Mendoza Province

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Mendoza
Province
Flag
Coat of arms
Capital Mendoza
Area 148,827 km² (57,462 sq mi)
Population 1,692,000 (2005 est.) [1]
Density 11.4 /km² (30 /sq mi)
Governor Celso Jaque
 - Senators María Perceval, Ernesto Sanz, Monica Troadello
ISO 3166-2 code AR-M
Demonym mendocino
Website: http://www.mendoza.gov.ar

Mendoza is one of the 23 provinces of Argentina, located in the western central part of the country in the Cuyo region. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise San Juan, San Luis, La Pampa,and Neuquén. To the west is Chile.

Contents

[edit] History

Evidence of inhabitants in the area date to 2,000 years BC. On the basin of the Atuel River, 300 years BC lived a group of people that lived of hunting, and cultivation of maize, pumpkins and beans.

Some of the tribes present at the arrival of the Spaniards include the Huarpes and Puelches. The first Spanish conquerors came around 1550 from the Viceroyalty of Peru. In 1561 the city of Mendoza was founded by the military man Pedro del Castillo.

With the creation of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, its 30,000 inhabitants became part of the intendency of Cuyo de Córdoba del Tucumán, but in 1813 the intendency of Cuyo separated from the other provinces.

José de San Martín was governor of the region and received important support from Mendoza when he took off with his Army of the Andes from Plumerillo in 1817 to cross the Andes in a campaign to release Chile from the "oppression of Spain".

The 1861 earthquake nearly destroyed the city of Mendoza, which had to be almost entirely reconstructed. In 1885 the railways reach the Province, allowing a fluent transport for the wines of the regions towards the ports of Buenos Aires. Until 1912 the province was part of Cordoba Province; from 1912-1920 it was known as Cuyo Province.

In 1939 the National University of Cuyo, one of the most important of the country, was founded.

[edit] Politics of Mendoza

Former Radical governor Julio Cobos stood as running mate to first lady Cristina Fernández de Kirchner of the Front for Victory in the presidential elections of October 2007. Fernández and Cobos won in the first round and Cobos is now Vice President of Argentina. He was replaced by Justicialist Celso Jaque as governor. The province is represented by three senators in the Argentine Senate, currently María Perceval, Ernesto Sanz and Mónica Troadello. Mendoza is represented by 10 deputies in the Argentine Chamber of Deputies.

[edit] Geography and climate

Villavicencio
Villavicencio

The geography of the province descends from the 6959 m of the Aconcagua mountain to the semi-flat lands of the east. A series of longitudinal valles such as the Uspallata, separate the Andes from the Precordillera lower mountains. To the east, the Cuyean plains are crossed by tributaries of the Desaguadero River. Other important rivers include Mendoza River, Tunuyán River, Diamante River and the Atuel River.

A view of the snowy Andes
A view of the snowy Andes

The climate is continental, sunny and dry in the entire territory of the province, with warm summers and relatively cold winters. The arid soil due to the scant precipitation and the great temperature difference between day and night allows mainly xerophytes and few trees to grow. The annual precipitation lies between 150 and 350 mm, and hail is not uncommon and an important problem in the regional viticulture. There are fertile lands surrounding the basins of the many rivers, born in glaciers of the Cordillera.

Different wind fronts affect the landscape, mainly the Zonda wind, but also the mild Pampero, the warm Viento Norte and in winter the very rare Sudestada from the Southeast. This latter one affects mostly the pampas.

[edit] Economy

The main economic activity is agriculture, most notably viticulture with 70% of national production. Other important crops mainly for the Argentine market are apples, pears, tomatoes, onions, plums, olives, cherries, peaches and quinces. Apiculture, with 30,000 beehives is also a growing activity favoured by the dry weather.

Fourteen percent of the national reserves of petroleum are in Mendoza. There's also mining of lime and uranium. Mendoza's main industries are the vineyards and wine production with 1,200 wineries, followed by canned fruits, petroleum refinery (in Luján de Cuyo), cement and others.

Tourism has become one of the most important sources of income of the province, with around 700,000 visitors per year. The main attractions are the Las Leñas ski centre, the Aconcagua mountain, and the provincial parks of the Atuel Canyon, Puente del Inca, Guaymallén and others. With the recent developments in Argentine wine production, wine tourism has also become very popular, with numerous wine-tourism oriented hotels appearing throughout the province. Wineries generally offer free tours of the premises with wine-tastings at the conclusion of the tour. In the wine-producing region, the Fiesta de la Vendimia (grape harvest festival) receives many visitors in late February or early March. The Christ the Redeemer of the Andes statue in the mountains on the Chilean border is a destination for many excursions.

[edit] Political division

The province is divided into 18 departments (Spanish: departamentos), called municipalities. Each municipality is divided into one or more districts, corresponding to the jurisdictions of cities and towns. Each municipal government, formed by an Executive Department (led by a mayor or intendente) and a Deliberative Department (legislature), is in charge of the local services. The mayor is elected by the simple majority of the popular vote every four years, while half of the Deliberative body is renewed every two years (re-election is allowed in both cases). The municipalities can dictate a number of regulations in accord with to the provincial constitution and the Organic Law of Municipalities, but cannot create new taxes; they may only charge for services. The most populated cities within a municipality may have citizens' commissions appointed by the municipal government to perform certain functions (they are not self-ruled). [2]

  1. Capital Department (Mendoza) - Capital
  2. General Alvear Department (General Alvear)
  3. Godoy Cruz Department (Godoy Cruz)
  4. Guaymallén Department (Villa Nueva)
  5. Junín Department (Junín)
  6. La Paz Department (La Paz)
  7. Las Heras Department (Las Heras)
  8. Lavalle Department (Villa Tulumaya)
  9. Luján de Cuyo Department (Luján de Cuyo)
  10. Maipú Department (Maipú)
  11. Malargüe Department (Malargüe)
  12. Rivadavia Department (Rivadavia)
  13. San Carlos Department (San Carlos)
  14. San Martín Department (San Martín)
  15. San Rafael Department (San Rafael)
  16. Santa Rosa Department (Santa Rosa)
  17. Tunuyán Department (Tunuyán)
  18. Tupungato Department (Tupungato)

[edit] References

  1. ^ (Spanish) Sistema de Indicadores y L.R.FPDF (113 KiB)
  2. ^ Constitution of the Province of Mendoza, Section VII. E-Democracia. (Spanish)

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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