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Pando Department

Department of Bolivia


Department of Bolivia

FieldValue
namePando
native_nameDepartamento de Pando (Spanish)
native_name_langes
settlement_typeDepartment
image_skylineM%C3%BCndung_des_R%C3%ADo_Manupare.jpg
image_altMeeting of Waters, Manuripi and Madre de Dios Rivers, Near Sena, Bolivia
image_captionMeeting of Waters, Manuripi and Madre de Dios Rivers, Near Sena, Bolivia
image_flagFlag of Pando.svg
flag_size100px
flag_altFlag of the Pando Department
image_shieldESCUDO DEL DEPARTAMENTO DE PANDO - BOLIVIA.png
motto"Trabajo Industria Progreso"
"Work, Industry, Progress"
anthemTierra santa, vestida de gloria
Holy land, dressed in glory
image_mapPando in Bolivia.svg
map_altMap indicating the Pando Department within Bolivia
map_captionPando Department (red) within Bolivia.
parts_typeProvinces
parts5
established_titleEstablished
established_dateSeptember 24, 1938
named_forJosé Manuel Pando
seat_typeCapital
seatCobijaa
governing_bodyDepartmental Legislative Assembly of Pando
leader_partyMTS
leader_titleGovernor
leader_nameRegis Germán Richter
leader_title1Vice Governor
leader_name1Ana Paula Valenzuela
leader_title2Senators
leader_name24 of 36
leader_title3Deputies
leader_name35 of 130
area_rank5th in Bolivia
area_total_km263827
area_note5.82% of Bolivia
population_total130,761
population_as_of2024 census
population_density_km2auto
population_blank1_title% of Bolivia
population_blank11.0
population_blank2_titleRank
population_blank29th in Bolivia
timezone1BOT
utc_offset1-4
area_code+(591) 3
iso_codeBO-N
blank_name_sec1Official language
blank_info_sec1Spanish
blank_name_sec2Abbreviations
blank_info_sec2PA
blank1_name_sec2HDI (2019)
blank1_info_sec20.743
· 2nd of 9
<!-- GDP --->blank3_nameGDP (2023)
blank3_infoin constant Dollar of 2015
blank4_name- Total
blank4_infoUS$ 0.5 billion
Int$ 1.1 billion (PPP)
blank5_name- Per capita
blank5_infoUS$ 2,900
Int$ 6,700 (PPP)
website
footnotesa. Also largest city.

"Work, Industry, Progress" Holy land, dressed in glory · 2nd of 9 Int$ 1.1 billion (PPP) Int$ 6,700 (PPP)

Pando is a department in Northern Bolivia, with an area of 63,827 km2, in the Amazon rainforest, adjoining the border with Brazil and Perú. Pando has a population of 130,761 (2024 census). Its capital is the city of Cobija.

The department, named after former president José Manuel Pando (1899–1905), is divided into five provinces. Although Pando is rich in natural resources, the poverty level of its inhabitants is high, due largely to the lack of roads effectively linking the province to the rest of the country. In addition, residents suffer from debilitating effects of tropical diseases, typical of life in the Amazonian rain forest. The main economic activities are agriculture, timber, and cattle.

At an altitude of 280 metres above sea level in the northwestern jungle region, Pando is located in the rainiest part of Bolivia. Pando has a hot climate, with temperatures commonly above 26 degrees Celsius (80 Fahrenheit). It is the least populous department in Bolivia, the most tropical (lying closest to the Equator in the Amazonian Basin), and the most isolated, due to an absence of effective roads. It was organized at the beginning of the 20th century from what was left of the Acre Territory, lost to Brazil as a result of the so-called Acre War (1903). Its capital city of Cobija (the smallest of all the Bolivian departmental capitals) was named after the much-lamented Bolivian port of the same name on the Pacific Ocean, part of an area lost to Chile following the War of the Pacific.

Although remote, Pando is densely forested and close to navigable waterways leading to the Amazon River and from there on to the Atlantic Ocean. The department had a rubber boom in the late 19th century and early 20th century, along with the northern part of the nearby Beni department. The local industry collapsed under competition with rubber cultivated in Southeast Asia, as well as the discovery and manufacture of synthetic rubber.

Culturally, the Pandinos are considered part of the so-called Camba culture of the Bolivian lowlands, similar to the people of the country's other two tropical departments, Beni and Santa Cruz. Many of Pando's original settlers moved from nearby Beni.

Autonomy movement

Far from the centers of power in Bolivian society, Pando has recently linked its fate with that of Santa Cruz and Beni, which (along with Tarija and Chuquisaca) are demanding increased autonomy for the departments, with a lessening in central government power. Prefect Leopoldo Fernández strongly backed autonomy for the department, in alliance with other governors of the eastern media luna (half-moon, so known for their combined geographic shape). Nationwide referendums on autonomy held on July 2, 2006, were approved in all four departments. A second referendum to approve a statute of autonomy was held by each department in mid-2008, despite being declared illegal by the National Electoral Court in March. Left-wing and pro-Morales social movements boycotted the votes.

Pando's referendum, held on June 1, 2008, won 82% approval among those who voted. But 46.5% of the registered electorate did not vote, the highest abstention rate in the four departments holding such referendums. Considerable social unrest took place in 2008, culminating with the arrest in September 2008 of Prefect Leopoldo Fernández, stemming from the massacre at El Porvenir of anti-autonomy backers of President Evo Morales.

Provinces of Pando

  • Abuná
  • Federico Román
  • Madre de Dios
  • Manuripi
  • Nicolás Suárez

Government

Executive offices

The chief executive office of Bolivia departments (since May 2010) is the governor; until then, the office was called the prefect, and until 2006 the prefect was appointed by the President of Bolivia. The current governor, Regis Germán Richter of the MTS was elected on 11 April 2021 after winning the second round of the regional election.

Took officeOffice expiredPrefect/GovernorPartyNotes
24 Jan 200616 Sep 2008Leopoldo Fernández FerreiraPODEMOSFirst elected prefect. Elected in Bolivian general election, December 2005, removed from office.
16 Sep 200830 May 2010Landelino Rafael Bandeira Arze (interim)IndependentAppointed via presidential decree No. 29712, after Leopoldo Fernández was arrested for his role in the Porvenir massacre.
30 May 201024 Dec 2014Luís Adolfo Flores RobertsMAS-IPSPElected in the first round of the regional election on 4 April 2010; first governor.
24 Dec 201431 May 2015Edgar Polanco Tirina (interim)MAS-IPSP
31 May 20153 Nov 2020Luís Adolfo Flores RobertsMAS-IPSPElected in the first round of the regional election on 29 March 2015.
3 Nov 20203 May 2021Paola Terrazas Justiniano (interim)MAS-IPSP
3 May 2021Regis Germán Richter AlencarMTSElected in a run-off election on 11 April 2021 during the regional elections.

Legislative Assembly

Under the 2009 Constitution, a Departmental Legislative Assembly was instituted for each Bolivian department. The first elections hereunto were held on 4 April 2010. The legislature has 21 members. Its current composition, per the last regional election, is 13 seats for the MAS-IPSP, 3 for indigenous representatives, 2 for the Democratic Integration Community and one each for MTS, Movimiento Democrático Autonomista and We Are All Pando.

The current executive committee was determined per vote on 2 May 2022, selecting Olga Feliciano Ampuero as president, Almir Flores Muzumbite as vice-president, Josué Olmos Quetehuari as secretary and Keila Tirina Peralta and Georgina Ribero Chao as first and second committee member, respectively.

Demographics

|graph-pos = bottom |graph-width = |graph-height = |1976 |34,493 |1992 |38,072 |2001 |52,525 |2012 |110,436 |2024 |130,761

Languages

The predominant language in the department is Spanish. The following table shows the number of those belonging to the recognized group of speakers.

LanguagePandoBolivia
Quechua1,7082,281,198
Aymara1,8481,525,321
Guaraní3562,575
Another native86149,432
Spanish45,9696,821,626
Foreign7,719250,754
Only native336960,491
Native and Spanish3,6762,739,407
Spanish and foreign44,4914,115,751

Places of interest

  • Manuripi-Heath Amazonian Wildlife National Reserve
  • International Recreational Fishing Championship of Puerto Rico, Pando, Bolivia
  • El Chivé
  • Porvenir (Pando)

References

References

  1. "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab".
  2. "TelluBase—BoliviaFact Sheet (Tellusant Public Service Series)". Tellusant.
  3. "Pando (Department, Bolivia) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location".
  4. (April 17, 2008). "Illegal autonomy referendum deepens division in Bolivia". Andean Information Network.
  5. [http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/americas/news/article_1408718.php/Two_more_Bolivian_provinces_favour_more_autonomy__Roundup_ "Two more Bolivian provinces favour more autonomy"] {{webarchive. link. (2008-06-05 , ''Monsters & Critics'', 2 June 2008.)
  6. Chavez, Franz. (2008-09-16). "Governor Arrested for "Porvenir Massacre"". [[Inter Press Service]].
  7. "Gobernador de Pando, Regis Richter". eabolivia.com.
  8. "Bolivia | Decreto Presidencial No 29712 del 20 Septiembre 2008".
  9. (20 September 2008). "Evo Morales designó al prefecto interino de Pando". canal26.com.
  10. "Olga Feliciano nueva presidenta de la Asamblea Departamental de Pando".
  11. "Bolivia: Provinces".
  12. [http://obd.descentralizacion.gob.bo/departamental/fichas/ obd.descentralizacion.gov.bo]{{dead link. (March 2018)
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