 The city of Puerto Ayacucho was founded to facilitate the transport of goods past the Atures Rapids on the Orinoco River in the late 19th century (mostly rubber).The Atures Municipality, according to a 2007 population estimate by the National Institute of Statistics of Venezuela, has a population of 91,386 (up from 74,066 in 2000).This amounts to 64.3% of the state's population.