Corrientes Province
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Corrientes (, ‘currents’ or ‘streams’; ), officially the Province of Corrientes (; ) is a
province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
in northeast
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
, in the Mesopotamia region. It is surrounded by (from the north, clockwise):
Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...
, the province of
Misiones Misiones (, ''Missions'') is one of the 23 provinces of Argentina, located in the northeastern corner of the country in the Mesopotamia region. It is surrounded by Paraguay to the northwest, Brazil to the north, east and south, and Corrientes P ...
,
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
,
Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...
, and the provinces of Entre Rios, Santa Fe and Chaco.


History

Before the arrival of the Spanish conquest, the
Kaingang The Kaingang people are an Indigenous peoples in Brazil, Indigenous Brazilian ethnic group spread out over the three southern Brazilian states of Paraná (state), Paraná, Santa Catarina (state), Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul and the sout ...
, Charrua and Guaraní lived in a big area that also covered most of the current province of Corrientes. The city of Corrientes was founded on 3 April 1588 by Juan Torres de Vera y Aragón as a mid-stop between
Asunción Asunción (, ) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of Asunción in the north ...
and
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
; the city flourished thanks to the traffic from the route.
Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
erected missions in the north of the province, where they dedicated themselves to the expansion of the faith. In the wars of independence from Spain, Corrientes joined Artigas' ''Liga de los Pueblos Libres'' (1814–1820). The attack of Paraguayan forces on the province in 1865 marked the start of the War of the Triple Alliance. In 1919 the
National University of the Littoral The National University of the Littoral (, UNL) is a public university in Argentina. It is based in Santa Fe, Argentina, Santa Fe, the capital of Santa Fe Province. It has colleges and other academic facilities in Esperanza, Santa Fe, Esperanza ...
was founded, which in 1956 became the National University of the Northeast. Corrientes is legendary in the world of
philately Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. While closely associated with stamp collecting and the study of postage, it is possibl ...
for the postage stamps it issued from 1856 to 1880. These are among the very early or "classic" postage stamps of the world (the first, from Great Britain, were issued in 1840; those by the United States in 1847). The Corrientes stamps were close copies of the first issue of stamps from France, which depicted the profile head of Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture, and were individually crudely engraved by hand, so that each die is noticeably different, and were printed in small sheets. The first issues, from 1856 to 1860, bore the denomination in the lower panel; in 1860, the value panel was erased; the different denominations thereafter being indicated by the color of the paper used. As locally produced " primitives", the early Corrientes stamps have long been prized by collectors. After 1880, stamps of Argentina were used. For much of the 19th and 20th centuries, politics in Corrientes were dominated by the Romero Feris family, prominent local landowners who still control most of the province's
tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
output. During most of this time, the Romero Ferises created one of Argentina's most bloated government payrolls (over 10% of total employment) and suppressed dissent and efforts at even modest land reform. Following contentious election results in 1991, however, public protest forced President
Carlos Menem Carlos Saúl Menem (2 July 1930 – 14 February 2021) served as the 50th president of Argentina for ten years, from 1989 to 1999. He identified as Peronism, Peronist, serving as President of the Justicialist Party for 13 years (from 1990 to 200 ...
to remove Governor Raúl "Tato" Romero Feris from office and, though he was elected mayor of the province's capital in 1997, Romero Feris was ultimately indicted for embezzlement of public funds in 1999. He was sentenced to seven years in prison in May 2002. Corrientes had a significant impact in national politics in subsequent years. A UCR-led alliance defeated the Romero Feris machine in the 2001 governor's race, but the Corrientes UCR's continued support for President
Néstor Kirchner Néstor Carlos Kirchner Ostoić (; 25 February 195027 October 2010) was an Argentine lawyer and politician who served as the president of Argentina from 2003 to 2007. A member of the Justicialist Party, he previously served as Governor of Sa ...
led to a rebuke from the national committee of the UCR itself, and this triggered a revolt from the Corrientes chapter of the party, as well as a number of others' (notably in
Mendoza Province Mendoza (), officially the Province of Mendoza, is a province of Argentina, in the western central part of the country in the Cuyo region. It borders San Juan to the north, La Pampa and Neuquén to the south, San Luis to the east, and the r ...
). These differences led to the appearance that year of "K" RadicalsUCR governors and other lawmakers allied to President Kirchner. The northeastern tip of Corrientes Province was chosen as the site for Yacyretá Dam following an agreement between President
Juan Perón Juan Domingo Perón (, , ; 8 October 1895 – 1 July 1974) was an Argentine military officer and Statesman (politician), statesman who served as the History of Argentina (1946-1955), 29th president of Argentina from 1946 to Revolución Libertad ...
and Paraguayan President
Alfredo Stroessner Alfredo Stroessner Matiauda (; 3 November 1912 – 16 August 2006) was a Paraguayan politician, army general and Military dictatorship, military dictator who ruled as the 42nd president of Paraguay from 15 August 1954 until his overthrow in 19 ...
in 1974. Yacyretá, whose 20-year-long construction and US$11 billion cost far exceeded initial estimates, is one of the largest
hydroelectric dam Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...
s in the world. Currently, an agreement is being pursued with
Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...
which would allow reservoir expansion works that could double the facility's current installed electric capacity of 4,050 MW.


Culture

Culture in Corrientes has been primarily informed and influenced by its European and Guarani roots; an example of this is the
chamamé Chamamé ( Guarani for: party, disorder) is a folk music genre from northeast Argentina and Argentine Mesopotamia. In 2020, Chamamé was inscribed in UNESCO's Intangible cultural heritage list after it was nominated by Argentina in 2018. Chama ...
genre of music. Famous ''correntinos'' were independence hero General Don
José de San Martín José Francisco de San Martín y Matorras (; 25 February 177817 August 1850), nicknamed "the Liberator of Argentina, Chile and Peru", was an Argentine general and the primary leader of the southern and central parts of South America's succe ...
(born in 1778 in Yapeyú) and Juan Bautista Cabral (born in Saladas), who (according to popular legend) died for the general in the Battle of San Lorenzo. Tourist destinations in the Corrientes Province include the Iberá Wetlands and the
Mburucuyá National Park Mburucuyá National Park () is a national park in Argentina. It is located in the north west of the Corrientes Province around from the city of Corrientes and covers an area of of the Iberá Wetlands. The area is important for the provisio ...
.


Official languages

On 22 October 2004, Provincial Law No. 5598 (Decree 2326/2004) declared Guaraní to be an
official language An official language is defined by the Cambridge English Dictionary as, "the language or one of the languages that is accepted by a country's government, is taught in schools, used in the courts of law, etc." Depending on the decree, establishmen ...
of Corrientes, alongside Spanish. It was the first Argentine province to officialize a language other than Spanish, followed in 2010 by Chaco.


Geography

Corrientes is surrounded by two rivers – the
Uruguay River The Uruguay River ( ; ) is a major river in South America. It flows from north to south and forms parts of the boundaries of Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, separating some of the Argentine provinces of La Mesopotamia from the other two countr ...
to the east, and the
Paraná River The Paraná River ( ; ; ) is a river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina for some ."Parana River". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. ...
to the northwest – that contour the shape of the province. The low shore of the Paraná produces frequent floodings. After a specially destructive one in 1982, a protective system has been started with the construction of barriers. The province is for the most part a
plain In geography, a plain, commonly known as flatland, is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and ...
, with the highest points in the east. To the west, a series of descending platforms go down to the Paraná River. The Iberá Wetlands, an area of
lagoons A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into '' coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') a ...
and
swamps A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...
, is a vast depression from
volcanic A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often fo ...
flow, covered later with
fluvial A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of its course if it ru ...
and eolic sediments.


Climate

The climate is predominantly
subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...
with no dry season. The mean annual temperature is with monthly mean temperatures ranging from in July to in January. Temperatures are hot for most of the year while precipitation is abundant and evenly distributed throughout the year. There are four seasons: winter, spring, summer, and autumn. Winters are short although occasional incursions of cold, polar air from the south can produce frosts. In contrast, temperatures during summer can reach to . Mean annual precipitation ranges from which decreases from northeast to southwest. Autumn is the rainiest season while winter is the driest.


Demographics

According to the 2022 Argentine national census, the Province of Corrientes has 1,197,553 inhabitants.


Economy

Corrientes, like much of the Argentine north, has long had a relatively underdeveloped economy. Its 2006 output was estimated at US$4.2 billion (which shall be around US$6.7 billion in 2011, according to Argentina's economic growth), or, US$4,540 per capita (around US$6,600 in 2011), nearly 40% below the national average.I.A.D.E.R
/ref>
Agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...
is still one of the main activities in the province, adding 15% to its output. It is centred in
citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. ''Citrus'' is nativ ...
,
tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
,
rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...
,
tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of south-western China and nor ...
,
cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...
and
yerba mate Yerba mate or yerba maté (), ''Ilex paraguariensis'', is a plant species of the holly genus native to South America. It was named by the French botanist Augustin Saint-Hilaire. The leaves of the plant can be steeped in hot water to make a bev ...
, exported internationally. The
timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...
industry uses 1,400 km2 of
pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...
and
eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of more than 700 species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. Most species of ''Eucalyptus'' are trees, often Mallee (habit), mallees, and a few are shrubs. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalyp ...
forests.
Bovine Bovines (subfamily Bovinae) comprise a diverse group of 10 genera of medium to large-sized ungulates, including Bos, cattle, bison, African buffalo, Bubalus, water buffalos, and the four-horned and spiral-horned antelopes. The members of this gro ...
cattle has problems standing the heat and the low quality of the grass specially in the north of the province. For that reason, the Brangus breed is the most common in the area. In the south, different breeds can be found. 70,000 km2 of the province's land are used for more than 4 million heads of cattle. Among Corrientes' productive (non-services) activities,
tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
and its processing earns 45% of the province's gross income, food and derivates, 30%, and
textile Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...
s, 16%. On the Paraná River, near the city of Ituzaingó, the Yaciretá dam provides energy not only to the province, but to both Argentina and
Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...
. Tourism has been growing in Corrientes Province due to the relevance that Esteros del Ibera has for
ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of nature-oriented tourism intended to contribute to the Ecological conservation, conservation of the natural environment, generally defined as being minimally impactful, and including providing both contributions to conserv ...
and birdwatching travelers. Iberá National Park was created in 2018. Golden dorado fishing has long attracted both local and outside tourism to Corrientes.


Political division

The provincial government is divided into the usual three branches: the executive, headed by a popularly elected governor, who appoint the cabinet; the legislative; and the judiciary, headed by the Supreme Court. The legislative branch is a
bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature that is divided into two separate Deliberative assembly, assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate ...
body composed of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. The Legislature is charged with introducing and passing local laws. The Constitution of Corrientes Province forms the formal law of the province. In Argentina, the most important law enforcement organization is the
Argentine Federal Police The Argentine Federal Police ( or PFA) is the national civil police force of the Argentine federal government. The PFA has detachments throughout the country. Until January 1, 2017, it also acted as the local law enforcement agency in the cap ...
but the additional work is carried out by the Corrientes Provincial Police. The province is divided into 25
departments Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military * Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
(''departamentos''): Department (Capital) # Bella Vista Department ( Bella Vista) # Berón de Astrada Department ( Berón de Astrada) # Capital Department (
Corrientes Corrientes (; Guaraní: Taragui, literally: "Currents") is the capital city of the province of Corrientes, Argentina, located on the eastern shore of the Paraná River, about from Buenos Aires and from Posadas, on National Route 12. It has ...
) # Concepción Department ( Concepción) # Curuzú Cuatía Department ( Curuzú Cuatiá) #
Empedrado Department Empedrado Department is a department of Corrientes Province in Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American co ...
( Empedrado) # Esquina Department ( Esquina) # General Alvear Department ( Alvear) # General Paz Department ( Nuestra Señora del Rosario de Caá Catí) # Goya Department (
Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 1746 – 16 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, an ...
) # Itatí Department ( Itatí) # Ituzaingó Department ( Ituzaingó) # Lavalle Department ( Lavalle) # Mburucuyá Department ( Mburucuyá) # Mercedes Department ( Mercedes) # Monte Caseros Department ( Monte Caseros) # Paso de los Libres Department (
Paso de los Libres Paso de los Libres is a city in the east of the province of Corrientes in the Argentine Mesopotamia. It had about 44,000 inhabitants at the , and is the head town of the department of the same name. The city is on the right-hand (western) shore ...
) # Saladas Department ( Saladas) # San Cosme Department ( San Cosme) # San Luis del Palmar Department ( San Luis del Palmar) # San Martín Department ( La Cruz) # San Miguel Department ( San Miguel) # San Roque Department ( San Roque) #
Santo Tomé Department Santo Tomé Department is a department of Corrientes Province in Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American cou ...
( Santo Tomé) # Sauce Department (
Sauce In cooking, a sauce is a liquid, cream, or semi- solid food, served on or used in preparing other foods. Most sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavour, texture, and visual appeal to a dish. ''Sauce'' is a French wor ...
)


References


Books

*


External links

*
Official site



Esteros del Iberá
(in English and Spanish)
Corrientes Info

Pictures of Corrientes
{{Authority control Provinces of Argentina