Argentinian Patagonia in the interwar period.About the origins of the Militar Zone of Comodoro Rivadavia

Abstract

In 1944 the national government created the Militar Zone of Comodoro Rivadavia, whose explicit objective was the defense of the oil operation. This zone modified the limits of the National Territories of Chubut and Santa Cruz to create a new political-administrative jurisdiction in the Gulf San Jorge basin.

There are diverse works which are dedicated to the study of this particular conjuncture of Comodoro Rivadavia history. They have emphasized that the Great Powers' interest to appropriate of a strategic resource as the oil, in a context of World war, constituted a decisive reason to organize a militarized space. However, the access to sources that are little consulted by the historians can relativize this affirmation, directing the reasons that led to the creation of the Military Government to the characteristics of the oil workers' movement.