La Matanza ('The Slaughter' in Spanish) is a '' partido'' (county or department) located in the

urban agglomeration An urban area is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas originate through urbanization, and researchers categorize them as cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs. In urbani ...

of Greater Buenos Aires,

Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires, officially the Buenos Aires Province, is the largest and most populous Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of the province an ...

, Argentina. This provincial subdivision had 1,775,272 inhabitants (at the 2010 Census) in an area of . Its capital city is San Justo, which is located around from the City of Buenos Aires.

History

The origin of the name is uncertain. Is believed to reference a confrontation that Diego, the brother of

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...

Pedro de Mendoza, had with the Querandí tribe in 1536, where he and 22 soldiers that were with him died. This area and the river were named La Matanza (The Slaughter) probably in his name, sometimes using the plural form (Matanzas). The oldest document in which the name of La Matanza appears is dated 29 July 1603. The partido was named Pago until 1730, then Partido de Matanza y Pozos (Partido of Slaughter and Wells): it was then a largely underpopulated rural area, and was led by a two-mayor system. In 1784, the partido was divided in two into La Matanza and Cañada de Morón (Morón Gully). In 1856, the capital city San Justo was founded. In the 20th century, its population dramatically increased with the influx of the European immigration first and the internal migration later to the surroundings of the City of Buenos Aires, followed by migrants from neighbouring countries (mainly Bolivia and Paraguay) by the end of the century.

Population

According to the Argentine census bureau, the INDEC, the population was 1,121,298 in 1991, 1,255,288 in 2001 and 1,772,130 in 2010. With an estimate of over 2 million by 2020, it is the most populated ''partido'' in the Province of Buenos Aires and the most populated municipality in the country.

Administrative subdivisions

La Matanza Partido is divided into sixteen subdivisions or ''localidades'': * Aldo Bonzi * Ciudad Evita * González Catán * Gregorio de Laferrere * Isidro Casanova * La Tablada * Lomas del Mirador * Rafael Castillo * Ramos Mejía * San Justo (seat) * Tapiales * Veinte de Junio * Villa Celina * Villa Luzuriaga * Villa Madero *

Virrey del Pino Virrey del Pino is a city in La Matanza Partido, in the Buenos Aires Province of Argentina. With a total of 117 km², it is the most extensive city in the La Matanza Partido. It is crossed by the RN 3 between kilometers 34 and 48. In t ...

Notes and references

External links

*
National University of La Matanza

''El1 Digital'', a local newspaper
Partidos of Buenos Aires Province States and territories established in 1784 {{BuenosAiresAR-geo-stub