 In 1981, the five dioceses of "Argentina" (at the time including Uruguay, which became an independent diocese only in 1988 ), "Northern Argentina", "Peru and Bolivia" (separated into two dioceses subsequent to 1988), "Chile", and "Paraguay" came together to form the Province of the Southern Cone.In November 2010, at a provincial synod held in Argentina, Bishop Tito Zavala, Diocesan Bishop of Chile, was elected primate.He was the first South American-born primate of the province, and
served for six years.