Miranda (state)
Miranda State (, ) is one of the 23 states ("estados") of Venezuela and the second most populous after Zulia State. As of the 2011 census, it had a population of 2,675,165 residents. It also has the greatest Human Development Index in Venezuela, according to the Venezuelan National Institute of Statistics (Instituto Nacional de Estadistica, Caracas). The most recent population estimate was 3,194,390 in mid-2016. Miranda is an important center for political, economic, cultural and commercial activities. The state is administered by a governor, and is sub-divided into 21 municipalities, each under a mayor. Miranda State covers a total  surface area of . History. Pre-Columbian history. When the Spanish arrived, the region was inhabited by various Caribbean tribes. Among them were the Caracas, the Teques, the Cumanagotos, the Mariches and the Quiriquires. The Teques inhabited the southwestern part of Guaire. The Mariches inhabited the eastern part of the Caracas Valley. They practiced hunting and gathering, while others lived by fishing. When the Spanish conquistadors arrived, these tribes were brave enough to fight for their territory, commanded by caciques like Guaicaipuro and Yare. Spanish Colonization. Guaicaipuro was a legendary cacique of the Teques and Caracas Indians who resisted the conquistador  Diego de Losada, while cacique Yare was the cumanagoto, quiriquire, charagoto and arauco chief who killed Captain Mendoza, who had murdered the Indian Tamanaco. Once all the tribes were subdued, the Spaniards settled completely on these lands, founding the city of Caracas, and later different towns in the interior of the state of Miranda. During the colony this region became part of the Province of Caracas. At the end of the 16th century and beginning of the 17th century the highlands were used to cultivate, among other products, wheat destined largely for export to Cartagena de Indias and the Caribbean  islands. From the second decade of the 17th century, cocoa displaced these crops. In addition, all commercial activities were monopolized by the Royal Guipuzcoa Company, which generated the first discontents and uprisings against the crown. From the beginning of the 17th century, slave labour quickly replaced the Indian labour force, concentrating on the Windward region, which was the largest cocoa producer. It was in this region that the first free blacks rose up against their masters, but were later stifled by Spanish troops. 19th Century. After the dissolution of Gran Colombia, Venezuela still used the provinces as a political-territorial  organization, which had been used for a long time. Miranda, at that time, was part of a province. Between 1832 and 1855 the use of the province persisted due to the confusion generated by the existence of a state as a political division of the country. The division by states did not appear in Venezuela in a concrete way until 1864, when about twenty states were founded which, in the following governments, would be reduced to nine, among these, the founded state of Guzmán Blanco, which by 1873 only covered the region of Aragua. In 1881, the State of Guzmán  Blanco expanded its territory to include the region of Miranda, among other nearby regions that were included as part of Guárico. In 1889, the territory of the Guzmán Blanco State was again modified by the Constitution, and its size was reduced by excluding several regions of the country such as the region of Aragua, but renaming the State as Edo Miranda. 20th and 21st Centuries. In 1900, by decree of General Cipriano Castro, the state of Caracas was included in Miranda and Caracas was renamed Miranda State with the provisional capital in Santa Lucia. Then in 1901 the political-territorial  space is modified again and the capital of the state becomes Petare, and in 1904 it is changed to Ocumare del Tuy. In 1909 the last important modification was made, changing the capital to Los Teques. In 1982, the municipality of Los Salias was founded through the Official Gazette of the State of Miranda. In 1989, after the decentralization carried out by President Carlos Andrés Perez, Arnaldo Arocha was elected the first governor by popular vote. By October 15, 2017, Héctor Rodríguez was elected governor of the State of Miranda, after facing Carlos Ocariz.6 On Dec. 5, the Legislative Assembly  of Miranda State created the Independence district, with its capital in Santa Teresa del Tuy Geography. Location. The state of Miranda is located in the north-central part of Venezuela. It is part of the so-called Capital Region together with the Capital District and the state of Vargas. It is located in the central coastal area of the country. It borders on the north with the Federal District, on the south with the states of Guarico and Aragua, on the east with the Caribbean Sea and on the west with Aragua. Relief The relief is predominantly rugged and abrupt , with high slopes and narrow valleys within the mountains. The eastern sector constitutes a depression in the Serranía del Litoral. The Guaire River, which runs through the city of Caracas, divides the sector into two strips that are differentiated by their decline: the Valles del Tuy and La Depresión de Barlovento. The waters that make up the hydrographic network of the state are mostly short course. The main river basin in the State is that of the River Tuy. The availability of water resources in the state is really precarious, as the state is located in the largest urban conglomerate  in the country. The volume of available water is committed to supply almost the entire metropolitan district of Caracas, as well as the entire territory of Mirandina, which is poorly supplied by the reservoirs of La Mariposa, Lagartijo, La Pereza, Ocumarito, Agua Fría, Taguaza, El Guapo and Quebrada Seca. Many of the towns in the state are not frequently supplied with drinking water due to the high consumption of water resources. The Guaire, Tuy and Grande rivers are not used because they are in a state of contamination. Hydrography. The hydrography of Miranda State is characterized by the short course  and low flow of its rivers, with the exception of Tuy. This characteristic, combined with the settlement of the largest mass of population in the country, gives its rivers great significance as sources of water for urban consumption. The Tuy River, with a length of 250 km, rises at an altitude of 2 100 m, on the southern flank of the Litoral mountain range, flows eastwards through the Abra de Tácata to the Tuy and Barlovento valleys, and flows into the Caribbean Sea through the Paparo mouth. The El Jarillo River and the Aguas Frías and La Negra streams, tributaries  of the Tuy on the left bank, have been dammed, near the Teques, in the Agua Fría reservoir, while the Ocumare, was dammed near Ocumare del Tuy, in the Ocumarito reservoir. The best known tributary is the Guaire River. On the right bank, the Tuy receives the Taguaza, Taguacita and Cuira rivers. Other important rivers are the Guarenas, Rio Grande or Caucagua, Capaya, El Guapo, Pacairigua, El Curiepe and Cúpira. Climate. The climate of Miranda State is very hot in the low areas with temperatures ranging from 20 ℃ to 42 ℃ with very high humidity in the coastal region  of Barlovento. In the Altos Mirandinos region, temperatures vary slightly throughout the year. In the dry season (December–March), temperatures vary between 10 ℃ and 23 ℃, in the beginning of the wet season (April, May) high temperatures can be registered up to 33 ℃, the rest of the year it varies between 16 ℃ and 25 ℃. Soil. The state of Miranda has soils with a high agricultural vocation that have been used since colonial times for the cultivation of cocoa, fruits, vegetables, cereals and other subsistence crops. However, the pressure of urban and industrial activities, especially the settlement  of high population concentrations, has meant a loss of very considerable agricultural areas in the Tuy Valleys, in the Guarenas and Guatire area, and in the Barlovento region. Fauna. In mountainous areas, rivers and streams, it is common to see mammals such as the raccoon ("Didelphis marsupialis") and the spiny rat ("Proechimys" sp.), the squirrel ("Sciurus granatensis"), the mountain buckthorn ("Dasypus novemcinctus"), the porcupine ("Coendou prehensilis"), the agouti ("Dasyprocta leporina"), the sloth ("Bradypus tridactylus") very common in all areas of the municipality, the rabbit ("Sylvilagus brasiliensis"), and the one that has almost disappeared from the municipal area, the matacan deer  ("Mazama americana") that was common in the area of Turgua. In addition, at night it is common to observe bats, among which the list bat ("Saccopteryx bilineata"), common fruit bat ("Artibeus jamaicensis"), common vampire bat ("Desmodus rotundus"), and house bat ("Molossus molossus") stand out. In the area of Los Carraos and Zuloaga caves, the insectivorous bat species "Natalus tumidirostris", "Myotis keaysi" and "Tadarida aurispinosa" have been identified. Flora. Among the common trees to find in the forest are, the ladle or child ("Gyranthera caribensis"), the bitter cedar ("Cedrela mexicana"), milky of the genus "Sapium" ("Sapium stylare"), yagrumo ("Cecropia peltata"), yagrumo  male ("Schefflera morototoni"), bucare ("Erythrina poeppigiana"), ceiba ("Ceiba pentandra"), indio desnudo ("Bursera simaruba"); in some parts of the state the native flora has been intervened and replaced by fruit trees such as guamo ("Inga fastuosa"), mango ("Mangifera indica"), orange ("Citrus × sinensis"), mandarin ("Citrus × tangerina"), guava ("Psidium guajava"), pomarosa ("Syzygium jambos"), avocado ("Persea americana") and cambur ("Musa × paradisiaca"). In the urban area it is common to see different types of ornamental trees, among which we can highlight the eucalyptus ("Eucalyptus camaldulensis"), apamates ("Tabebuia rosea"), araguaneyes ("Tabebuia chrysantha"), mahoganies ("Swietenia macrophylla"), soaps ("Hura crepitans"), kujis ("Acacia farnesiana"), samans ("Pithecellobium  saman"), bamboos ("Bambusa vulgaris"), riqui riquis ("Heliconia latispatha") and tapir nails ("Philodendron") Administrative divisions. The State of Miranda as a federal entity with constitutional rank has its own Constitution, ("Constitución del Estado Miranda", the Constitution of the State of Miranda) and it has two branches of public power according to Article 14 of its Constitution: the Executive (Governor of Miranda) and the Legislative (Legislative Council). In addition, autonomous bodies such as the State Comptroller's Office and the Attorney General's Office are established. The other three depend on the National Power as the Judicial (Miranda State Judicial District), Electoral  (Miranda State Electoral Office) and Citizen. Its authorities are elected by the Mirandina people in a universal, direct and secret way, sending 13 deputies to the National Assembly of Venezuela. The state of Miranda is divided into 21 municipalities and 55 parishes according to the Regional and National Constitution. Municipalities and municipal seats. Miranda State is sub-divided into 21 municipalities, given below with their administrative centres, areas and populations: Population. Race and ethnicity. According to the 2011 Census, the racial composition of the population was: Economy. The economic development of the state is based on the excellence of its  soils, which has allowed the boom in agriculture. The region of the valleys of Tuy is characterized by the production of cocoa, sugar cane, and corn, among other crops. Barlovento also has great fertility of its lands, standing out the cultivation of cocoa and a great variety of fruits and vegetables. Likewise, Guatire and Guarenas have good lands for cultivation, being coffee one of the main products of the area. Among other economic activities is the industrial one, standing out the manufacturing one, which conforms together with the one of the Federal District the first urban manufacturing set of the  country. The tertiary sector is extremely important: financial, commercial and service activities are concentrated in the area of Miranda. During the last two decades the tourist activity has grown with the installation of a great hotel infrastructure in the coast of Barlovento. Cereals are grown in the fertile valleys of Tuy, while the microclimates are used for horticultural and fruit activities whose products are processed in the agro-industries. In suburban areas, poultry and pig farming are practiced, especially promoted by Portuguese, Spanish and Italian immigrants. Coffee production has decreased; however, the expansion of sugar cane and cotton crops in  the Tuy Valley continues. Since colonial times there have been cocoa plantations in Barlovento combined with cassava, yams, caraotas or beans and bananas. The industrialization process had an important economic impact, favored by its proximity to the city of Caracas, mainly in the cities of Petare, Guarenas and Guatire and in the valley of Tuy, where manufacturing centers of the metal-mechanical, chemical and food sectors were established. This led to a major urban boom, which caused a decrease in the amount of agricultural land. Tourism. The state is well known for its green areas (including several national parks, haciendas  and protected areas), for its highly urbanized cities that coexist with rural towns, for the coasts of the Caribbean Sea, a safe stop during vacation seasons, the Devils of Yare and the Tacarigua Lagoon; just to mention some of the tourist attractions of the region that is visited annually by thousands of seasonal visitors. It has large shopping centers, in the east of the metropolitan area of Caracas, for the enjoyment of the population, in the high mirandinos is La Cascada Commercial City, of large dimensions that has food fairs, cinemas, large stores, and all kinds of services and bank  agencies, Additionally, in the professional center La Cascada is the high mirandine headquarters of the SENIAT, also near Los Teques is the town of San Pedro de Los Altos, an agricultural town, where vegetables and large areas of flower crops are grown, and several bottling plants for mineral water such as Minalba and Zenda where pure spring water is bottled. It also highlights its architecture ranging from modern Chacao to the colonial architecture of many villages, highlighting in that aspect the many museums, cathedrals and historic churches it has. It also has a diversity of monuments, urban parks, viewpoints, theaters , among many other spaces for the enjoyment of visitors. Natural Heritage. The state of Miranda has monuments and natural heritage because of its incredible beauty, some of these are Built heritage. The state of Miranda has a varied architectural heritage: Transport. Central Ezequiel Zamora Railway System (Caracas - Cúa Line):8 has 4 stations (Caracas, Charallave Norte, Charallave Sur, Cúa) and has a length of 41.4 km². Subway system: Culture. Palmeros de Chacao. The tradition of the Palmeros de Chacao dates back to the Venezuelan colonial period in 1770, when the parish priest José Antonio Mohedano decided, in the form of a  promise, to ask God for mercy due to an epidemic of yellow fever that existed in Caracas at the time. Coming from the haciendas near El Avila National Park, Mohedano sent a group of workers to bring down leaves from the Royal Palm to commemorate Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. Nowadays, the Palmeros go up every Friday of the Council (the Friday before Palm Sunday) and come down the following Saturday with the palm leaves that will be blessed during the Sunday celebration. The palms are collected from a sector called Cueva de los Palmeros by the entrance of Sabas Nieves . Once blessed, the palms are distributed among the believers, who braid, crush and transform them into crosses that they keep in their homes as a sign of faith. Diablos Danzantes de Yare. The Diablos Danzantes de Yare is a religious festival celebrated in San Francisco de Yare, Miranda State (Venezuela), on Corpus Christi Day, carried out by the "Sociedades del Santísimo Sacramento". The festival is a local version of the dancing devils of Corpus Christi. Its origin dates back to the 18th century, being this the oldest brotherhood in the American continent and the largest in the world. The fraternity  of devils is divided into a hierarchical order, represented in their masks. Every Thursday of Corpus Christi (9 Thursdays after Holy Thursday) there is a ritual dance of the so-called dancing devils, where they worship the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar and celebrate the triumph of good over evil. Festival of San Juan de Curiepe. is an Afro-descendant celebration held in the town of Curiepe, in the State of Miranda in Venezuela. It commemorates the image of Saint John the Baptist, with a series of music and dance rituals that take place from midnight on June 23 to  the evening of June 25th each year. San Juan is one of the festivities that gathers more devotees throughout the country, being the manifestation of Curiepe one of the best known in the nation. Parranda of San Pedro. It is a popular and religious festivity that is celebrated every June 29 in the cities of Guatire and Guarenas in the State of Miranda, Venezuela. It has its origin in the Colonial Period. It consists of some parranderos, dressed in levita and pumpá (one of them carries the image of the saint, another carries a yellow and red flag) and accompanied  by Cuatro and Maracas. The percussion is achieved with some pieces of animal leather tied to the feet like sandals (called cotizas). They are also accompanied by two impoverished children, dressed in a red and yellow suit (similar to harlequins), who are known as "tucusitos". Holy Cross of Pacairigua. Religious image that is kept in the parish temple of the city of Guatire, Miranda state, Venezuela and that constitutes since the early seventeenth century the religious patron of that city. The cross, made of cedar wood, covered with white paint and gold edges, is two meters high. It is taken  out in procession every year on May 3, the Day of the May Cross at the Catholic Santoral. Media. Television. Several channels are based in this entity, such as: Mira Tv, Telemir, Venezolana de Televisión (the main television channel of the Venezuelan state), Televen, La Tele, Canal i, and Telesur (the main international news channel based in Venezuela). Channels from other states or countries are also transmitted, such as Globovisión and Venevisión. Radio. There are several radio stations, and you can also get the signal from other radio stations in Aragua and Guarico state. Currently in Los Altos Mirandinos there  are, for some time, several radio stations in FM: Latina 98.7 FM (Tropical), La Cima 96.7 FM (Tropical), Miranda 100.1 FM (Tropical), Ciudad 106.1 FM (Tropical), Antena 103.7 (Anglo Hispano), Melao 104.1 FM (Tropical), Panamericana 90.7 (Popular), Frecuencia Feeling 97.1 (Adulto Contemporáneo) among others, but the main ones and with more power are those of Caracas that in their majority have their transmitting plants in the Avila hill, and thanks to this commonly can be listened in great part of the extensive state of Miranda. Written press. Among the newspapers published in the area are the daily Avance de Los  Teques, La Voz de Guarenas and La Región, which covers the Alto Mirandinos, the metropolitan area, Guarenas and Guatire, also in the Valles del Tuy circulates the daily Noticias del Tuy. Other regional newspapers include "Avance" and Ciudad Petare (in that Caracas parish). In this state is also the headquarters of El Nacional newspaper, one of the most important in the country. Politics and government. The state of Miranda (as a federal entity) has its own charter, the Constitution of the State of Miranda, which is the basis of the state's legal system and was approved in 2006. Its  current governor is Hector Rodriguez. Executive Power. The executive branch is composed of a governor and a council of secretaries who assist him in the management of government and are freely appointed and removable officials. The governor is elected by the people by direct and secret vote for a period of four years with the possibility of re-election for new periods, being in charge of the state administration. Until 1988, the governor was appointed by the president of the republic. In 1989, the first direct regional elections were held in the country. The current governor is Hector Rodriguez. He  was elected on October 15, 2017 with 52.78% of the votes. Legislative power. The Legislative Power is represented by the unicameral Legislative Council of the State of Miranda, elected by the people through a direct and secret vote every four years. They can be re-elected for new consecutive periods, under a system of proportional representation of the population of the state and its municipalities. The PSUV currently has 15 legislators and since the 2012 regional elections the PSUV has a majority of 8 legislators against 7 from the Democratic Unity Table. The President of the Legislative Council is Legislator  Aurora Morales and the Vice President is Legislator Miguel Mora . Police. Miranda State has its own autonomous police force based on Article 164 of the 1999 Venezuelan Constitution, which is known as Polimiranda (Miranda State Police), created in 1996 as the Autonomous Police Institute of Miranda State. Its current director is Major General Regulo Argotte Prieto.