Before the arrival of the Spanish conquest, theKaingang,Charrua andGuaraní lived in a big area that also covered most of the current province of Corrientes. The city of Corrientes was founded on 3 April 1588 byJuan Torres de Vera y Aragón as a mid-stop betweenAsunción andBuenos Aires; the city flourished thanks to the traffic from the route.Jesuits erectedmissions in the north of the province, where they dedicated themselves to the expansion of the faith.In the wars of independence from Spain, Corrientes joinedArtigas'Liga de los Pueblos Libres (1814–1820). The attack of Paraguayan forces on the province in 1865 marked the start of theWar of the Triple Alliance.
Corrientes is legendary in the world ofphilately for the postage stamps it issued from 1856 to 1880. These are among the very early or "classic" postage stamps of the world (thefirst, from Great Britain, were issued in 1840;those by the United States in 1847). The Corrientes stamps were close copies of thefirst issue of stamps from France, which depicted the profile head ofCeres, the Roman goddess of agriculture, and were individually crudely engraved by hand, so that eachdie is noticeably different, and were printed in small sheets. The first issues, from 1856 to 1860, bore the denomination in the lower panel; in 1860, the value panel was erased; the different denominations thereafter being indicated by the color of the paper used. As locally produced "primitives", the early Corrientes stamps have long been prized by collectors. After 1880,stamps of Argentina were used.[4]
For much of the 19th and 20th centuries, politics in Corrientes were dominated by the Romero Feris family, prominent local landowners who still control most of the province'stobacco output. During most of this time, the Romero Ferises created one of Argentina's most bloated government payrolls (over 10% of total employment) and suppressed dissent and efforts at even modest land reform. Following contentious election results in 1991, however, public protest forced PresidentCarlos Menem to remove Governor Raúl "Tato" Romero Feris from office and, though he was elected mayor of the province's capital in 1997, Romero Feris was ultimately indicted for embezzlement of public funds in 1999. He was sentenced to seven years in prison in May 2002.[5]
Corrientes had a significant impact in national politics in subsequent years. AUCR-led alliance defeated the Romero Feris machine in the 2001 governor's race, but the Corrientes UCR's continued support for PresidentNéstor Kirchner led to a rebuke from the national committee of the UCR itself, and this triggered a revolt from the Corrientes chapter of the party, as well as a number of others' (notably inMendoza Province). These differences led to the appearance that year of"K" Radicals – UCR governors and other lawmakers allied to President Kirchner.[6]
The northeastern tip of Corrientes Province was chosen as the site forYacyretá Dam following an agreement between PresidentJuan Perón and Paraguayan PresidentAlfredo Stroessner in 1974. Yacyretá, whose 20-year-long construction and US$11 billion cost far exceeded initial estimates, is one of the largesthydroelectric dams in the world. Currently, an agreement is being pursued withParaguay which would allow reservoir expansion works that could double the facility's current installed electric capacity of 4,050 MW.[7]
Woman parading in the Corrientescarnival in 2012.Corrientes Historical Museum.
Culture in Corrientes has been primarily informed and influenced by its European (Spanish andVolga German) andGuarani roots; an example of this is thechamamé genre of music.
On 22 October 2004, Provincial Law No. 5598 (Decree 2326/2004) declaredGuaraní to be anofficial language of Corrientes, alongside Spanish.[8] It was the first Argentine province to officialize a language other than Spanish, followed in 2010 byChaco.[9]
Corrientes is surrounded by two rivers – theUruguay River to the east, and theParaná River to the northwest – that contour the shape of the province. The low shore of the Paraná produces frequent floodings. After a specially destructive one in 1982, a protective system has been started with the construction of barriers.
The province is for the most part aplain, with the highest points in the east. To the west, a series of descending platforms go down to the Paraná River. TheIberá Wetlands, an area oflagoons andswamps, is a vastdepression fromvolcanic flow, covered later withfluvial andeolic sediments.
The climate is predominantlysubtropical with no dry season.[10] The mean annual temperature is 20 °C (68 °F) with monthly mean temperatures ranging from 14 °C (57 °F) in July to 26 °C (79 °F) in January.[11] Temperatures are hot for most of the year while precipitation is abundant and evenly distributed throughout the year.[10] There are four seasons: winter, spring, summer, and autumn.[10] Winters are short although occasional incursions of cold, polar air from the south can produce frosts.[10] In contrast, temperatures during summer can reach to 35 to 40 °C (95 to 104 °F).[10] Mean annual precipitation ranges from 1,100 to 1,900 millimetres (43 to 75 in) which decreases from northeast to southwest.[10] Autumn is the rainiest season while winter is the driest.[11]
Corrientes, like much of the Argentine north, has long had a relatively underdeveloped economy. Its 2006 output was estimated at US$4.2 billion (which shall be around US$6.7 billion in 2011, according to Argentina's economic growth), or, US$4,540 per capita (around US$6,600 in 2011), nearly 40% below the national average.[13]
Bovine cattle has problems standing the heat and the low quality of the grass specially in the north of the province. For that reason, theBrangus breed is the most common in the area. In the south, different breeds can be found. 70,000 km2 of the province's land are used for more than 4 million heads of cattle.
Among Corrientes' productive (non-services) activities,tobacco and its processing earns 45% of the province's gross income, food and derivates, 30%, andtextiles, 16%.
On the Paraná River, near the city ofItuzaingó, theYaciretá dam provides energy not only to the province, but to both Argentina andParaguay.
Tourism has been growing in Corrientes Province due to the relevance thatEsteros del Ibera has forecotourism and birdwatching travelers.Iberá National Park was created in 2018.Golden dorado fishing has long attracted both local and outside tourism to Corrientes.
The provincial government is divided into the usual three branches: the executive, headed by a popularly elected governor, who appoint the cabinet; the legislative; and the judiciary, headed by the Supreme Court. The legislative branch is abicameral body composed of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. The Legislature is charged with introducing and passing local laws.
^Ley No. 6604de la Provincia de Chaco, 28 de julio de 2010, B.O., (9092)
^abcdef"Clima" (in Spanish). Dirección de Estadística y Censos de la Provincia de Corrientes. Archived fromthe original on 26 May 2016. Retrieved29 March 2017.
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