Tachira State

Táchira is a state of Venezuela, its capital is San Cristóbal and it is located in the west of the country, in the Andes region. It limits to the north with Zulia, to the northeast with Mérida, to the south with Barinas and Apure, and to the west with the Republic of Colombia. With an extension of 11,100 km², it is the eighth smallest state and, with 1,255,869 inhabitants in 2017, it is the ninth most populous.

It is made up of 29 autonomous municipalities and 66 civil parishes. Among its main cities are San Cristóbal, Táriba, Rubio, La Grita, San Antonio del Táchira, La Fría, Santa Ana del Táchira, Capacho Nuevo San Juan de Colon and Capacho Viejo. Its average temperature is between 10 and 25 °C.

Toponymy

Possible origins have been identified for the word Táchira, thus, one hypothesis affirms that the word is an indigenous word —based on Chibcha dialects— made up of three particles: ta, «farming» (as a root), chi, «ours, which belongs to us» and the suffix rá, «element that expresses place, moment or position (...)” with respect to the future. Thus, it would roughly mean a term like: "The land that shall be our inheritance" or "The land of our inheritance".

On the other hand, it is believed that Táchira comes from a Chibcha word from the term “tachure”, which identifies a purple dyeing plant that has medicinal uses, known as name of tun-túa or sibidigua (Jatropha gossypiifolia). ^{[citation required]}

History

Inhabited mainly by groups of Timote, Cuica, and Chibcha origin such as the Machirí, Umuquena and Táriba, the territory was extensively colonized in the 19th century XVI.

Timeline

With the founding of San Cristóbal in 1561 by Captain Juan Maldonado Ordóñez y Villaquirán and La Grita in 1576 by Francisco de Cáceres, agricultural exploitation of the area began, which gave rise to the creation of new settlements. Since its founding in 1576, La Grita was the capital of the Province of La Grita, so the importance of this city was paramount in the region until the arrival of European trading companies in the state, which settled mainly in the most accessible and best-connected San Cristobal.

In 1781 Juan José García de Hevia led the Insurrection of the Communards of the Andes, a revolutionary anti-colonial movement that sought to liberate Venezuela from the colonialism of the Spanish Empire, seeking tax reductions.

During the Venezuelan War of Independence, Simón Bolívar invaded the country through Táchira in his Admirable Campaign.

Despite the progressive population growth of the region, its importance as the main producer of coffee in Venezuela for more than two hundred years and the arrival of important European commercial houses in the XIX, the state remained relatively isolated from the rest of the country, the cultural influence received from Colombia being greater for many years.

In a country that currently depends on an economy based on oil income, Táchira had the privilege of having the first oil exploitation wells in Venezuela. At the end of the XIX century, the national oil industry was born in the place now called La Petrolia.

In 1895, the Gran Ferrocarril del Táchira was inaugurated. Its construction began in 1893 with an extension of 105 kilometers between La Fría and Encontrados to mobilize the large coffee harvests from Tachira.

In 1899, Cipriano Castro began the invasion of Venezuela from the State of Táchira with an armed group confronting the regime of Ignacio Andrade, after the revolution was victorious, Castro became president of the republic. The successive presidents of Venezuela of Tachirense origin began a process of greater integration of the state into the country with the construction of better communication routes and the implementation of control measures on the state's agricultural trade, which was almost entirely exported.

On August 21, 2015, the president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, partially declared a state of exception in the state of Táchira, due to the diplomatic crisis with Colombia, through which five municipal entities are affected by the presidential measure.

Land History

• In 1856 he was part of the Province of Táchira within the territories of La Grita, Lobatera, San Antonio and San Cristobal.

• In 1863 he acquired the status of State, which was ratified in 1864 when he became an independent state of the United States of Venezuela.

• Between 1867 and 1868 he was part of the Zulia State.

• In 1881, when the country was divided into 9 States, it was joined, together with Guzmán (Mérida) and Trujillo, the Grand State Los Andes.

• In 1899, the State Los Andes and Táchira was dissolved and its status as an independent State which it maintained until today.

• It has remained a state since 1899, although as well as other states in Venezuela it did not achieve full autonomy but in the early 1990s.

Land of rulers

Juan Vicente Gómez, his mandate has been the longest in Venezuelan history, 27 years.

Seven Venezuelan presidents originate from Táchira State, most of whom ruled for much of the XX century, Cipriano Castro, Juan Vicente Gómez, Eleazar López Contreras, Isaías Medina Angarita, Marcos Pérez Jiménez, Carlos Andrés Pérez and Ramón José Velázquez

Cipriano Castro, born in Táchira, entered Venezuela in a military campaign to seize power in the so-called Restorative Revolution, which would take place in 1899; Castro would govern until his friend and comrade in arms Juan Vicente Gómez, also from Tachirán, betrayed him and seized power in 1908. As president, Gómez would govern Venezuela for 27 years, taking advantage of the thrust of the nascent oil industry; Gómez turned agricultural and coffee-growing Venezuela into one of the main oil-exporting nations. He would govern until his death in 1935. With the end of the Gómez government, in 1936, it is Eleazar López Contreras who takes his place, his government is affected by demonstrations and strikes. López Contreras is responsible for the creation of the Museum of Fine Arts in Caracas and the creation of the National Guard in 1936. Another native of Tachira, General Isaías Medina Angarita, succeeded him in 1941. He was a pacifist democrat who legalized political parties and promoted freedom of expression, created the Identification System and established the Venezuelan Social Security Institute (IVSS), also began the urban development of modern Caracas, such as the urban and commercial complex of El Silencio. He was overthrown by a coup promoted by AD and the military led by Marcos Pérez Jiménez, dissatisfied with his liberal and progressive policies.

Marcos Pérez Jiménez, from Michelena, would govern Venezuela dictatorially for 6 years until January 23, 1958, being deposed by a coup; Although important infrastructure works were carried out under his mandate, serious human rights violations were also committed.

Carlos Andrés Pérez, president who nationalized the iron and oil industries, creating PDVSA and other companies that would be in charge of all oil, iron and other operations in Venezuela, ruled the country for two periods (1974-1979 and 1989-1993), he was the first of the Tachirense presidents to be elected by universal, direct and secret suffrage. In his second government, he became the first president in the democratic history of Venezuela to be removed from office by an opinion of the Congress of the Republic accused of corruption. In Pérez's place would go Ramón José Velásquez, who would be provisional president for a brief period between 1993 and 1994.

State Foundation

San Cristóbal, capital of the Táchira State of Venezuela, was founded on March 31, 1561 by the Captain of the Spanish army Juan Maldonado Ordóñez y Villauirán. San Cristóbal, located in the Venezuelan Andes, is also known as the City of Cordiality, and its proximity to the Colombian border is only 57 km.

When the conquistadors began to explore the lands of the New World and arrived in the valley where the city of San Cristóbal is located in 1547, they met several indigenous tribes; In this year, an excursion of Spanish soldiers left from Tocuyo to San Cristóbal led by Alonso Pérez de Tolosa, and resulted in the discovery of the San Cristóbal valley. Years later, in 1558, Juan Rodríguez Suárez explored the Venezuelan Andes, passing through Zulia and Táchira until he reached Mérida and founded it. As Captain Juan Rodríguez Suárez was not authorized to found cities, Captain Juan Maldonado y Ordóñez de Villaquirán was sent to arrest Rodríguez Suárez, also with the authority to found cities, so that on that occasion, he arrived together with 35 soldiers at the Valle de Santiago, on the banks of the Torbes River and founded it under the name of Villa de San Cristóbal on March 31, 1561.

The city was founded on the site where the Auyamas indigenous tribe was located, and was chosen by the conquistadors for being strategically located to defend the recently founded town from the other indigenous tribes.

In order of importance, La Grita ranked first, but in 1856 when the State of Táchira was established, San Cristóbal became its capital. The city adopted Colombian customs for a long time, given its proximity and the isolation in which it found itself, since the communication routes were defective and insufficient, but at the beginning of the century XX the trans-Andean highway was built, which linked the Andes with central Venezuela, bringing the Andean region closer to the rest of the country.

Recent history

On October 15 of the same year, Laidy Gómez was elected governor of Táchira State, belonging to the AD party, becoming the first woman to lead this state. In early April 2018, an outbreak of Chagas disease leaves at least five dead.

Geography

Crossed by the extension of the Andes mountain range from south to northwest, it divides the state into three different regions with a particular climate:

• Circuit of the mountain; in this region are the main urban settlements of the state, the climate is temperate of height in most of the region and high paraamo in the elevations above 3000 m. n. m., with slight variations throughout the year, presents a clear rainy season from May to October. The orography is rugged and influenced by the course of numerous rivers and ravines that form valleys at the base of the mountains, as an example the capital city is settled on the valley of the river Torbes, this area represents most of the surface of the state. The main cities in this area are: San Cristóbal, Táriba, Michelena, Rubio and La Grita.

• Pan American Circuit: This area is located mainly to the north of the state, it shares the climatic characteristics of the southern region of the lake (of Maracaibo), with a tropical climate of Selva, high rainfalls and high temperatures. This region is one of the main livestock production centers in Venezuela. It's on the border of the Zulia and Merida states. The main populations of this region are: La Fría, La Tendida and Coloncito.

• Plain region: a small part of the Venezuelan plains are briefly located in the southeast of the Táchira state, on the border with the Apure and Barinas states, the climate is tropical of savannah, with less humidity than in the Pan-American area, is also a region of high livestock production. Its main populations are: La Pedrera, El Piñal and Abejales.

Climate

The climate presents great variations, mainly due to changes due to altitude, in towns along the road to the plain, in the foothills (El Piñal, San Joaquín de Navay among others), it can reach temperatures of 30 °C as well as than on the Pan-American route (La Fría, Coloncito). In the capital, San Cristóbal, the average daytime temperature is 24 °C and 18 °C at night. However, in cities like Pregonero, El Cobre, La Grita and others located at higher altitudes, the temperature is considerably lower (up to 10 °C).

Cerro el Cobre

Vegetation

The mountain vegetation includes specimens such as the laso pine and eucalyptus. Apamates and Creole cedar are abundant. Mangoes, guamas, rose apples, guavas, and other fruit trees are common throughout most of the state.

Hydrography

The hydrography is varied, there are several rivers of considerable flow; the Torbes river, the Caparo river, the Uribante and Doradas rivers among others, there are also some lakes and reservoirs, such as the Uribante reservoir, the Caparo reservoir, the García Lagoon, the El Rosal Lagoon, the Ríobobo Lagoon, among others.

Administrative organization

Capital of the State

The city of San Cristóbal is the state capital. It is an important economic pole for the country since it is located on the Colombian-Venezuelan border axis and, therefore, it is a commercial city where small and medium-sized entrepreneurs carry out important commercial transactions. It has a metropolitan population of over 400,000 inhabitants. Its topography extends under a succession of fluvial terraces and has an average temperature of 23 °C. It is at an altitude of 825 meters above sea level, which gives it a pleasant climate. San Cristóbal was founded on March 31, 1561, by the captain and advance Juan Maldonado y Ordóñez, which makes it one of the oldest cities in Venezuela.

Currently, the city of San Cristóbal is recognized for its extensive academic and cultural activity. Its universities are recognized: Universidad de los Andes (Táchira nucleus), National Experimental University of Táchira (UNET) and the Catholic University of Táchira (UCAT), among others, as well as for its San Sebastián International Fair.

Municipalities

Political-administrative division

Táchira State is organized into 29 municipalities and 66 parishes, which makes this state the most geopolitically divided in all of Venezuela. The 29 municipalities are seen below:

Táchira State Political-administrative Division

Shield	Municipality	Capital	Surface	Population	Location
	Andrés Bello	Lamb	102 km2	21.550 hectares.
	Antonio Rómulo Costa	Tables	145 km2	11,054 hab.
	Ayacucho	San Juan de Colón	484 km2	61,427 hab.
	Bolívar	San Antonio	198 km2	65,441.
	Cárdenas	Táriba	262 km2	135.047 hab.
	Córdoba	Santa Ana	619 km2	34,843 hab.
	Fernández Feo	The Piñal	1,084 km2	47,856 hab.
	Francisco de Miranda	San José de Bolívar	262 km2	4,280 hab.
	García de Hevia	The Cold	910 km2	51,164 hab.
	We go.	Palmira	32 km2	46,919 hab.
	Independence	New Capacho	64 km2	39.204 hab.
	Jáuregui	The scream	454 km2	43.684 hab.
	José María Vargas	The Copper	266 km2	10,693.
	Junín	Blonde	315 km2	91,991 hab.
	Freedom	Old man	152 km2	29.009.
	Freedom	Abstracts	1139 km2	23,233 hab.
	Lobatera	Lobatera	252 km2	13,843.
	Michelena	Michelena	135 km2	20,127 hab.
	Pan American	Colonite	776 km2	33,521 hab.
	Pedro María Ureña	Ureña	177 km2	55,394 hab.
	Rafael Urdaneta	Delights	192 km2	6.160 hab.
	Samuel Darío Maldonado	La Tendida	533 km2	19,503.
	San Cristobal	San Cristobal	241 km2	285.872 hab.
	San Judas Tadeo	Umuquena	253 km2	7,893 hab.
	Seboruco	Seboruco	117 km2	10,868.
	Simón Rodríguez	Saint Simon	69 km2	2,631 hab.
	Sucre	Queniquea	376 km2	7.825 hab.
	Torbes	San Josecito	110 km2	53,588 hab.
	Uribante	Pregonero	1502 km2	21,249 hab.
	State Táchira	San Cristobal	11.221 km2	1.255.869 There.

Main Towns

The metropolitan area of San Cristóbal, made up of the Andrés Bello, Cárdenas, Córdoba, Guásimos, Libertad, Independencia, Tórbes and San Cristóbal municipalities, houses around 650,512 inhabitants in 2017, which represents the highest concentration of population of the entity.

Partial view of the conurbation of San Cristobal and its metropolitan area

Population density

View of the city of Michelena.

According to the data projected by the INE for the year 2017, the main population centers are:

• San Cristobal: 285 872 inhabitants.
• Tariba: 135 047 inhabitants.
• Blonde: 91 991 inhabitants.
• San Antonio del Táchira: 65 441 inhabitants.
• San Juan de Colón: 61 427 inhabitants
• Ureña: 55 394 inhabitants.
• La Fría: 51 164 inhabitants.
• El Piñal: 47 856 inhabitants.
• Palmira: 46 919 inhabitants.
• La Grita: 43 684 inhabitants.

Ethnography

The majority of the population is white (60.2%),It is one of the states of Venezuela with the highest proportion of whites, mostly descendants of Spaniards, Italians and insular Spaniards from the Canary Islands

Flags of Municipalities

Flag	Municipality	Gentile
	Andrés Bello	Bellense
	Antonio Rómulo Costa	Costense
	Ayacucho	Ayacuchense
	Bolívar	Bolivar
	Cárdenas	Cardenense
	Córdoba	Cordobense
	Fernández Feo	Feoense
	Francisco de Miranda	Riobobero / Riobobense
	García de Hevia	Hevian (a)
	We go.	Guasimense
	Independence	Independencist
	Jáuregui	Jaureguino
	José María Vargas	Varguense
	Junín	Juninense / Juniense
	Freedom	Libertarense
	Freedom	Libertadoreño (a)
	Lobatera	Lobaterense
	Michelena	Michelenense
	Pan American	Pan American (a)
	Pedro María Ureña	Ureñense
	Rafael Urdaneta	Deliciano (a)
	Samuel Dario Maldonado	Samueldariense
	San Cristobal	Sancristobalense
	San Judas Tadeo	Sanjudense
	Seboruco	Seboruquen
	Simón Rodríguez	Rodriguense
	Sucre	Succupa
	Torbes	Torbense
	Uribante	Uribantino (a)
	TÁCHIRA State	Tachirense

Change of name of some Municipalities [citation needed]

In order to exalt the idiosyncrasies of certain municipalities, mark a name specific to the region, and differentiate themselves from other municipalities that constitute other Venezuelan states, it is proposed to opt for a revaluation in terms of the name of certain municipalities, for this, the history and foundation of the autonomy of the aforementioned entities was investigated in order to baptize them in a more categorical and territorial way.

Most of the municipalities of Táchira have names according to their culture, therefore, the modification list only includes seven (7) of these entities.

Current name of the municipality	Proposed name	Capital	Reasons	Gentile
Antonio Rómulo Costa	Alta Costa Tables	Tables	It is located on the foot of the Andean mountain, with a height of 420 m n. m.; in addition, keeping the second surname of Antonio Rómulo Costa. Being the only parish, the inhabitants of Las Mesas can request a municipality with a name similar to the Capital	Hold on. Mesenses
Francisco de Miranda	Río Bobo Babuquena	San José de Bolívar	Both were names with which the current capital of the municipality (San José de Bolívar) was known. In addition, Riobobero is the current gentile of its inhabitants	Riobobero Babuquent
Pedro María Ureña	New Ureña	Ureña	New Ureña would be the name of fusion of its two parishes (New Arcadia and Ureña).	Neoureñense
Freedom	Sioca	Abstracts	In 1937 Abejales was about to disappear as a result of a prolonged drought; the population was relocated several kilometres from its current location on the banks of Sioca, currently known as Río Caparo	Siocareño (a)
José María Vargas	Dojomava	The Copper	DOJOMAVA are the initials of Dr. José María Vargas.	Dojomavense
Rafael Urdaneta	Delights	Delights	Delicias being the only parish in this municipality can choose to own a municipality with a name.	Deliciano

Economy

Primary sector

• Fisheries: poor white, cachama, boxer, coporo, dove, torumo, tumare (in rivers) and bagre.
• Agricultural products: garlic, sugar cane, coffee, caraota, onion, potatoes, banana and tomato.
• Fisheries production: cattle mainly.
• Forestry resources: bucare, guamo, lacre, laurel, manteco, laso pine, quindu, among others.

Industrial activity

• Industrial area of Ureña, the largest and most diverse in the state (workshops, plastics, textiles, furniture, construction, among others).
• Food industry: dairy, confectionery, coffee, typical bakery.
• Automotive: manufacture of buses.
• Crafts: hammocks, textiles, pottery, talabartería, ebanisteria, would have (curtiduría).
• Mining industries: coal extraction, asphalt, plaster.
• Manufacturing: textileries, footwear factories, clothing, leather; industries mainly located in the border area; they have now been very contracted by the exchange differential and the closure of the border.
• Energy: Uribante-Caparo hydroelectric complex.
• Tachira Sugar Central Ureña. - High capacity sugar factory that was expropriated by the national government in 2015.
• The Táchira has a very active economy because it is a border state where there is a large flow of capital, goods and services that exists between Venezuela and Colombia passes through this state.

Tertiary or Service Sector

• Banking: There were several regional financial institutions, but they merged or disappeared. The only one that has maintained its headquarters in the region is the Sofitasa Bank, a solid financial institution that serves as an economic engine for financing many projects in the region. The Táchira is also a business place for many other national banking offices.

Education

Táchira State is the center of important universities.

Public universities

• Táchira National Experimental University - UNET
• Universidad de Los Andes, Nucleo Táchira - ULA
• Universidad Pedagógica Experimental Libertador, Instituto Pedagógico Rural "Gervasio Rubio" - UPEL
• Instituto Universitario de Tecnología Agro Industrial - IUTAI
• National Experimental Polytechnic University of the Armed Forces, Nucleus Táchira - UNEFA (breakable link available on the Internet Archive; see history, first version and last).
• Universidad Nacional Abierta, Centro Local San Cristóbal - UNA
• Universidad Nacional Experimental Simón Rodríguez, Nucleo La Grita
• Bachelor of Nursing Universidad Rómulo Gallegos
• Bolivarian University of Venezuela UBV Nucleo Táchira
• Universidad Politécnica Territorial Manuela Sáenz UPT
• National Experimental University of Security UNES
• Instituto Universitario Militar Cnel. (F) Aniceto Cubillan Jaimes de la Guardia Nacional

Private universities

• Bicentennial University of Aragua, San Táchira Convention
• Universidad Católica Cecilio Acosta, Extension San Cristobal - UNICA
• Catholic University of Táchira - UCAT
• Instituto Universitario Politécnico Santiago Mariño, Extension San Cristobal - IUPSM
• Colegio Universitario Monseñor de Talavera, Sede San Cristóbal - CUMT
• Instituto Universitario de Tecnología Antonio José de Sucre, Extension San Cristobal - IUTAJS
• Instituto Universitario de la Frontera - IUFRONT
• Instituto Universitario de Tecnología Industrial - IUTI
• Instituto Universitario Gran Colombia - IUGC
• Instituto Universitario Jesús Enrique Lossada, Extension San Cristobal - IUJEL
• Instituto Universitario de Tecnología Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonzo, Extension San Cristobal - IUTEPAL
• International Centre for Continuing Education - Caribbean International University Curaçao - CIDEC-Táchira
• Instituto Universitario Eclesiástico Santo Tomás de Aquino (IUESTA)

https://web.archive.org/web/20170130053325/http://uba.edu.ve/ Bicentennial University of Aragua - San Cristóbal Extension

Tourism

Sanctuary of the Perpetual Help, icon of San Cristobal.

Vista del Polideportivo de Pueblo Nuevo at the inauguration of the Copa América Venezuela 2007.

New People's Sports.

Metropolitan Baseball Stadium.

The state of Táchira offers different tourist attractions, among which the walks of the mountain routes and the páramos El Zumbador, Los Rosales, La Negra, el Tamá stand out; the cattle areas of the road to the plain and the South of the Lake (of Maracaibo), the Pan-American highway, the traditional and customary towns (Peribeca, San Pedro del Río, El Cobre, Pregonero), the architecture of San Cristóbal, La Grita, the numerous typical Andean food restaurants, the sporting events held in the city of San Cristóbal (mainly the matches of the Deportivo Táchira Fútbol Club, of the Venezuelan First Division League), the fairs and patron saint festivities, mainly the International Fair of San Sebastian (FISS), among many others.

Táchira is also the center of fluvial sports activities, such as sport fishing (developed in the numerous fluvial courses of the State, mainly in the Uribante, Caparo and Doradas rivers), some activities such as canoeing and other specialties are developed in the artificial lake formed by the Uribante-Caparo dam, from the hydroelectric complex of the same name.

The sites of greatest interest, both tourist and historical, are represented by some buildings of architectural value, which are closely linked with the Tachirenses due to the activities that are carried out there, such as public buildings, religious centers, centers shows and sports.

The Ateneo del Táchira is the oldest in Venezuela, apart from being the first cultural center erected in the aforementioned entity. Its foundation was carried out on April 19, 1907, although the construction that it looks like today was started in 1935, it is located on Calle 9 with Carrera 6 in the center of the city of San Cristóbal.

Important buildings

Some important buildings in the capital are:

• Civic Center of San Cristobal.
• Covered markets: (La Guayana, Metropolitano, Los Small Businessmen, La Ermita, Santa Teresa).
• "Terminal of Passengers "Genaro Méndez"
• Hospital Central de San Cristobal Dr. José María Vargas (HCSC).
• Sports buildings built for the National Andes Games 2005, and Copa América 2007: (Gymnastics Pavilion, Ballroom Stadiums...)
• Metropolitan Baseball Stadium.
• New People's Sports.
• Some historical buildings distributed throughout the state.

Built heritage

• The Tachira Athenaeum or Old Reading Room.
• House Steinvorth
• Táchira Anthropological Museum
• Civic Centre
• Libertador Bridge
• Monument Christ King of Capacho
• Monumental Plaza de Toros de Pueblo Nuevo
• Libertador Bridge
• Liceo Bolivariano "Simón Bolívar"
• National Dance School (ENDANZA Táchira)
• Monument Faro de la Marina

Church of San Antonio de Padua, San Antonio del Táchira

Natural heritage

Some natural heritage of Táchira are:

• Natural monument Abra de Río Frío.
• Chorro El Indio National Park.
• El Tamá National Park.
• Paramo El Zumbador.
• Juan Pablo Peñaloza National Park (Pando el Batallón y la Negra).
• House of the Father
• Hot springs in Aguas Calientes Ureña
• Seats of the Loma of the Wind-House of John Rivera

Rio Torbes

Sports

Táchira State, along with Mérida and Trujillo, has been characterized as a region where the most popular sport is soccer. Currently, the main soccer clubs based in the state are Deportivo Táchira F.C., which has won 9 Venezuelan First Division titles and is also the Venezuelan club that has participated in the Copa Libertadores the most times with 22 appearances. There are also the Ureña Sport Club and the Real Frontera Sport Club, the latter two members of the Second Division of Venezuela.

It also stands out in cycling, being the state with the greatest support from the public and private sectors in the country for this sport and the one with the most practitioners and fans, hosting several amateur teams such as the Lotería del Táchira, one of the oldest cycling teams in the world. As an outstanding competition is the Tour of Táchira, second in importance at the national level behind the Tour of Venezuela, being for several years the first race of the UCI America Tour season.

Some sports facilities include the “Juan Maldonado” Sports Complex, the “La Marina” Park, the “Metropolitan” Park, the “Paramillo” Sports Complex, the “Pueblo Nuevo” Sports Complex that has facilities such as the J. J. Mora, the San Cristóbal Metropolitan Stadium, the Monumental Bullring, the Armino Gutiérrez Castro Gymnasium and the Pueblo Nuevo Sports Center Stadium.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Táchira has important highways and a network of highways that cover a large part of its territory and connect it with the rest of the country: the Trasandina Highway, the Pan-American highway or Trunk 1, the road to the plain or trunk 5 and the Highway San Cristóbal - La Fría which is currently under construction. It also has three international bridges that connect it with neighboring Colombia: Simón Bolívar International Bridge, Francisco de Paula Santander International Bridge and Las Tienditas International Bridge.

The state has 4 airports, of which 3 are classified as international: Juan Vicente Gómez International Airport (closed), Santo Domingo International Airport and "Francisco García de Hevia" from La Fría, it also has the Paramillo Airport, a small-capacity airport.

Media

Print media

The state newspapers are headquartered in San Cristóbal, these are the Diario Católico and the Diario La Nación. In addition to those mentioned, there is the Diario de los Andes, originally from the Trujillo state, which has its own editorial and print run for Táchira.

Television

There are open-signal regional television channels:

• Táchira Regional Televisor (TRT), the oldest.
• TVCT Canal 21, a television floor with an open signal.
• Good TV, the most recent channel of creation.

As well as other community channels, such as Vida TV in Rubio and Montaña TV in Cordero. In the same way, in Ureña there is a television station that covers the border, on both sides Intercanal Channel 10.

The signal is currently transmitted by Colombian channels such as Caracol TV, RCN Canal 1, Citytv and Canal TRO for this state.

Radius

Radio is the means of communication with the longest tradition in the state. The first receptions were made through the Venezuelan radio service in 1926. In 1933, with a small transmitter with a range of less than one kilometer, it was put into operation from informally Radio Táchira in the state capital, this was the first station in the region and one of the pioneers of radio in Venezuela; Later, in 1935, La Voz del Táchira (called Radio Táchira since 1971) began its formal transmissions. Among the most representative stations in the capital (in AM) are Ecos del Torbes (founded in 1947), which can currently be heard from anywhere in the world and has its own news website; There are also the stations Radio Táchira, Radio Noticias 1060 (formerly Ondas de América and Radio San Cristóbal (in operation since 1954) that belong to the same radio circuit as González Lovera and Radio San Sebastián.

In the interior of the state, the radio has also reached an important development. Thus, already in 1954 in the city of Rubio the Ecos de Junín station began to transmit, later taken to San Cristóbal. In 1965, Radio Frontera emerged in San Antonio del Táchira and in 1970 Radio Sucesos de Táriba and Radio el Sol de La Fría.

Frequency modulation (FM) began to develop in the 1990s with the staging of station 102.1 Stereo, known today as La Mega 102.1FM (currently belonging to Circuito Mega). Since then, FM has developed widely both in the capital and in the interior of the state.

Government and politics

The State is autonomous and politically equal to the rest of those of Venezuela, its administration and its public powers are organized by means of the Constitution of the State of Táchira, approved by the Legislative Council and published in the extraordinary official gazette of the Táchira state number 778 on February 9, 2001.

It is made up of the Governor of Táchira and a group of state secretaries. The Governor is elected by the people by direct and secret vote for a period of four years and has the possibility of re-election for equal periods and a recall referendum in the middle of his term, being in charge of the state administration.

The State chooses its own Legislative Council in addition to a Governor who is the Chief Executive of the State and is elected every 4 years; As of 1989, before that year it was elected by the acting president, its last Governor appointed by the President of the Republic Carlos Andrés Peréz, was Governor Jorge Enrique Romero^{[citation required ]}, since 1989 it has been chosen under direct elections, with the current Governor Laidy Gómez elected for the period (2017 - 2021) with the support of her AD party and other political organizations related to the Venezuelan opposition.

Legislative branch

The State legislature falls on the unicameral Táchira State Legislative Council, elected by the people by direct and secret vote every (4) four years and may be re-elected for new consecutive periods, under a system of proportional representation of the population of the State and its municipalities. The State has 13 legislators.

Police

The state of Táchira, in accordance with the provisions of article 164 of the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and article 45 of the Constitution of the state of Táchira of 2014, has its own police force, called Politáchira, created in July of 1960. ^{[citation required]} Its functions are regulated by state and national laws, namely, the Law of the Autonomous Police Institute of the Táchira State, the first; and the organic law of the police service, the second. It depends on the Secretary of State Security and is the main person in charge of regional security.