Poté

Poté is a Brazilian municipality located in the northeast of the state of Minas Gerais. Its population as of 2007 was estimated to be 14,749 people living in a total area of 632 km². The city belongs to the mesoregion of Vale do Mucuri and to the micro-region of Teófilo Otoni. It became a municipality in 1938.

The name is derived from a semi-legendary figure called Poté, who was an indigenous leader of the Botocudo, the first inhabitants of the region.

Poté is located at an elevation of 549 meters, 40 km. west of Teófilo Otoni. The distance to the state capital, Belo Horizonte, is 486 km. Neighboring municipalities are: Ladainha, Teófilo Otoni, Itambacuri, Franciscópolis and Malacacheta.

The main economic activities are services, small industries, and agriculture. A large percentage of the population lives in the rural area and is engaged in subsistence farming. The GDP in 2005 was approximately R$42 million, with 30 million from services, 3 million from industry, and 6 million from agriculture. There were 513 rural producers on 24,000 hectares of land. Only 24 farms had tractors (2006). Approximately 1,500 persons were dependent on agriculture. The main cash crop was coffee while sugarcane, beans and corn were grown on a small scale. There were 27,000 head of cattle (2006). There was one bank (2007) and 562 automobiles (687 motorcycles), giving a ratio of 26 inhabitants per automobile.

There were 7 health clinics and 1 hospital with 34 beds. Patients with more serious health conditions are transported to Teófilo Otoni. Educational needs were met by 22 primary schools, 1 middle school, and 6 pre-primary schools.

In 2000 the per capita monthly income of R$99.00 was well below the state and national average of R$276.00 and R$297.00 respectively.

The highest ranking municipality in Minas Gerais in 2000 was Poços de Caldas with 0.841, while the lowest was Setubinha with 0.568. Nationally the highest was São Caetano do Sul in São Paulo with 0.919, while the lowest was Setubinha. In more recent statistics (considering 5,507 municipalities) Manari in the state of Pernambuco has the lowest rating in the country—0,467—putting it in last place.

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