History of Rosario - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The history of Rosario
Rosario
Rosario is the largest city in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina. It is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the western shore of the Paraná River and has 1,159,004 residents as of the ....

began on the XVII century, when the Spanish established a settlement in the zone. Rosario lies by the Paraná River

Paraná River

The Paraná River is a river in south Central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina for some . It is second in length only to the Amazon River among South American rivers. The name Paraná is an abbreviation of the phrase "para rehe onáva", which comes from the Tupi language...

, about 300 km upstream from the Argentine capital Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...

; it is a major port

Port of Rosario

The Port of Rosario is an inland port and a major goods-shipping center of Argentina, located in the city of Rosario, province of Santa Fe, on the right-hand shore of the Paraná River, about 550 km upstream from the Atlantic Ocean.-Overview:...

and an industrial, commercial and cultural center. It grew from its humble origins to be the third most populated city in Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

and the largest in the province

Provinces of Argentina

Argentina is subdivided into twenty-three provinces and one autonomous city...

of Santa Fe

Santa Fe Province

The Invincible Province of Santa Fe, in Spanish Provincia Invencible de Santa Fe , is a province of Argentina, located in the center-east of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise Chaco , Corrientes, Entre Ríos, Buenos Aires, Córdoba, and Santiago del Estero...

. Manuel Belgrano

Manuel Belgrano

Manuel José Joaquín del Corazón de Jesús Belgrano , usually referred to as Manuel Belgrano, was an Argentine economist, lawyer, politician, and military leader. He took part in the Argentine Wars of Independence and created the Flag of Argentina...

created the flag of Argentina

Flag of Argentina

The national flag of Argentina is a triband, composed of three equally wide horizontal bands coloured light blue, white and light blue. There are multiple interpretations on the reasons for those colors...

in Rosario.

Origins

Rosario was born at the beginning of the 17th century. At the time it was known as Pago de los Arroyos, that is, "land of the stream

Stream

A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...

s", a reference to the several small rivers that traverse the southern region of Santa Fe, like the Ludueña Stream

Ludueña Stream

The Ludueña Stream is a small river in the , which starts near the city of Rosario and flows through it, mostly east-southwards, ending in the Paraná River in the neighbourhood commonly known as Arroyito, near Rosario Central's football stadium.The Ludueña drains an area which includes Rosario...

, the Saladillo Stream

Saladillo Stream

The Saladillo Stream is a small tributary of the Paraná River, that discharges into it between the cities of Rosario and Villa Gobernador Gálvez, in the...

and others, emptying into the Paraná River

Paraná River

. The city did not have a clear foundation date or any official acknowledgement thereof. In 1689, captain Luis Romero de Pineda received part of the lands of the Pago de los Arroyos by royal decree, as payment for services to the Spanish Crown

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...

. Before that, the area was originally inhabited by Calchaquí

Calchaquí

The Calchaquí were a tribe of South American Indians of the Diaguita group, now extinct, who formerly occupied northern Argentina. Stone and other remains prove them to have reached a high degree of civilization...

tribes in reducciones
Indian Reductions
Reductions were settlements founded by the Spanish colonizers of the New World with the purpose of assimilating indigenous populations into European culture and religion.Already since the beginning of the Spanish presence in the Americas, the Crown had been concerned...

, a kind of mission

Mission (Christian)

Christian missionary activities often involve sending individuals and groups , to foreign countries and to places in their own homeland. This has frequently involved not only evangelization , but also humanitarian work, especially among the poor and disadvantaged...

s founded by Franciscan

Franciscan

Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....

s. These missions were ultimately attacked and destroyed by hostile tribes of the Chaco

Gran Chaco

The Gran Chaco is a sparsely populated, hot and semi-arid lowland region of the Río de la Plata basin, divided among eastern Bolivia, Paraguay, northern Argentina and a portion of the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul, where it is connected with the Pantanal region...

.

Romero de Pineda established the first permanent settlement, an estancia
Estância
Estância is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Sergipe. Its population was 62,218 and its area is 642 km². The city is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Estância....

, intended as farmland, not as a town. In 1719 the Jesuits

Society of Jesus

The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...

bought another part and established Estancia San Miguel. The area was still so scarcely populated that it had no central authority; it was ruled from the provincial capital (Santa Fe

Santa Fe, Argentina

Santa Fe is the capital city of province of Santa Fe, Argentina. It sits in northeastern Argentina, near the junction of the Paraná and Salado rivers. It lies opposite the city of Paraná, to which it is linked by the Hernandarias Subfluvial Tunnel. The city is also connected by canal with the...

), and in turn from Buenos Aires.

In 1724 another colonial settlement was initiated by Santiago de Montenegro, who set up a mill, drew plans for the future town, built a chapel

Chapel

A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...

, and was appointed Mayor

Mayor

In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

in 1751. The area of control of this local government extended northward from today's Rosario; only in 1784 was it divided into two smaller jurisdictions.

On February 27, 1812, General Manuel Belgrano

Manuel Belgrano

raised the newly created Argentine flag

Flag of Argentina

on the shores of the Paraná, for the first time. Because of this, Rosario is known as the "Cradle of the Argentine Flag". The National Flag Memorial

National Flag Memorial (Argentina)

The National Flag Memorial in Rosario, Argentina, is a monumental complex built near the shore of the Paraná River...

marks the occasion.

Rosario becomes a city

The province of Santa Fe greatly suffered the civil war that afflicted Argentina after 1820. Demographic growth was relatively slow. During this period, Rosario was a small settlement and a stop in the way from Santa Fe City to Buenos Aires. In 1823 it was elevated to the category of "village" (Ilustre y Fiel Villa del Rosario). Charles Darwin

Charles Darwin

Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...

travelled

The Voyage of the Beagle

The Voyage of the Beagle is a title commonly given to the book written by Charles Darwin and published in 1839 as his Journal and Remarks, bringing him considerable fame and respect...

through the area in 1832 and described Rosario as "a large town" with about 2,000 residents. In 1841 its port

Port of Rosario

was shut off to foreign trade

International trade

International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories. In most countries, such trade represents a significant share of gross domestic product...

by a decree of the caudillo
Caudillo
Caudillo is a Spanish word for "leader" and usually describes a political-military leader at the head of an authoritarian power. The term translates into English as leader or chief, or more pejoratively as warlord, dictator or strongman. Caudillo was the term used to refer to the charismatic...

and Governor of Buenos Aires, Juan Manuel de Rosas

Juan Manuel de Rosas

Juan Manuel de Rosas , was an argentine militar and politician, who was elected governor of the province of Buenos Aires in 1829 to 1835, and then of the Argentine Confederation from 1835 until 1852...

which banned navigation of the Paraná and the Paraguay

Paraguay River

The Paraguay River is a major river in south central South America, running through Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Argentina...

rivers to non-Argentine vessels.

On 25 December 1851, a small group of locals and the military guard of the city declared their support for the rival caudillo Justo José de Urquiza

Justo José de Urquiza

Justo José de Urquiza y García was an Argentine general and politician. He was president of the Argentine Confederation from 1854 to 1860.He was governor of Entre Ríos during the government of Juan Manuel de Rosas, governor of Buenos Aires with powers delegated from the other provinces...

. As a reward for their participation in the Battle of Caseros

Battle of Caseros

The Battle of Caseros was fought near the town of Caseros, more precisely between the present-day train stations of Caseros and Palomar in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, on 3 February 1852, between the Army of Buenos Aires commanded by Juan Manuel de Rosas...

, triumphant Urquiza wrote to the governor of Santa Fe on 9 June 1852 asking for Rosario to be granted city status. Governor Domingo Crespo

Domingo Crespo

Domingo Crespo was an Argentine politician who was governor of the province of Santa Fe from 1851 to 1854.Crespo was a landowner born in Santa Fe City. In 1851 he supported the movement of the Federales led by the caudillo Justo José de Urquiza against the supremacy of Buenos Aires governor Juan...

justified the request at the provincial legislative body, marking the geographically strategic position of the town for national and international trade, and on 5 August Rosario was formally declared a city.

Urquiza opened up the river for free international trade. The city's economy and population

Population

A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...

expanded at an accelerated rate. By 1880, Rosario had become the first export outlet of Argentina

Foreign trade of Argentina

-Modern history:Agriculturally productive and thinly populated, Argentina recorded trade surpluses for most of the period between 1900 and 1948, including a cumulative US$1 billion during World War I and US$1.7 billion during World War II. Record taxes on grain exports imposed by the...

. By 1887 it had about 50,000 inhabitants, of which 40% were immigrants, who brought new ideas from Europe and started turning Rosario into a politically progressive city (contrasting with the more conservative

Conservatism

Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...

, aristocratic Santa Fe).

During part of the second half of the 19th century there was a movement promoting that the city of Rosario become the capital of the republic. Ovidio Lagos

Ovidio Lagos

Ovidio Lagos was an Argentine journalist, businessman and politician.Lagos was born in Buenos Aires in a country torn apart by internal strife...

, founder of the oldest Argentine newspaper, La Capital
La Capital
La Capital is a daily Spanish-language newspaper edited and published in Rosario, province of Santa Fe, Argentina. It was founded in 1867 , and it is the oldest Argentine newspaper still in circulation, which has gained it the title of Decano de la Prensa Argentina...

, was one of the strongest defenders of this idea (one of the main avenues in Rosario

Ovidio Lagos Avenue

Ovidio Lagos Avenue is a street in Rosario, Santa Fe Province, Argentina. It is a one-way avenue that runs north–south through the center of the city, from the coastal Avenida del Valle by the Paraná River to the southern limit of the urbanized area.Ovidio Lagos is the main street in Barrio...

now carries his name). Rosario was indeed declared the federal capital in three occasions, but each time the law received a veto of the Executive Branch (once by Bartolomé Mitre

Bartolomé Mitre

Bartolomé Mitre Martínez was an Argentine statesman, military figure, and author. He was the President of Argentina from 1862 to 1868.-Life and times:...

and twice by Domingo Faustino Sarmiento

Domingo Faustino Sarmiento

Domingo Faustino Sarmiento was an Argentine activist, intellectual, writer, statesman and the seventh President of Argentina. His writing spanned a wide range of genres and topics, from journalism to autobiography, to political philosophy and history...

).

In the last 15 years of the 19th century, the city more than doubled in population. Demographic growth took its toll of bad living conditions, epidemics of contagious diseases such as tuberculosis

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...

, and increased labour offer resulting in exploitation. In 1901, a worker on strike

Strike action

Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...

was killed by the police for the first time in Rosario. The city then became a major outpost for anarchist

Anarchism

Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...

movements. The Radical Civic Union

Radical Civic Union

The Radical Civic Union is a political party in Argentina. The party's positions on issues range from liberal to social democratic. The UCR is a member of the Socialist International. Founded in 1891 by radical liberals, it is the oldest political party active in Argentina...

produced an uprising in 1903, and the party won in the first elections under the new secret compulsory voting law.

20th century

The population doubled again in about ten years, and yet again in less than two decades; by 1926 Rosario had 407,000 inhabitants, 47% of them foreign, many brought from Europe in the wake of World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. Most of them were Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, and among them, a majority from the north-western region of Liguria

Liguria

Liguria is a coastal region of north-western Italy, the third smallest of the Italian regions. Its capital is Genoa. It is a popular region with tourists for its beautiful beaches, picturesque little towns, and good food.-Geography:...

In 1943 the local scholar Juan Álvarez

Juan Álvarez (historian)

Juan Álvarez was a judge and historian born in Gualeguaychú, .-Biography:Álvarez was born at a time of massive immigration in Argentina. His father, Serafín Álvarez, was an exiled Republican Spaniard; within the family, discussions about society, politics and religion were common...

wrote a seminal History of Rosario, which reaffirmed the thesis of Rosario as a "self-made-city", born after the modern capitalist fashion and developed by its own people's work, in contrast with other cities (like Santa Fe) with a traditional, colonial, aristocratic past. (The largest public library in the city now bears the name of Biblioteca Argentina Dr. Juan Álvarez
Biblioteca Argentina Dr. Juan Álvarez
The Biblioteca Argentina Dr. Juan Álvarez is a public library in Rosario, Argentina. It is the more important library in the city and in the province of Santa Fe....

in homage.)

In 1946 Rosario massively supported Juan Perón

Juan Perón

Juan Domingo Perón was an Argentine military officer, and politician. Perón was three times elected as President of Argentina though he only managed to serve one full term, after serving in several government positions, including the Secretary of Labor and the Vice Presidency...

's rise to power on a populistic platform; 58% of rosarinos voted for him in the presidential elections. Thus Rosario got the nickname of "Capital of Peronism". It received the benefits of the nationalization

Nationalization

Nationalisation, also spelled nationalization, is the process of taking an industry or assets into government ownership by a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to private assets, but may also mean assets owned by lower levels of government, such as municipalities, being...

and subsidizing

Subsidy

A subsidy is an assistance paid to a business or economic sector. Most subsidies are made by the government to producers or distributors in an industry to prevent the decline of that industry or an increase in the prices of its products or simply to encourage it to hire more labor A subsidy (also...

of many industries, and the more favourable labour laws passed by the government.

After the fall of Perón in 1955, Rosario experienced the hardships of dictatorial rule. In May and September 1969 workers and students massively took the streets to protest against the dictatorship of President Juan Carlos Onganía

Juan Carlos Onganía

Juan Carlos Onganía Carballo was de facto president of Argentina from 29 June 1966 to 8 June 1970. He rose to power as military dictator after toppling, in a coup d’état self-named Revolución Argentina , the democratically elected president Arturo Illia .-Economic and social...

. This was later known as the Rosariazo
Rosariazo
The Rosariazo was a protest movement that consisted in demonstrations and strikes, in Rosario, , between May and September 1969, during the military dictatorial rule of de facto President General Juan Carlos Onganía...

, and was triggered in part by the murder of a student by the police, and the repression of labour unions, combined with a general unrest throughout the country. During the September episode, the police were overwhelmed by at least 100,000 protesters, who took the resistance to the peripheric barrio
Barrio
Barrio is a Spanish word meaning district or neighborhood.-Usage:In its formal usage in English, barrios are generally considered cohesive places, sharing, for example, a church and traditions such as feast days...

s. The Army was given the order to intervene, and violently suffocated the opposition until regaining control of the city.

During the National Reorganization Process

National Reorganization Process

The National Reorganization Process was the name used by its leaders for the military government that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983. In Argentina it is often known simply as la última junta militar or la última dictadura , because several of them existed throughout its history.The Argentine...

(started in 1976), hundreds of citizens were killed or "disappeared

Forced disappearance

In international human rights law, a forced disappearance occurs when a person is secretly abducted or imprisoned by a state or political organization or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organization, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the...

" by the de facto government. Rosario hosted some matches of the Football World Cup 1978, which was used by the military junta as a distraction for the populace, to cover up illegal repression and human rights

Human rights

Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...

abuses.

In 1983 Argentina returned to democratic rule. About 400,000 rosarinos attended the final campaign

Political campaign

A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making process within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, wherein representatives are chosen or referendums are decided...

meeting of the Radical Civic Union

Radical Civic Union

, which won locally (with the election of Mayor Horacio Usandizaga

Horacio Usandizaga

Horacio Daniel Usandizaga , also known informally as El Vasco, is an Argentine politician.Usandizaga studied to become a lawyer and entered political activity as a member of the Radical Civic Union in 1961. He was first a councillor and then Mayor of Rosario from 11 December 1983 to 10 December 1987...

) and nationally (with President

President of Argentina

The President of the Argentine Nation , usually known as the President of Argentina, is the head of state of Argentina. Under the national Constitution, the President is also the chief executive of the federal government and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.Through Argentine history, the...

Raúl Alfonsín

Raúl Ricardo Alfonsín was an Argentine lawyer, politician and statesman, who served as the President of Argentina from December 10, 1983, to July 8, 1989. Alfonsín was the first democratically-elected president of Argentina following the military government known as the National Reorganization...

).

The Ludueña Stream

Ludueña Stream

caused great floods in the north of the city in 1986. After several years, popular pressure achieved the goal of dam

Dam

A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...

ming and piping the stream to avoid future problems of the kind.

Economic crisis

Hyperinflation

In economics, hyperinflation is inflation that is very high or out of control. While the real values of the specific economic items generally stay the same in terms of relatively stable foreign currencies, in hyperinflationary conditions the general price level within a specific economy increases...

(over 3,000%) caused an economic collapse of the country in 1989. In Rosario, protests against the price rises and lack of supplies, coupled with general social discontent and the influence of extremist elements, ended up in riots and looting

1989 riots in Argentina

The 1989 food riots were a series of riots and related episodes of looting in stores and supermarkets in Argentina, during the last part of the presidency of Raúl Alfonsín, between May and June 1989...

to supermarkets and other businesses, which then spread to other large cities. Between 26 May and 29 May police repression officially caused 14 casualties in Rosario. President Alfonsín declared a state of emergency

State of emergency

A state of emergency is a governmental declaration that may suspend some normal functions of the executive, legislative and judicial powers, alert citizens to change their normal behaviours, or order government agencies to implement emergency preparedness plans. It can also be used as a rationale...

(estado de sitio), suspending constitutional guarantees, and on 12 June he resigned, leaving office in the hands of president elect Carlos Menem

Carlos Menem

Carlos Saúl Menem is an Argentine politician who was President of Argentina from 1989 to 1999. He is currently an Argentine National Senator for La Rioja Province.-Early life:...

six months in advance.

The 1990s were the years of the Menem administration. While macroeconomy was healthy and prices stabilized, after a few years of improvement the situation in Rosario turned to the worse, as the industrial sector of the city was dismantled by competition from cheap import

Import

The term import is derived from the conceptual meaning as to bring in the goods and services into the port of a country. The buyer of such goods and services is referred to an "importer" who is based in the country of import whereas the overseas based seller is referred to as an "exporter". Thus...

s (favoured by the low fixed exchange rate

Fixed exchange rate

A fixed exchange rate, sometimes called a pegged exchange rate, is a type of exchange rate regime wherein a currency's value is matched to the value of another single currency or to a basket of other currencies, or to another measure of value, such as gold.A fixed exchange rate is usually used to...

) and the agricultural export

Export

The term export is derived from the conceptual meaning as to ship the goods and services out of the port of a country. The seller of such goods and services is referred to as an "exporter" who is based in the country of export whereas the overseas based buyer is referred to as an "importer"...

s stagnated. In 1995 (the year of Menem's reelection) unemployment

Unemployment

Unemployment , as defined by the International Labour Organization, occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively sought work within the past four weeks...

in the Rosario area reached 21.1%, the highest in Argentina at the time.

Following the decline of much of the city's once extensive industry, as well as the lack of international competitiveness of agricultural products that make the bulk of production in the region, much of Rosario's population fell under the poverty line. Since then, a sizable proportion of the population lives in villas miseria
Villa miseria
A villa miseria is a form of shanty town or slum found in Argentina, mostly around the largest urban settlements. The term is a compound noun made of the Spanish words villa "village, small town" and miseria "misery, dejection"...

(shanty town

Shanty town

A shanty town is a slum settlement of impoverished people who live in improvised dwellings made from scrap materials: often plywood, corrugated metal and sheets of plastic...

s) lacking toilets, running water and other essential services. These shantytowns have always existed in modern times, but they increased in area and population during this period, often augmented by internal migration (residents of poorer regions of the country, particularly Chaco Province

Chaco Province

Chaco is an Argentine province located in the north of the country, near the border with Paraguay. Its capital is Resistencia on the Paraná River opposite the city of Corrientes...

). The last official survey, a study conducted by the Municipal Bank Foundation

Municipal Bank of Rosario

The Municipal Bank of Rosario is a bank in Rosario, province of Santa Fe, Argentina. Its central offices are located in the downtown area, on San Martín St., and there are several additional offices throughout the city...

, dates from 1996; it indicated the presence of 91 precarious settlements, with 115,000 inhabitants (10% of the population of the metropolitan area). http://www.lacapital.com.ar/2006/03/07/ciudad/noticia_275180.shtml

In December 2001, at the peak of the economic recession, poor and unemployed people in Rosario (as in other major cities) again took to looting. Police repression in the December 2001 riots

December 2001 riots (Argentina)

The December 2001 uprising was a period of civil unrest and rioting in Argentina, which took place during December 2001, with the most violent incidents taking place on December 19 and December 20 in the capital, Buenos Aires, Rosario and other large cities around the country.- Background :The...

caused 8 casualties in the city, notably that of social activist Pocho Lepratti

Pocho Lepratti

Claudio Hugo Lepratti , known as Pocho Lepratti, was a volunteer who worked in a poor neighbourhood in Rosario, province of Santa Fe, Argentina, and who was shot and killed by the Santa Fe Provincial Police during the December 2001 riots, while he tried to stop police agents from firing at a...

Recovery and current situation

Since the recovery of the national economy

Economy of Argentina

This article provides an overview of the Economic history of Argentina.-Emergence into the world economy:Prior to the 1880s, Argentina was a relatively isolated backwater, dependent on the wool, leather and hide industry for both the greater part of its foreign exchange and the generation of...

that followed the 2001 collapse, Rosario's economic situation has improved. It is the fastest growing city in Argentina, a situation which is improving living conditions. The massive boom in agricultural exports (mainly soybean

Soybean

The soybean or soya bean is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean which has numerous uses...

products) in the province has caused a large amount of consumer spending and investment in Rosario, which is also receiving more small-scale tourism than ever. Among the businesses which have opened (or re-opened) in the city, there are two large shopping mall

Shopping mall

A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...

s, Alto Rosario and El Portal.

According to the , the city of Rosario has about 910,000 inhabitants, and the Greater Rosario

Greater Rosario

Greater Rosario is the metropolitan area of the city of Rosario, in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina. This metropolis has a population of about 1.5 million , thus being Argentina's second most populated urban settlement, after Buenos Aires....

metropolitan area

Metropolitan area

The term metropolitan area refers to a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories, sharing industry, infrastructure, and housing. A metropolitan area usually encompasses multiple jurisdictions and municipalities: neighborhoods, townships,...

adds up to more than 1.1 million. A wave of suburban development has been triggered by a recent spike in the price of real estate

Real estate

In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...

(from 2005 on), with new neighbourhoods sprouting from formerly underdeveloped areas (such as the north-east, near the airport

Rosario International Airport

Rosario - Islas Malvinas International Airport is located west-northwest from the center of Rosario, a city in the Santa Fe Province of Argentina...

).

The Mayor

Mayor

In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

(intendente) of Rosario as of 2005 is Miguel Lifschitz

Miguel Lifschitz

Roberto Miguel Lifschitz , is the current mayor of the city of Rosario, province of Santa Fe, Argentina.He obtained his degree at the Engineering Faculty of the National University of Rosario in 1979, and worked in the private sector until 1989, when he became Director-General of the Public Housing...

(of the Socialist Party

Socialist Party (Argentina)

The Socialist Party is a social-democratic political party in Argentina. The history of socialism in Argentina began in the 1890s, when a group of people, notably Juan B. Justo, expressed the need for a greater social focus....

). This administration, like the previous one (headed by Hermes Binner

Hermes Binner

Hermes Juan Binner is an Argentine medical doctor and a politician. He was elected Governor of Santa Fe in 2007. Binner is the first Socialist to become the governor of an Argentine province, and the first non-Justicialist to rule Santa Fe since 1983.Binner was previously a Deputy of the Civic and...

, current governor of the province), is taking advantage of the economic boom to invest heavily in public works, as well as public health (which takes up about a quarter of the whole budget).

Sources

Municipalidad de Rosario - Historia (in Spanish) - History of Rosario at the Municipality's official website.
Griselda B. Tarragó, De la autonomía a la integración - Santa Fe entre 1820 y 1853. Nueva Historia de Santa Fe, vol. 5 (2006).

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