice-governor who presides the legislature and may fill the governor's place in certain cases. Like the legislators, the governor and vice-governor are elected for a four-year term, and can be re-elected for one consecutive term.
Córdoba has long been a bastion of the centrist Radical Civic Union, but in 1999 the Justicialist José Manuel de la Sota was elected governor, succeeded by fellow Peronist Juan Schiaretti in 2007.
[edit] Political division
The province is divided in 26 regions or departments (Spanish: departamentos) here listed with their regional capitals.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ I.A.D.E.R
- ^ Prospecting Argentina
- ^ Constitution of the Province of Córdoba (14 September 2001). Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes. (Spanish)
[edit] External links
- Official Executive Power Site (Spanish)
- Official Legislative Power Site (Spanish)
- Official Judicial Power Site (Spanish)
- La Voz del Interior daily Newspaper (Spanish)
- La Mañana de Córdoba daily Newspaper (Spanish)
- El Diario del Sur de Córdoba daily Newspaper edited in Villa María (Spanish)
- Cordoba Regions
- Capillas y Templos de la Provincia de Córdoba - Argentina
- Tanti, en el corazón de Córdoba - Argentina
- Tourism in Cordoba Argentina. (Spanish)
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