In the year 1989 through Ordinance 013 of December 1, the Departmental Assembly of Cauca determined Suárez as a new municipality, its name was born as a tribute to President Marco Fidel Suárez who in the year 1900 built the station and the road of the railway for this point of the Colombian geography to emerge economically.
La Salvajina Ciro Molina Garcés was built in the 70s, to stop the floods that occurred in the Cauca River, especially in the Valle del Cauca region. On the other hand, the energy production of this plant is estimated at about 270 megawatts.5