Alpinópolis

Alpinópolis is a Brazilian municipality located in the southwest of the state of Minas Gerais. As of 2007, its population was 17,821 people and its area was of 458 km². The city is located in the Southwestern (Sudoeste Mineiro) region of Minas Gerais and the micro-region of Passos. It became a municipality in 1938.

Founded as the village of São Sebastião da Ventania, it had its name later shortened to Ventania. In 1914, the name was officially changed to the current one: Alpinopolis. Curiously, after so many years, Ventania still is the name used by its inhabitants.

The city center of Alpinópolis is located at an elevation of 700 meters southeast of Passos and west of the Furnas reservoir. Neighboring municipalities are: São José da Barra (N), Carmo do Rio Claro (E), Nova Resende and Bom Jesus da Penha (S), and Passos (W).

The economy is diversified with corn, high-quality coffee, beans, soybeans, semi-precious stones, dairy products, a feed factory, and manufacture of sweets being some of the main products. While coffee and milk were the main products for many years nowadays one of the main products of the local economy is the extraction and commercialization of quartz. Small and medium-sized properties predominate in the municipality, which contribute for a better distribution of income.

In 2005 there were 48 extractive industries employing 361 workers, 77 transformation industries employing 251 workers, and 360 retail units employing 768 workers. The GDP in 2005 was approximately R$129 million, with 62 million reais from services, 18 million reais from industry, and 41 million reais from agriculture. There were 861 rural producers on 29,000 hectares of land. 212 farms had tractors (2006). Approximately 6000 persons were occupied in agriculture. The main crops are rice, beans, and corn. There were 20,000 head of cattle, of which 10,000 were milk cows (2006).

There were 3 banks (2010). In the vehicle fleet there were 3,641 automobiles, 358 trucks, 298 pickup trucks, 23 buses, and 882 motorcycles (2007).

In the health sector there were 15 health establishments: 9 public and 6 private. There were 4 general health clinics and 5 specialized. There was one hospital with 30 beds (2005). Patients with more serious health conditions are transported to neighboring cities, such as Passos or Ribeirao Preto. Educational needs of their approximately 4,000 students were met by 12 primary schools, 4 middle schools, and 11 pre-primary schools.

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