Juan Felipe Ibarra is a department in the province of Santiago del Estero located in the east of it being its limits: North: Moreno and Figueroa departments. South: Taboada department. East: the provinces of Chaco and Santa Fe. West: the departments of Sarmiento and Figueroa On May 30,1974, provincial law No.4091 was passed, changing the name of the Matará Department, which paid homage to the indigenous people killed, by the Department Juan Felipe Ibarra, to honor Brigadier Juan Felipe Ibarra. ARTICLE 1: Designate with the name of BRIGADIER GENERAL JUAN FELIPE IBARRA to the current Matará Department of this Province. It has 9,139 km2 and according to the 2001 census the population is of 16 937 inhabitants.
The provincial law N °353, which was sanctioned on November 11,1911, divided the territory of the province into departments, establishing the following limits for the then-called Matará Department:It is made up of the current Matará Department decreased in the part that is located to the Southwest of the Salado River. All the limits remain the same, except for the part of the Southwest that will be from now on the alveo of the Salado River. The Capital of the Department is Suncho Corral.