EL ARRIERO Y EL TRANSPORTE TERRESTRE EN EL CONO SUR (Mendoza, 1780-1800).

The article discusses muleteers as economic agents in land transportation, especially across the Andes mountains, linking the Atlantic and Pacific trading markets in the Southern Cone of South America. It reports that more than 100,000 pack mule trips recorded in the Cargo y Data books of the Mendoza, Argentina customs office were examined to determine their origins and destinations, main routes, volume, and type of cargo transported. According to the article, the results of this examination show that muleteers played a highly active role in transportation, commerce, and the wine production industry and, thereby, that they promoted the emergence of a proto-bourgeoisie in the region.