Vichuquén

Vichuquén
Commune
Coat of arms Map of Vichuquén commune in the Maule Region Vichuquén Location in Chile
Coordinates (city): 34°53′S 72°00′W
Country	Chile
Region	Maule
Province	Curicó
Government [1]
• Type	Municipality
• Alcalde	Román Pavez López (PPD)
Area [2]
• Total	425.7 km^2 (164.4 sq mi)
Elevation	72 m (236 ft)
Population  (2012 Census)[2]
• Total	4,335
• Density	10/km^2 (26/sq mi)
• Urban	1,368
• Rural	3,548
Sex [2]
• Men	2,596
• Women	2,320
Time zone	UTC-4 (CLT[3])
• Summer (DST)	UTC-3 (CLST[4])
Area code	56 + 75
Website	municipalidaddevichuquen.cl^[dead link‍]

Vichuquén is a commune in the Curicó Province of Chile's Maule Region.

History

The Spanish arrived along the Lico rivers in 1585, where settlements of the Mapuche and Inca already existed. In 1865, Vichuquén founded its capital of the village of the same name.^{[citation needed]}. In 1987, the old part of the town was declared a "Typical Zone Vichuquén" for its colonial style architecture.^{[citation needed]}

Geography

Vichuquén is located northwest of the Curicó Province. It also has the Vichuquén lakes Lago Vichuquén (es) in its boundaries, as well as the Laguna Torca National Reserve. The commune spans an area of 425.7 km² (164 sq mi).^[2]

Demographics

According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Vichuquén spans an area of 425.7 km² (164 sq mi) and has 4,916 inhabitants (2,596 men and 2,320 women). Of these, 1,368 (27.8%) lived in urban areas and 3,548 (72.2%) in rural areas. The population fell by 0.3% (15 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.^[2]

Administration

As a commune, Vichuquén is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a municipal council, headed by an alcalde who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Román Pavez López (PPD).^[1]

Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Vichuquén is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Roberto León (PDC) and Celso Morales (UDI) as part of the 36th electoral district, together with Curicó, Teno, Romeral, Molina, Sagrada Familia, Hualañé, Licantén and Rauco. The commune is represented in the Senate by Juan Antonio Coloma Correa (UDI) and Andrés Zaldívar Larraín (PDC) as part of the 10th senatorial constituency (Maule-North).

References

1. "Municipality of Vichuquén" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 19 April 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2011.
2. "National Statistics Institute" (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 January 2010.
3. "Chile Time". WorldTimeZones.org. Archived from the original on 2010-07-13. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
4. "Chile Summer Time". WorldTimeZones.org. Archived from the original on 2007-09-11. Retrieved 2010-07-28.

External links

• (in Spanish) Municipality of Vichuquén