Guárico


Guárico State is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. The state capital is San Juan de Los Morros and the largest city is Calabozo, other important city centers include Valle de la Pascua and Zaraza. Guárico State covers a total surface area of and, in 2011, had a census population of 747,739. It is named for the Guárico River.

History

Conquest and colony of Spain

When the Europeans arrived in Venezuela, various ethnic groups inhabited the region that would constitute Guárico. Among these were the Caribs Tamanacos, Palenques and Cumanagotos, as well as groups of Guamos and Otomacos. The latter were in permanent confrontation with the Caribs.
The colonization of the region only began in the 17th century and above all in the 18th century. The cacique Chiparara managed to organize Carib and Otomac groups in the Llanos de Guárico to counter-attack the Spanish colonizing forces.4 After they were defeated, around 1653, the Carib and Otomac groups would retreat southward or lose cohesion and would be gradually assimilated.
Many of the settlers who settled in the area were Basque missionaries and encomenderos who founded Altagracia de Orituco on March 1, 1676. Miguel de Urbés, a lieutenant of Joan Orpí, founded the city of Zaraza in 1645 with the name of San Miguel de la Nueva Tarragona del Batey. El Sombrero was founded in 1720. Four years later they founded Calabozo. In 1728 they established the town of Chaguaramas in a place where there were settlements of cumanagotos. Fray Anselmo Isidro de Ardales established the town of Tucupido in 1760 with groups of cumanagotes and palenques. San Juan de los Morros would be founded much later, around 1780.
Alexander von Humboldt and Aimé Bonpland passed through the region in March 1800 on their way to the Orinoco and its tributaries.
During the time of Spanish rule, Guarico was part of the Province of Caracas, which belonged to the Captaincy General of Venezuela.

19th Century

During the war of independence, several battles took place in the region of Guárico.
The military chief José Tomás Boves defeated Vicente Campo Elías in La Puerta, near San Juan de los Morros, on February 3, 1814. A few months later, in June, the Spanish troops again under the command of Boves defeated the troops of Simón Bolívar and Santiago Mariño on the same battlefield.
On August 2, 1816 the battle of Quebrada Honda near El Socorro took place. The royalists were defeated by the Republican army led by the Scottish adventurer Gregor MacGregor.
The Plains troops led by José Antonio Páez defeated the Royalist forces of Marshal Pablo Morillo on February 12, 1818. However, Morillo was able to defeat the troops of General Simón Bolívar in the third battle of La Puerta.
After independence, Guárico became the scene of numerous battles in the civil wars that plagued the country in the 19th century.
Venezuela entered into a deep crisis from 1842 onwards. In 1846 an uprising took place that was particularly felt in Guárico. Peasants and other poor people complained about social injustice and numerous groups criticized the political situation in which only a few elites held all the power. The protests continued until May 1847.
The creation with the name of Guárico Province dates from 1848 when the province of Caracas was divided into three.
In 1856 Guárico became part of the 21 provinces of Venezuela until 1864 when it was declared an independent state, and an integral part of the United States of Venezuela.
On February 17, 1860, the Battle of Coplé between the federalist and central government troops took place near Calabozo. The battle itself did not give clear results, but the continuation of the guerrilla warfare after this episode led to the signing of a peace agreement on April 23, 1863 between the Federalists and the Government.
In 1879 the state became part of the Gran Estado Miranda with what is now Bolívar, Guzmán Blanco, Apure and Nueva Esparta. In 1889 this state was renamed Miranda.
On March 11, 1892, the caudillo Joaquín Crespo rose up against the president of that time, Raimundo Andueza Palacio, who had wanted to change the constitution at the beginning of 1892 in order to supposedly govern for two more years. Joaquín Crespo marched from his hacienda in Guárico to Caracas, where he took power.
In 1898, Guárico acquired its autonomy again and in 1899 it was ratified by presidential decree. From this date on, it remained an independent state even though it suffered changes in its territory. Its boundaries with the state of Aragua were established by a protocol signed in 1933.
General Juan Vicente Gómez defeated near San Juan de los Morros the troops of General Luciano Mendoza, who was fighting on the side of the so-called Liberating Revolution against Cipriano Castro.

20th Century

Foreign companies began to exploit oil in the Guárico area in 1946. The fields of El Carrizal and El Sombrero began to attract many workers.
In 1957 the construction of the Guárico reservoir began. With 230 km2, it is one of the largest irrigation reservoirs in Venezuela and has been contributing to the development of the country.

Geography

Guárico is known as "the gateway" to the Central Plains, with a geography of contrasts between mountainous areas near the border of the state of Cojedes, galleys or hills that accompany the course of the river Guárico and an equally wide area of flat land.
Guárico State is bounded on the north by Miranda, Aragua and Carabobo States, on the south by Bolívar and Apure, on the east by Anzoátegui State and on the west by Cojedes and Barinas States.

Climate

The average annual temperature is 26 °C.

Relief

Most of it is flat and occupies the Central Plains of the country. To the northwest, it has low mountains, also known as Morros, and hills of the Cordillera de la Costa.

Main Mountains of Guarico State

The mountainous part of Guárico includes the Fila de los Suspiros, bordering the state of Cojedes to the northwest, continues with the Fila de La Raya, also called La Escalera, until reaching the city of San Juan de los Morros, some of which can reach 2000 meters above sea level. Other mountains to the east of the state include Cerro de las Minas, the Serranía de Guatopo strip on the sides of the Orituco River Valleys.
PositionElevationSea level
1Pico Platillón1,929
2Cerro La Gloria1,570
3Pico Blanco1,500
4Topo Valentinero1,430
5Topo Cujicito1,410
6Cerro Caramacate1,290
7Cerro Platanal1,250
8Topo Paraparo1,210
9Cerro Aserradero1,130
10Morros de San Juan1,068
11Cerro Tucusipanounknown

Hydrography

The state of Guarico is crossed by several rivers, streams and morichals that remain even during the dry months. The rivers of the Unare Basin from Valle de la Pascua head towards the Caribbean Sea and include the main rivers: Unare, Quebrada Honda, Morichito, Ipire and Agua Amarilla. The rest of the state has rivers that are tributaries of the Orinoco River, including the Apure River in its lower basin, Chirgua, Espino, Guárico, Macaira, Manapire, Memo, Tamanaco, Tiznados, Tucupido, Orituco and Zuata.

Politics and government

It is an autonomous and equal state in political terms, organizing its administration and public powers through a Constitution of the Guárico State, dictated by the Legislative Council.

Executive Power

The Governor of the State of Guárico is the Chief Executive of that State located in the center of Venezuela. According to Article 160 of the Venezuelan Constitution of 1999, the governor must be: Venezuelan, over twenty-five years old and from a secular state. The governor is elected for four years by simple majority and can be re-elected for additional periods. The governor appoints a group of trusted secretaries to assist him in the functions of the government who are freely appointed and removed. The governor is accountable for his actions to the Guarico State Legislative Council
The current governor is José Manuel Vásquez Aranguren of the ruling PSUV party. There have been nine people in the Llanera entity who have held the post of governor.
Like the other 23 federal entities of Venezuela, the State maintains its own police force, which is supported and complemented by the National Police and the Venezuelan National Guard.

Legislative power

The state legislature is the responsibility of the Legislative Council of the State of Guárico, a unicameral parliament, elected by the people through a universal direct and secret vote every four years. It can be reelected for two consecutive periods, under a system of proportional representation of the population of the state and its municipalities.

Municipalities and municipal seats

  1. Camaguán
  2. Chaguaramas
  3. El Socorro
  4. Francisco de Miranda
  5. José Félix Ribas
  6. José Tadeo Monagas
  7. Juan Germán Roscio
  8. Julián Mellado
  9. Las Mercedes
  10. Leonardo Infante
  11. Ortiz
  12. Pedro Zaraza
  13. San Gerónimo de Guayabal
  14. San José de Guaribe
  15. Santa María de Ipire

    Demographics

It is important to mention that because the last census was conducted in 2011, the population in the cities has changed significantly over the past few years. It is currently estimated that the capital, San Juan de los Morros is the most populated city in the state of Guarico, with 160,248 inhabitants.

Race and ethnicity

According to the 2011 Census, the racial composition of the population was:
Racial compositionPopulation%
Mestizo451,65060.4
White245,27432.8
Black43,3685.8
Other race7,4471.0