Santa Fe Province

Missing image Bandera_Santa_Fe.JPG Bandera de la provincia
Province of Santa Fe
Capital:	Santa Fe
Area:	133.007 km2
Population:	3.000.701 (Census 2001)
Density:	22,56/km²
Time zone:	GMT-3
Governor:	Jorge Obeid (PJ)
Illiteracy Rate:	3,7 % (1995)
Map
Missing image Provincia_de_Santa_Fe,_Argentina.png

Santa Fe is a province of Argentina, located in the north of the country. The capital is Santa Fe (population 369,000). Its more important cities are Rosario (population 908,000), Rafaela (83,000), Villa Gobernador Gálvez (74,000), Venado Tuerto (69,000), Reconquista (66,000) and Santo Tomé (58,000). The province has a population of 3,000,701 (2001), and covers an area of 133,007 km². Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise Chaco, Corrientes, Entre Ríos, Buenos Aires, Córdoba and Santiago del Estero.

Contents

1 History 2 Economy 3 Government 4 Administrative Division

History

The aboriginal tribes who inhabited this region were the Tobas, Timbúes, Mocovíes, Pilagás, Guaycurúes and Guaraníes. They were nomadic, lived from hunting, fishing and fruit recollection.

The first European settlement was established in 1527, at the confluence of the Paraná and Carcarañá rivers, when Sebastián Gaboto on his way through north founded a fort named Sancti Spíritu, destroyed two years later by the indians.

In 1573 Juan de Garay founded the city of Santa Fe in the surroundings of present town Cayastá. Between the years 1651 and 1660 it was moved to its present location.

In 1812 the lawyer and general Manuel Belgrano created and displayed for the first time the Argentine flag on the banks of the Paraná river, at Rosario (by that time a small village), 160 km south of Santa Fe.

In 1815, while Alvear's central government felt due to Ignacio Álvarez Thomas' rebellion (at that time commander of an army sent to Santa Fe against Artigas), Francisco Candioti, the local militia chief, took over, peacefully, of government, thus starting the era of Santa Fe as an autonomous province. This period was short lived, since that same year Candioti passed away and central government reestablished the dependant government. However, in 1816, the caudillos Mariano Vera and Estanislao López deposed the governor delegate and proclaimed the sovereignty of the province and its membership into Artigas's Free Peoples League (Liga de Pueblos Libres).

López drew, in 1818, a provincial constitution of a strongly conservative flavour, after rejecting a project proposed by a provincial assembly. During the civil strifes of 1820, Santa Fe troops were decisive in the defeat of Buenos Aires' centralist army. So, in time, López gradually became the Federation's Patriarc, establishing himself as referent of the Federal Party until his death on 1838.

After López's death it was his secretary and rigth hand, José María Cullen the one elected governor. However, being Cullen a potential rival of Buenos Aires's governor and Confederation's Foreign Affairs Representative, Juan Manuel de Rosas, he sook and got Cullen's capture and execution, naming pro-rosist Juan Pablo López as governor. The new governor mantained in power, alterning with Pascual Echagüe, until the province invasion by Justo José de Urquiza's Great Army in 1851, and during his term the province adopted a new Constitution in 1841.

After the organization of the nation, the province lived and era of peace, only disturbed by strong electoral contests beetween the two political currents of the time: the federal one lead by Urquiza and the national or liberal one, lead by Bartolomé Mitre.

Economy

Among the economical activities of the province, the most remarcable are agriculture (especially soy and wheat), and various industries, remarcably agricultural machinery, dairy products, vegetal oil refineries and biogenetical investigation.

Government

The provincial government is divided in the usual three branches: the executive, headed by a governor, popularly elected for non-reelection four-year terms, who appoint the cabinet; the legislative, formed by a bi-cameral legislature (a 50-member Chamber of Deputies and a 19-member Senate, all elected for four-year terms); and the judiciary, headed by the Supreme Court and completed by several inferior tribunals.

Administrative Division

The province is divided in 19 departments (Spanish: departamentos), and the departments are divided in districts which can be organised as communes or municipalities.

Departament	Population	Area	Head town
Belgrano	41.449	2.386 km²	Las Rosas
Caseros	79.096	3.449 km²	Casilda
Castellanos	162.165	6.600 km²	Rafaela
Constitución	83.045	3.225 km²	Villa Constitución
Garay	19.913	3.964 km²	Helvecia
General López	182.113	11.558 km²	Melincué
General Obligado	166.436	10.928 km²	Reconquista
Iriondo	65.486	3.184 km²	Cañada de Gómez
La Capital	489.505	3.055 km²	Santa Fe
Las Colonias	95.202	6.439 km²	Esperanza
9 de Julio	28.273	16.870 km²	Tostado
Rosario	1.121.441	1.890 km²	Rosario
San Cristóbal	64.935	14.850 km²	San Cristóbal
San Javier	29.912	6.929 km²	San Javier
San Jerónimo	77.253	4.282 km²	Coronda
San Justo	40.379	5.575 km²	San Justo
San Lorenzo	142.097	1.867 km²	San Lorenzo
San Martín	60.698	4.860 km²	Sastre
Vera	51.303	21.096 km²	Vera

de:Santa Fe (Provinz)

es:Provincia de Santa Fe no:Provincia de Santa Fe pt:Província de Santa Fé