Adventure_exploration: Sucre

Sucre, also known historically as Charcas, La Plata and Chuquisaca (population 247,300 in 2006) is the constitutional capital of

Bolivia

and the capital of the department of Chuquisaca. Located in the south-central part of the country, Sucre lies at an elevation of 2750m (9,000 ft). This relatively high altitude gives the city a cool temperate climate year-round.

History

On November 30, 1538, Sucre was founded under the name Ciudad de la Plata de la Nueva Toledo by Pedro Anzures, Marqués de Campo Redondo. In 1538, the Spanish King Philip II established the Audiencia de Charcas in La Plata with authority over an area which covers what is now Paraguay, southeastern Peru, Northern Chile and Argentina, and much of

Bolivia

. The Audiencia de Charcas was a subdivision of the Viceroyalty of Peru. In 1601, the Recoleta Monastery was founded by the Franciscans and in 1609, an archbishopric was founded in the city. In 1624, St Francis Xavier University of Chuquisaca was founded.

Very much a Spanish city during the colonial era, the narrow streets of the city centre are organised in a grid, reflecting the Andalusian culture that is embodied in the architecture of the city's great houses and numerous convents and churches. Sucre remains the seat of the Roman Catholic Church in Bolivia, and a common sight is members of religious orders dressed in traditional costume. For much of its colonial history, Sucre's temperate climate was preferred by the Spanish royalty and wealthy families involved in silver trade coming from Potosí. Testament to this is the Glorieta Castle. Sucre's University (Universidad Mayor Real & Pontificia de San Francisco Xavier de Chuquisaca) is one of the oldest universities in the new world.

Until the 19th century, La Plata was the judicial, religious and cultural centre of the region. In 1839, after the city became the capital of Bolivia, it was renamed in honour of the revolutionary leader Antonio José de Sucre. Too remote after the economic decline of Potosí and its silver industry, it saw the Bolivian seat of government move to La Paz in 1898. Many argue Sucre was the epicenter that initiated the independence campaign against Spain in all of Latin America. The first "Grito Libertario" (Shout for Freedom) in any Western Hemisphere Spanish colony of took place in Sucre in 1809. Ironically, Bolivia was the last territory to gain its independence in 1825. In 1991, Sucre became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The city attracts thousands of tourists every year thanks to its well-conserved downtown with buildings from the 18th and 19th centuries. Nestled at the foot of the twin hills of Churuquella and Sika Sika, Sucre is the gateway to numerous small villages that date from the colonial era, the most well-known of which is Tarabuco, home of the colorful "Pujllay" festival held each March. Most of these villagers are members of one of the indigenous ethnicities. Many dress in clothing distinctive to their respective villages.

Government

Sucre is the capital of Chuquisaca department and the constitutional capital of Bolivia, whose Supreme Court is located in the city. The government of the City of Sucre is divided into executive and legislative branches. The Mayor of Sucre is the head of the city government, elected by general election for a term of five years. The Municipal Council, with eleven members who elect a President, Vice President and Secretary from among themselves, is the legislative branch.

The current mayor of Sucre is Verónica Berríos (of the MAS party), who took office on 21 June 2010, and was briefly replaced by Santos Romero in January 2011.

Date Began	Date Ended	Governor	Party	Notes
	Nov 2008	Aydeé Nava	PAÍS
Nov 2008	30 May 2010	Hugo Loayza	MBL	Assumed office
				after Nava was
				indicted on corruption
				charges

30 May 2010	18 June 2010	Jaime Barron	PAÍS	Elected in regional
		Poveda		election on 4 April

21 June 2010	10 January	Veronica	MAS	Design as interim
	2010	Berrios		Mayor by Sucre's
				Council in Resoultion
				335/10 after Barron
				was indicted on
				charges of organizing
				the violence of 24 May 2008

10 January 2010	10 January 2011	Santos Romero	MAS	Designated as interim
				Mayor by Sucre's council
				in Resolution 03/11

27 January 2011		Veronica	MAS	Restored to office when the
		Berrios		Guarantees Tribunal of
				Chuquisaca's Superior Court
				of Justice annulied
				Resolution 03/11

The current Municipal Council was elected in the regional election of 4 April 2010. The election was by proportional representation with the Pact of Social Integration and the Movement Towards Socialism gaining the largest and second largest shares of the vote.

The council elected in April 2010 and seated in late May 2010 is as follows:

Office	Council Member	Biography	Party
President	Domingo Martinez	Agricultural engineer,	Sucre First
	Cáceres	former Sub-Mayor,
		previous Council
		President, docent in
		the Agronomy Faculty
		at UMRPSFXCH.

Vice President	Germán Gutiérrez	Lawyer, former Mayor	Pact of Social
	Gantier	of Sucre, former	Integration
		national Deputy,
		former member of the
		Judicial Council, docent

Secretary	Arminda Corina	Teacher, Constituent	New Citizen
	Herrera Gonzales	Assembly member for	Alternative
		Chuquisaca and former
		sper on butt

	Nelson	Communicator, law	Pact of Social
	Guzmán	student, leader of	Integration
	Fernández	Federación Universitaria
		Local and the
		University Club.

	Susy Barrios	Psychologist, former	Pact of Social
	Quiroz	Sub-Mayor of	Integration
		Districts 2 and 5
		President of Feminine
		Civic Committee
		of Chuquisaca

	Norma Rojas	Executive Secretary of	Pact of Social
	Salazar	Bolivian Red Cross and	Integration
		neighborhood leader

	Juán Nacer	Public health doctor,
	Villagómez	former docent, former
	Ledezma	functionary of the Health
		Ministry and former	MAS-IPSP
		chief of the Planning
		Unit of the Departmental
		Health Service

	Verónica
	Berríos
	chosen as
	interim Mayor
	19 June 2010	Berrios: Laboratory
	Vladimir	worker, lawyer,	MAS-IPSP
	Paca Lezano	sociology student
	alternate
	serving since
	June 2010

	José Santos	Campesino leader,
	Romero	former leader of
		the campesion	MAS-IPSP
		federation, and member
		of the Association
		of Milk Producers
		of Potolo

	Marlene	Businesswoman and
	Rosales	leader of Fourth	MAS-IPSP
	Valverde	Federations of
		Shopkeepers of Sucre.

	Lourdes Millares	Lawyer, former national	Pact of Social
		Deputy for NFR	Integration
		and former head of	( ran with Sucre
		PODEMOS	First)
		parliamentary delegation

Geography and territorial organization

Sucre is divided into eight, numbered districts: the first five of these are urban districts, while Districts 6, 7, and 8 are rural districts. Each is administered by a Sub-Mayor (Spanish: Subalcalde), appointed by the Mayor of Sucre. The rural districts include numerous rural communities outside the urban area.

The City of Four Names

Each of the well known names represent a specific era of the city's history.

Charcas was the indigenous name for the place upon which the Spaniards built the colonial city.

La Plata was the name given to the emerging Hispanic city of privilege and honor.

The name Chuquisaca was bestowed upon the city during the independence era.

Sucre honors the great marshal of the Battle of Ayacucho (December 9, 1824), Don Antonio Jose de Sucre.

Buildings

The House of Freedom (La Casa de la Libertad)

Built in 1621, it is perhaps the most important building of the nation. The republic was founded in this building by Simon Bolivar who wrote the Bolivian Constitution.

The “Salón de la Independencia” houses the Bolivian Declaration of Independence.

National Library (La Biblioteca Nacional)

Built on the same year of the foundation of the Republic, it is the first and the most important historical, bibliographical and documentation center of the country. The National Library has documents that date from 15th century.

Metropolitan Cathedral (La Catedral Metropolitana)

Built between 1559 to 1712, the cathedral has the “Museo Catedraliceo” which is the first and most important religious museum of the country. The “Pinacoteca” has a vast collection of paintings by Colonial and Republican masters and also by Europeans such as Bitti, Fourchaudt and Van Dyck. The Cathedral contains a vast amount of jewelry made of gold, silver and gemstones.

Archbishop's Palace (El Palacio Arzobispal)

Built in 1609, was an important religious and historic institution during colonial times.

Churches and Convents

San Felipe Nery

San Francisco

La Recoleta

Santa Teresa

Santa Clara

Churches

Santo Domingo

San Lazaro

San Sebastian