Santa Cruz Department

Santa Cruz Department

Department Flag Department Coat of Arms Motto: ¡Arriba cruceños, hagamos historia! (Stand up cruceños, let's make history!) Anthem: Bajo el cielo más puro de América
Capital	Santa Cruz de la Sierra
Largest city	Santa Cruz de la Siera
Official languages	Spanish, Guaraní
Provinces	15
Area  - total  - % de Bolivia	Place nº 1 370,621 km² 33.74%
Population  - Total (2005)  - % of Bolivia  - Density	Place nº 2 2,433,602 26.08% 6.57hab./km²
Creation	July 23,1826
Prefect	Ruben Costas (APB)
Senators	Oscar Ortiz (PODEMOS) Jorge Agulera (PODEMOS) Guido Guardia (MAS)
Deputies	25 out of 130
Calling Code:	+ (591) 3
ISO 3166-2	BO-S
Abbreviations	SC
Website	http://www.santacruz.gov.bo

Santa Cruz, with an area of 370,621 km², is the largest of the nine constituent departments of Bolivia. In the 2001 census, it reported a population of 2,029,471. The capital is the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra. The department covers a vast expanse of territory in eastern Bolivia, much of it rainforests, extending from the Andes to the border with Brazil. The department's economy depends largely on agriculture, with sugar, cotton, soybeans and rice being grown. In recent years, the discovery of natural gas in the department has led to plans for the development of a regional natural gas industry that is likely to boost the local economy. In July 2004, the people voted in a nation-wide referendum to allow for regulated exportation of the gas. The department also hosts El Mutún, the second largest iron ore reserve (after Carajás in Brazil) and largest magnesium deposits are also located there.

Government and Administration

According to current Constitution the highest authority in the department is the prefect (prefecto, similar to a governor but with restricted powers). Since 2005, the prefect has been elected by popular vote to serve for a five-year term; prior to this change, the prefect was appointed by the President of the Republic. Santa Cruz also has a Departmental Council (Consejo Departamental, similar to a state legislature but with restricted powers) of 23 members called councilors (consejeros). Each of the department's provinces returns at least one councilor, while remaining councilors are assigned to provinces on population basis. By law, the election of councilors is an attribution of municipalities. However, some municipalities such as Camiri (Province of Cordillera) or Santa Cruz de la Sierra (Province of Andrés Ibáñez) have issued internal norms (ordenanzas) in order to have their councilors elected by popular vote.

The Department of Santa Cruz is divided into 15 provinces: Provinces of Santa Cruz Department (2005)

Provinces of Santa Cruz Department

External links

• Bolivian Music and Web Varieties
• Bolivian Yellow Pages
• Departmental Government of Santa Cruz

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