LA CONFIGURACIÓN DEL DEPARTAMENTO DEL VALLE: 1904-1910

Abstract

The department of the Valley, with his cardinal Cali, was created in 1910 by the president of the Republic Ramon Gonzalez Valencia, by means of the decree 340 of April 16, 1910, on having fused the departments of Cali and Buga. The constitution of this new entity politician - administrative officer marks an important milestone inside the regional history of the Colombian suroccidente since he concludes, on the one hand, the process of dissolution of the State of the Cauca that one was coming preparing for the national government from ends of the 19th century, and for other one, the separatist movement of the elite vallecaucana that was longing his autonomy opposite to the Cauca. Likewise, it allowed to canalize efforts and resources to stimulate this region for the route of the progress and of the modernity initiating this way the process of consolidation of the Valley as economic - political region with recognition in the national sphere given to beginnings of the 20th century.
In the constitution of the Valley as department, the elites and the leader regional and subregional groups recovered a basic role as defending forts of the autonomy. On the one hand, the regional elites that in altars of supporting his traditional political power up to the last moment defended opposite to the central government the relative autonomy of the sovereign states, then named departments. For other one, the elite vallecaucana, specially the caleña, which they stimulated the whole separatist movement and in favour of the constitution of the department of the Valley, which though it was a process that in the first years of the 20th century turned out to be successful had always strong disadvantages and opponents.