Manuel Ezequiel Bruzual Municipality

Manuel Ezequiel Bruzual
Municipality
Municipio Manuel Ezequiel Bruzual

Location in Anzoátegui
Country  Venezuela
State Anzoátegui
Shiretown Clarines
Government
  Mayor Leobardo Canache (PSUV)
Area
  Total 1,566 km2 (605 sq mi)
Population (2007)
  Total 32,532
  Density 21/km2 (54/sq mi)
Time zone VST (UTC-4:30)
Area code(s) 0281
Website Official website

The Manuel Ezequiel Bruzual Municipality is one of the 21 municipalities (municipios) that makes up the eastern Venezuelan state of Anzoátegui and, according to a 2007 population estimate by the National Institute of Statistics of Venezuela, the municipality has a population of 32,532.[1] The town of Clarines is the shire town of the Manuel Ezequiel Bruzual Municipality.[2] The municipality is named for the nineteenth century military leader Manuel Ezequiel Bruzual.

History

When the Franciscan monks arrived in 1650, there was already a native community at Clarines. Clarines was officially founded on April 7, 1594 by Francisco de Vides, a Spanish adventurer who came from the Huelva Province. The town did not change much until the oil boom of the 1960s. In 1852, the population of Clarines was 4,289, including 72 people identified as white and 3,321 people identified as indigenous. Alfredo Armas Alfonzo, Venezuelan historian and critic, was born in Clarines in 1921 and Jaime Lusinchi, former president of Venezuela, was born in Clarines in 1924.

Economy

The local population practices subsistence farming growing plantains, yuca, beans, china, cotton, cassava, and corn. Until the exploitation of oil, the only exports were cattle and mules. Nowadays, many small companies that service the oil fields that operate out of Clarines.

Demographics

The Manuel Ezequiel Bruzual Municipality, according to a 2007 population estimate by the National Institute of Statistics of Venezuela, has a population of 32,532 (up from 29,228 in 2000). This amounts to 2.2% of the state's population.[3] The municipality's population density is 20.77 inhabitants per square kilometre (53.8/sq mi).[4]

Government

The mayor of the Manuel Ezequiel Bruzual Municipality is Leobardo Canache, re-elected November 23, 2008 with 51% of the vote.[5] The municipality is divided into three parishes; Capital Clarines, Guanape, and Sabana de Uchire.[2]

References

External links

Coordinates: 9°56′N 65°10′W / 9.933°N 65.167°W