Achacachi

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Achacachi
Basic data
Residents (state) 8857 pop. (2012 census)
rank Rank 58
height 3854  m
Post Code 02-0201-0100-1001
Telephone code (+591)
Coordinates 16 ° 3 ′  S , 68 ° 41 ′  W Coordinates: 16 ° 3 ′  S , 68 ° 41 ′  W
Achacachi (Bolivia)
Achacachi
Achacachi
politics
Department La Paz
province Omasuyos Province
climate
Climate diagram Achacachi
Climate diagram Achacachi

Achacachi is a small town on the Altiplano of the South American Andes Mountains in Bolivia .

Location in the vicinity

Achacachi ( Aymara : Jach'ak'achi ) is located at an altitude of 3854  m on the Achacachi Peninsula on the east bank of Lake Titicaca , 96 kilometers north of the department capital La Paz . The city is the capital of the province of Omasuyos and the starting point for trekking trips to Lake Titicaca, the Illampú mountain range or along the Río Keka . After the Spanish conquest, the municipality was named Villa Lealtad de Cáceres , named after the first resident Spanish landowner.

geography

The climate in the Achacachi area is derived from the altitude on the Altiplano and the proximity to the large body of water of Lake Titicaca, which mitigates temperature fluctuations.

The annual average temperature is 11 ° C (see Achacachi climate diagram), with the monthly average in the coldest month (July) at 8 ° C only slightly deviating from the warmest months (November to March) at 12 ° C. The climate is arid from June to August with only sporadic rainfall and humid in the summer months, especially from December to March, with monthly rainfall of more than 100 mm. The annual precipitation is around 600 mm.

history

Before the time of the Inca, Achacachi was the capital of the Umasuyus people on the east bank of Lake Titicaca, who successfully defended themselves against submission by the Incas. As a result, the indigenous people of the region continue to speak Aymara rather than Quechua .

With the Spanish conquest there existed a city called "Jach'a Kach'i" (in the language of the Aymara "jach'a" = big and "k'achi" = Crag), giving the Spaniards the name Achacachi made . On January 24, 1826 , the city became the administrative seat of the province.

population

The population of the village has doubled in the past two decades:

year Residents source
1992 5 602 census
2001 7 540 census
2012 8 857 census

Ethnically, the majority of the residents are Aymara . The city's mayor is Eugenio Rojas Apaza, who received 30.5 percent of the vote in the 2004 municipal council election , well ahead of Francisco Lipe (11.9 percent) and other competitors. The prominent son of the parish is Juan Vargas Aruquipa , who was born on March 8, 1947 in Achacachi and has been bishop of the Bolivian diocese of Coroico since August 20, 1997 .

economy

The city lives mainly from agricultural production, which is partly operated with the most primitive means due to the prevailing poverty. The focus is on sheep breeding and the cultivation of potatoes , quinoa and feed grain .

politics

Due to the ethnic composition, the great poverty in the population and the military barracks located on the Río Keka, there have been repeated clashes with the central government and the army, road blockades and violent attacks from both sides , especially since 2000 . Citizens of the city as well as representatives of the state power perished in the year 2000 as well as in 2003 and 2005. The unrest was triggered by the government's plans to privatize water and natural gas.

Town twinning

Individual evidence

  1. ^ INE - Instituto Nacional de Estadística Bolivia 1992 ( Memento from April 23, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ^ INE - Instituto Nacional de Estadística Bolivia 2001 ( Memento from November 29, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  3. ^ INE - Instituto Nacional de Estadística Bolivia 2012 ( Memento from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive )

Web links