Buritinópolis

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Buritinópolis is a small town and municipality in eastern Goiás state, Brazil. It is the poorest municipality in the state.

Population: 3,590 (2005 estimate)
Area: 269.1 km²
Elevation: 550 meters
Became a municipality: 1993
Postal code: 73975-000

Buritinópolis is located in the Vão do Paranã Microregion in the area near Simolândia and Alvorada do Norte. It is close to the important BR-020 highway, which connects Brasília with Salvador. Neighboring municipalities are:

north: Posse
west: Simolândia and Alvorada do Norte
east: Mambaí
south: Damianópolis

The distance to Goiânia is 466 km. Highway connections are made by BR-153 / Anápolis / Alexânia / BR-060 / Planaltina / Formosa / BR-020 / Simolândia / GO-236. [1]

Demographic and political data

Population density in 2003: 13.00 hab/km²
Population growth rate 1996-2000: 0.03.%
Population in 1980: n/a
Population in 1991: n/a
Urban population in 2003: 1,768
Rural population in 2003: 1,717
Eligible voters in 2004: 2,772
City government in 2005: mayor (João Oreste Soares de Oliveira), vice-mayor (Valdivina Pereira da Silva Oliveira), and 09 councilpersons
Income distribution: In 780 households, 555 earned less than one minimum salary in 2000.

[edit] Economy

The economy is based on cattle raising for meat and farming, especially soybeans and corn. Most of the inhabitants either have no work or are employed in subsistence farming.

Gross Domestic Product: R$7.817 million in 2003.
Gross Domestic Product per capita: R$2,224 in 2003
Financial institutions: 0 in 2005
Motor vehicles: 57 automobiles, 2 pickups, and 30 motorcycles
Retail establishments: 14 in 2005

The absence of investments in the town leaves the inhabitants without the chance of a job and many, mainly the young, leave the town to try to find a job that would allow them to survive.

The city government is the biggest employer of the town. It has 90 permanent workers and about 30 who work as dayworkers. The local government maintains six primary schools and one pre-school while the state maintains two schools, including a secondary school. There is a health clinic and a hospital is being built.

Literacy rate: 71.9 in 2000.
Infant mortality rate in 2000: 50.06
Infant mortality rate in 1990: 50.80

In Buritinópolis, there is no bank branch, no restaurant, and no hotel. The two supermarkets are comparable to the little grocery stores in the slums of the large urban centers and the bars can only provide income for their owners. The agricultural activities provide few jobs since the small rural landowners practice subsistence farming and the large landowners opt for extensive cattle raising, which requires few workers.

Urban erosion is a worry for all. It has already destroyed a large part of the main avenue that runs parallel to BR-020, the highway that cuts the city in two. With no money to build drains and pave the streets on both side of the highway, the city government is waiting for help from the state government.

The information above was extracted from Os Extremos de Goiás

Main agricultural activities (2003):