Map - Benito Juárez Partido (Partido de Benito Juárez)

Benito Juárez is a partido (second level administrative subdivision) in the south-central part of Buenos Aires Province in Argentina.

The provincial subdivision has a population of 20,402 inhabitants in an area of 5,285 km2 (2,041 sq mi), and its capital city is Benito Juárez. Around 14,000 of its inhabitants live in the capital town, 3,200 in the towns of Barker and Villa Cacique, and the rest in smaller villages and rural areas. The main economic activities are agriculture and cattle-raising. The Partido and its capital town, are named after former Mexican President Benito Juárez. The name was chosen as a gesture of friendship between Argentina and México

The historical origin of Benito Juarez Partido does not differ from that of other partidos in the area: to constitute a civilizing advance into the "desert," that vast area of the pampas inhabited by natives. The area around Benito Juarez, with its historical reference points being "La Tinta" and "San Antonio," was already within the lands that the national government planned to incorporate into the "civilized life of the country." This lands constituted the vast extension where the famous native chief Cafulcura ruled, with his headquarters located in the area known as Salinas Grandes. It was in "La Tinta" (also known as "San Martin de La Tinta") where in 1820, just 10 years after the May Revolution, the first struggle between natives and "christians" in the Partido took place. In 1837, the military garrison "La Tinta" or "Colonquelu"(which in araucano means "where there was death") was settled. It was in the charge of the chief of the South Frontier, Colonel Narciso del Valle. For the history of Benito Juarez, the Forts (and then towns) of Tandil and Azul, were important, since from those places the first settlers arrived to colonize the lands. That way, many isolated settlements were established, that with time would become the center for important social and political transformations. In the 1850s and following decades the biggest worry by the pioneers was the defence against the natives, who raze the region in order the steal the cattle, generating important human and economic loses. The land-owners petitioned to the national and provincial governments, and the latter sent military forces to the region in order to protect their interests. In 1855, the "Canton de San Antonio" is created in the proximities of the lagoon of the same name. One of the bloodiest clashes between natives and "christians" in the pampas took place there.