Benito Juarez Partido
Encyclopedia
Benito Juárez is a partido
Departments of Argentina
Departments form the second level of administrative division in the provinces of Argentina. There are no departments in the city of Buenos Aires, which has so far been divided into neighbourhoods as its administrative divisions, but is to be divided now into communes by a recently passed local act...

 in the south-central part of Buenos Aires Province
Buenos Aires Province
The Province of Buenos Aires is the largest and most populous province of Argentina. It takes the name from the city of Buenos Aires, which used to be the provincial capital until it was federalized in 1880...

 in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

.

The provincial subdivision has a population of 20,402 inhabitants in an area of 5,285 km² (2,041 sq mi), and its capital city is Benito Juárez
Benito Juárez, Buenos Aires
Benito Juárez is a town in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the head town of the Benito Juárez Partido.The town and its Partido are named after former Mexican President Benito Juárez, the name was chosen to make a gesture of friendship between Argentina and Mexico....

. Around 14,000 of its inhabitants live in the capital town, 3,200 in the towns of Barker and Villa Cacique, and the rest in smaller villages and rural areas.
The main economic activities are agriculture and cattle-raising.
The Partido and its capital town, are named after former Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 President
President of Mexico
The President of the United Mexican States is the head of state and government of Mexico. Under the Constitution, the president is also the Supreme Commander of the Mexican armed forces...

 Benito Juárez
Benito Juárez
Benito Juárez born Benito Pablo Juárez García, was a Mexican lawyer and politician of Zapotec origin from Oaxaca who served five terms as president of Mexico: 1858–1861 as interim, 1861–1865, 1865–1867, 1867–1871 and 1871–1872...

. The name was chosen as a gesture of friendship between Argentina and México

History

The historical origin of Benito Juarez Partido does not differ from that of other partidos in the area: to constitute a civilizing advance into the "desert," that vast area of the pampas inhabited by natives.
The area around Benito Juarez, with its historical reference points being "La Tinta" and "San Antonio," was already within the lands that the national government planned to incorporate into the "civilized life of the country." This lands constituted the vast extention where the famous native chief Cafulcura ruled, with his headquarters located in the area known as Salinas Grandes. It was in "La Tinta" (also known as "San Martin de La Tinta") where in 1820, just 10 years after the May Revolution, the first struggle between natives and "christians" in the Partido took place.
In 1837, the military garrison "La Tinta" or "Colonquelu"(which in araucano means "where there was death") was settled. Its was in charge of the chief of the South Frontier, Colonel Narciso del Valle. For the history of Benito Juarez, the Forts (and then towns) of Tandil and Azul, were important, since from those places the first settlers arrived to colonize the lands. That way, many isolated settlements were established, that with time would become the center for important social and political transformations.
In the 1850s and following decades the biggest worry by the pioneers was the defence against the natives, who raze the region in order the steal the cattle, generating important human and economic loses. The land-owners petitioned to the national and provincial governments, and the latter sent military forces to the region in order to protect their interests.
In 1855, the "Canton de San Antonio" is created in the proximities of the lagoon of the same name. One of the bloodiest clashes between natives and "christians" in the pampas took place there.

The Battle of San Antonio de Iraola

Commander Nicanor Otamendi, from the Azul fort, under the orders of General Manuel Hornos, received the instructions to repeal the invation by the natives. The force of Otamento consisted of only 126 men. Not long before the march begun, the cavalry was suddenly reached by fast and large groups of natives that slowed their advance.
On september 13th 1855 more than 2,000 natives under the command of Yanquetruz attacked Otamendi at "San Antonio de Iraola". The natives came out victorious after a corageous fight. Otamendi and most of his men were killed (according to some sources, only one or two soldiers saved their lives).
In 1857 peace treated were held between the natives and the government, which brought relative peace to the region.

The Birth of the Partido

In order to better manage the lands of the south, by Decree 544 of August 31st 1865 ten new partidos were created in Buenos Aires Province: Castelli, Tuyu, Ayacucho, Balcarse, Necochea, Tres Arroyos, Arenales, Rauch, 9 de Julio and Lincoln. This allowed the government to reduced distances (civil and military) and provided a better administration for the frontier and its settlements.
The land-owners of the area of Benito Juarez, believed in the necessity of the creation of a new Partido to allow them overcome the difficulties of the large extension of Necochea Partido (to which they belonged to), since the authorities resided on the Atlantic coast which was hard to reach because of the practically nonexistent roads.
The land-owners, then, requested Mariano Roldan (the owner of a cattle establishment in the area of Tedin Uriburu) to petition to the authorities, since he had influential relatives and friends in Buenos Aires. On November 13 1866 Roldan wrote to his friend Dardo Rocha (who would later be governor of Buenos Aires) asking for information and requesting to speed up the procedures that had already been initiated. Roldan then met governor Adolfo Alsina of Buenos Aires to give him a letter with the official request for the creation of the new Partido, suggesting that him to "name the new Partido Juarez as homage to the Mexican patriot Benito Juarez". He also sent a letter signed by the settlers of the area to the President of the Chamber of Representatives, Antonio Cambaceres. Given the urging request by those who had defied the dangers of the pampas, the Chamber passed the request by approving the Ley 521 on October 29, 1867. But the final document was signed by governor Adolfo Alsina and his minister Nicolas Avellaneda on October 31, 1867. The lands for the new Partido were taken from the Necochea Partido.
In December 1867 the Minister of Government designated Mariano Roldan as the first Juez de Paz, an assignment he accepted in February 1868. Immediately, he communicated that the seat for the authorities would be, until the creation of a town, his own estancia: "El Porvenir", and at the same time, he requested armour and uniforms for the creation of a police force.

Towns

  • Benito Juárez
    Benito Juárez, Buenos Aires
    Benito Juárez is a town in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the head town of the Benito Juárez Partido.The town and its Partido are named after former Mexican President Benito Juárez, the name was chosen to make a gesture of friendship between Argentina and Mexico....

  • Barker
  • Coronel Bunge
  • Estación Gaviña
  • Estación López
  • Estación Mariano Roldán
  • Paraje El Luchador
  • Tedín Uriburu
  • Villa Cacique

Population

According to the 2010 National Census population reaches 20.402 inhabitatns.
Population evolution in Benito Juárez Partido
1869 1895 1914 1947 1960 1970 1980 1991 20012010
Population 1.610 9.318 18.069 15.678 17.303 21.072 20.225 20.350 19.443 20.402
Change - +478,75% +93,91% -13,23% +10,36% +21,78% -4,01% +0,61% -4,45% +4.93%


Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas y Censos, INDEC

External links

Benito Juárez website Benito Juárez Municipal site Benito Juárez town website Information about Benito Juárez and the region Benito Juárez and its partido
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