The Morán Municipality is one of the nine municipalities

Municipalities of Venezuela

Municipalities of Venezuela are divisions of the states.-Amazonas:#Alto Orinoco #Atabapo #Atures #Autana #Manapiare #Maroa...

 (municipio

Municipio

Municipio and Município are terms used for country subdivisions. They are often translated as municipality.-Overview:...

s) that makes up the Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

n state of Lara

Lara (state)

Lara State is one of the 23 states into which Venezuela is divided. The state capital is Barquisimeto.Lara State covers a total surface area of and, in 2007, had an estimated population of 1,795,100.- Municipalities and municipal seats :...

 and, according to a 2007 population estimate by the National Institute of Statistics of Venezuela, the municipality has a population of 128,674. The town of El Tocuyo

El Tocuyo

El Tocuyo is a fertile valley and city in west-central Venezuela at elevation. It is located in south-central Lara State about 60 km southwest of Barquisimeto. The town of El Tocuyo was founded by Juan de Carvajal in 1545 on the banks of the Tocuyo River and it was the administrative capital of...

 is the shire town

County seat

A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....

 of the Morán Municipality.

History

The town of El Tocuyo was founded by Juan de Carvajal in 1545 on the banks of the Tocuyo River and it was the administrative capital of Venezuela from 1546 to 1548. Its original name was Nuestra Señora de la Pura y Limpia Concepción del Tocuyo.

Geography

The surrounding area has good soil and an ideal climate for agriculture, dry and warm with plenty of water available from the Tocuyo River. The area has been occupied for over 20,000 years. When the Spanish

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 arrived they found the "Gayones" Indians, who inhabited this valley, sowing corn and other agricultural products as cotton and yucca. After the Spanish came, sugar cane was, for centuries, the biggest crop; but since 1980 vegetables such as tomatoes, onions, chiles, and potatoes are taking its place.

Demographics

The Morán Municipality, according to a 2007 population estimate by the National Institute of Statistics of Venezuela, has a population of 128,674 (up from 115,166 in 2000). This amounts to 7.2% of the state's population. The municipality's population density is 57.68 PD/sqkm.

Government

The mayor of the Morán Municipality is Pedro Emilio Alastre López, re-elected on October 31, 2004 with 61% of the vote. The municipality is divided into eight parish

Parish

A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...

es; Bolívar, Anzoátegui, Guarico, Hilario Luna y Luna, Humocaro Alto, Humocaro Bajo, La Candelaria, and Morán
.

External links

• moran-lara.gob.ve
• "Historia de Venezuela para nosotros: El Tocuyo" Fundación Empresas Polar
• http://www.eltocuyo.8m.com