- Mizque Province
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Mizque Province Location of Mizque Province within Bolivia 
General Data Country 
BoliviaDepartament Cochabamba Department Capital Mizque Municipalities 3 Cantons 10 Area 2,730 km² Elevation m Population 36,181 (2001) Density 13.3 inhabitants/km² (2001) Sub-prefect Languages Quechua, Spanish ISO 3166-2 BO.CB.MZ Cochabamba Department 
Mizque (from Quechua: misk'i, meaning "sweet") is a province in the Cochabamba Department, Bolivia. Its capital is Mizque.
The province, in 1992, had a population of 27,959 inhabitants, mostly indigenous citizens of Quechuan descent. In 2001, the population increased to 36,181 inhabitants and it was estimated at 41,062 in 2005. [1].
Contents
Subdivision
The province is divided into three municipalities which are further subdivided into ten cantons.
Section Municipality Inhabitants[2] Seat Inhabitants [3] Cantons 1st Mizque 26,659 Mizque 2.677 Cauta, Mizque, Molinero, Taboada, Tin Tin, Vicho Vicho 2nd Vila Vila 4,591 Vila Vila 426 Siquimira, Vila Vila 3rd Alalay 4.931 Alalay 638 Alalay, Ayapampa Geography
Mizque Province is home to a great diversity of ecoregions because it contains a wide variety of topographic features with heights ranging between 2,000 and 3,600 m. The province belongs to the Julpe-Mizque basin with an area of 3,845 km².
The main rivers are:
- Mizque River, 75 km
- Julpe River, 60 km
- Uyuchama River, 50 km
- Tujma River, 45 km
- Kari Kari River, 42 km
- Vicho Vicho River, 32 km
Although there is a large amount of superficial and sub-superficial water within the province, the zone is suffering from drought due to the lack of irrigation systems.
Climate
The climate is dry. There are a few irregular rainfalls and long periods of drought. The medium annual temperature varies between 16 to 18 °C. During the rainy season ("summer"), corresponding to the months from December to March, the province receives 87 % of the annual precipitation, in December and January alone 57 %, often occurring as hailstorms. During the dry season ("winter") the temperature goes down radically and snowfalls occur. The annual precipitation is between 300 and 700 mm, reaching 507 mm annually on an average.
Flora
The semiarid and arid regions are covered with plants which are tolerant towards dry conditions. 75 % of the total area of Mizque Province is cultivated.
Fauna
Red-fronted Macaw Ara rubrogenys
The Red-fronted Macaws (Ara rubrogenys), endemic to a small mountainous area of Bolivia, can be observed in Mizque. This species is considered to be endangered due to intense agriculture activity which has reduced its habitat. The problem is that the peasants of some zones look upon them as a plague because they raid the maize in the fields. There is a chance that they might be regarded as one of the tourist attractions of the region [4].
The People
The majority of the population of the Mizque Province lives in the rural area in communities far apart from each other. The lack of good roads makes trade and providing services difficult. The land in some areas is quite dry and not appropriate for farming. That may be some of the reasons why the Human Development Index in the municipalities of Mizque is among the lowest in Bolivia (0.365, 0.400 and 0.460), placing them in the positions 284 (Mizque), 305 (Vila Vila) and 298 (Alalay) out of 314 municipalities [5].
The conditions of life are especially critical in the puna and remote communities. The level of income of a peasant family in the high zones or in the dryland is estimated at 200 - 250 US-$ per year.
Some data [6]:
Mizque Province Municipality Mizque Vila Vila Alalay Nacional ranking (out of 314) 284 305 298 Human Development Index (2001) 0.430 0.365 0.400 Life Expectancy Index 0.453 0.394 0.540 Education Index 0.509 0.454 0.440 Life expectancy (years) 52.2 48.7 57.4 Literacy of adults (% of 15 years old and more) 61.4 55.9 66.2 Average years of schooling 3.1 2.1 2.8 Population census 2001 26,659 4,591 4,931 Percentage of rural population 90.0% 100.0% 100.0% There are 182 rural communities within the territory of the province situated in heights between 2,000 m in the template valleys and 3,600 m in the puna.
Language
The predominant language is Quechua, spoken by 32,212 inhabitants and about 11,482 inhabitants are bilingual. They can speak Spanish as well. The following table shows the number of those belonging to the recognized group of speakers. [7]
Language Mizque Municipality Vila Vila Municipality Alalay Municipality Quechua 24.212 4.229 4.529 Aymara 172 11 12 Guaraní 8 5 9 Another native 10 2 1 Spanish 8.378 789 1.002 Foreign 41 6 4 Only native 16.499 3.493 3.549 Native and Spanish 7.753 742 987 Only Spanish 626 47 15 Economy
The economic activity is concentrated on agriculture and animal husbandry and to a minor extent on mining and crafts. The most important sectors in agriculture are the cultivation of potatoes, maize, wheat, peanuts, barley and onions.
Festivals and Fairs
- 2nd week in May: Fruit fair in Mizque, 1 day
- July 16: Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Alalay, 3 days
- September 8 - 14: Our Lord of Burgos (Señor de Burgos) in Mizque, 7 days
- September 23 - 25: Virgen Mestiza de Shikimira in Vila Vila, 3 days
References
- ^ www.ine.gov.bo
- ^ www.enlared.org.bo
- ^ world-gazetteer.com
- ^ www.pieb.com.bo (Spanish)
- ^ cdteca.enlared.org.bo (Spanish)
- ^ Informe sobre Desarollo Humano (Spanish)
- ^ obd.descentralizacion.gov.bo (Spanish)
- Global Program of Development (Spanish)
External links
- Map of Mizque Province
- Education: Statistical Data of Mizque Municipality
- Education: Statistical Data of Vila Vila Municipality
- Education: Statistical Data of Alalay Municipality
- Mizque and Campero Province
Cochabamba Department 
Capital: Cochabamba Provinces Arani • Arque • Ayopaya • Bolívar • Capinota • Carrasco • Cercado • Chapare • Esteban Arce •Germán Jordán • Mizque • Narciso Campero • Punata •Quillacollo • Tapacarí • Tiraque
Municipalities (and seats) Aiquile (Aiquile) • Alalay (Alalay) • Anzaldo (Anzaldo) • Arani (Arani) • Arbieto (Arbieto) • Arque (Arque) • Ayopaya (Ayopaya) • Bolívar (Bolívar) • Capinota (Capinota) • Chimoré (Chimoré) • Cliza (Cliza) • Cocapata (Cocapata) • Cochabamba (Cochabamba) • Colcapirhua (Colcapirhua) • Colomi (Colomi) • Cuchumuela (Cuchumuela) • Entre Ríos Municipality (Entre Ríos) Mizque (Mizque) • Morochata (Morochata) • Omereque (Omereque) • Pasorapa (Pasorapa) • Pocona (Pocona) • Pojo (Pojo) • Puerto Villarroel (Puerto Villarroel) • Punata (Punata) • Quillacollo (Quillacollo) • Sacaba (Sacaba) • Sacabamba (Sacabamba) • San Benito (San Benito) • Santiváñez (Santiváñez) • Shinahota (Shinahota) • Sicaya (Sicaya) • Sipe Sipe (Sipe Sipe) • Tacachi (Tacachi) • Tacopaya (Tacopaya) • Tapacarí (Tapacarí) • Tarata (Tarata) • Tiquipaya (Tiquipaya) • Tiraque (Tiraque) • Toco (Toco) • Tolata (Tolata) • Totora (Totora) • Vacas (Vacas) • Vila Vila (Vila Vila) • Villa Rivero (Villa Rivero) • Villa Tunari (Villa Tunari) • Vinto (Vinto)Categories:
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