Santa Cruz Department
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Motto: ¡Arriba cruceños, hagamos historia! (Stand up cruceños, let's make history!) Anthem: Bajo el cielo más puro de América | |||||
| Image:Bolivia-Santa Cruz.png | |||||
| Capital | Santa Cruz de la Sierra | ||||
| Largest city | Santa Cruz de la Siera | ||||
| Official languages | Spanish, Guaraní | ||||
| Provinces | 15 | ||||
| Area - total - % de Bolivia | Place nº 1 370,621 km² 33.74% | ||||
| Population - Total (2005) - % of Bolivia - Density | Place nº 2 2,433,602 26.08% 6.57hab./km² | ||||
| Creation | July 23,1826 | ||||
| Prefect | Ruben Costas (APB) | ||||
| Senators | Oscar Ortiz (PODEMOS)
Jorge Agulera (PODEMOS) Guido Guardia (MAS) | ||||
| Deputies | 25 out of 130 | ||||
| Calling Code: | + (591) 3 | ||||
| ISO 3166-2 | BO-S | ||||
| Abbreviations | SC | ||||
| Website | http://www.santacruz.gov.bo | ||||
Santa Cruz, with an area of 370,621 km², is the largest of the nine constituent departments of Bolivia. In the 2001 census, it reported a population of 2,029,471. The capital is the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra.
The department covers a vast expanse of territory in eastern Bolivia, much of it rainforests, extending from the Andes to the border with Brazil. The department's economy depends largely on agriculture, with sugar, cotton, soybeans and rice being grown. In recent years, the discovery of natural gas in the department has led to plans for the development of a regional natural gas industry that is likely to boost the local economy. In July 2004, the people voted in a nation-wide referendum to allow for regulated exportation of the gas. The department also hosts El Mutún, the second largest iron ore reserve (after Carajás in Brazil) and largest magnesium deposits are also located there.
[edit] Government and Administration
According to current Constitution the highest authority in the department is the prefect (prefecto, similar to a governor but with restricted powers). Since 2005, the prefect has been elected by popular vote to serve for a five-year term; prior to this change, the prefect was appointed by the President of the Republic.
Santa Cruz also has a Departmental Council (Consejo Departamental, similar to a state legislature but with restricted powers) of 23 members called councilors (consejeros). Each of the department's provinces returns at least one councilor, while remaining councilors are assigned to provinces on population basis. By law, the election of councilors is an attribution of municipalities. However, some municipalities such as Camiri (Province of Cordillera) or Santa Cruz de la Sierra (Province of Andrés Ibáñez) have issued internal norms (ordenanzas) in order to have their councilors elected by popular vote.
The Department of Santa Cruz is divided into 15 provinces:
Provinces of Santa Cruz Department (2005)
| Province | Capital | Km² | Population |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andrés Ibáñez | Santa Cruz de la Sierra | 4,821 | 1,549,849 |
| Ignacio Warnes | Warnes | 1,216 | 62,417 |
| José Miguel de Velasco | San Ignacio | 65,425 | 64,517 |
| Ichilo | Buena Vista | 14,232 | 82,952 |
| Chiquitos | San José | 31,429 | 70,319 |
| Sara | Portachuelo | 6,886 | 42,157 |
| Cordillera | Lagunillas | 86,245 | 108,843 |
| Vallegrande | Vallegrande | 6,414 | 27,691 |
| Florida | Samaipata | 4,132 | 29,850 |
| Santistevan | Montero | 3,673 | 166,267 |
| Ñuflo de Chávez | Concepción | 54,150 | 116,101 |
| Ángel Sandoval | San Matías | 37,442 | 14,362 |
| Caballero | Comarapa | 2,310 | 22,142 |
| Germán Busch | Puerto Suárez | 24,903 | 37,637 |
| Guarayos | Ascensión | 27,343 | 38,498 |
[edit] External links
Departments of Bolivia |
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Beni · Chuquisaca · Cochabamba · La Paz · Oruro · Pando · Potosí · Santa Cruz · Tarija |
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