El patrimonio material y espiritual en el proceso de formación de dos provincias de la Patagonia argentina

Abstract

The provinces of Río Negro and Neuquén are located in the northern Argentinean Patagonia. One of them, Neuquén, is at the foothills of the Andes; meanwhile, the other extends from this mountain chain to the Atlantic Ocean. In spite of their vicinity, their material and spiritual patrimonies are different enough to give each their own identity. At Neuquén, the richest petroleum deposits of Argentina are found, which provide most of the oil and gasto the country, giving a good share to Neuquén of the revenues from taxes collected. Furthermore, Neuquén also has other means for its economy based on landscape resources that have attracted the development of many tourist resorts. Lastly, it has fruit agriculture and flsheries with a heavy share of investment from the prívate sector.In relation to their spiritual patrimony, even if the two provinces have contactpoints due to their territorial organization, they have also differences since both territories acquired the rank of provinces. In Neuquén, political and cultural factors determine local incentives toward development that leads to the formation of a regio­ nal society different from that of Río Negro. A local political party not enrolled in national parties plays a decisive role in development after the 1960s, and in the deflnition of the regional identity. At Río Negro, the migratory groups, especially Europeans, have heavily influenced in the formation of the local incentives to development. This paper explores ideas around these topics and tries to make a comparative analysis with respect to the formation of the local incentives and their development.

Keywords

• Atlántico, cordillera de los Andes, economía, desarrollo turístico, identidad regional, fruticultura, gas, pesca, petróleo, provincia de Río Negro, provincia de Neuquén, sector privado,yacimiento de hidrocarburos