General Lagos is Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

's northernmost commune in Parinacota Province

Parinacota Province

Parinacota Province is one of two provinces of the Chilean region of Arica and Parinacota . Its capital is Putre. It is named after the Parinacota Volcano.-History:...

, Arica and Parinacota Region. Visviri

Visviri

Visviri is a Chilean hamlet at the northern end of the country and the capital of the General Lagos commune in Parinacota Province, Arica and Parinacota Region. It is notable for being Chile's northernmost populated area. Pop. 265 , and for being near border of three countries of Bolivia, Peru and...

 its capital.

The area, once part of Peru

Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

, was captured by Chilean forces in the War of the Pacific

War of the Pacific

The War of the Pacific took place in western South America from 1879 through 1883. Chile fought against Bolivia and Peru. Despite cooperation among the three nations in the war against Spain, disputes soon arose over the mineral-rich Peruvian provinces of Tarapaca, Tacna, and Arica, and the...

 by its namesake and commander of Chilean troops in the Battle of Arica

Battle of Arica

The Battle of Arica, also known as Assault and Capture of Arica Cape, was a battle in the War of the Pacific. It was fought on 7 June 1880, between the forces of Chile and Peru....

, General Pedro Lagos

Pedro Lagos

Pedro Lagos Marchant was a Chilean infantry commander. He is best remembered for commanding the assault and capture of the city of Arica during the War of the Pacific.-Early life:...

.

Tacora

Tacora

Tacora is a stratovolcano located in Arica y Parinacota Region of Chile. It is the northernmost volcano of Chile....

 volcano lies in this commune.

Demographics

According to the 2002 census

Census

A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

 of the National Statistics Institute

National Statistics Institute (Chile)

The National Statistics Institute of Chile is a state-run organization of the Government of Chile, created in the second half of the 19th century and tasked with performing a general census of population and housing, then collecting, producing and publishing official demographic statistics of...

, General Lagos had 1,179 inhabitants (761 men and 418 women), all listed as living in rural areas. The population grew by 16.5% (167 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.

Administration

As a commune, General Lagos is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a municipal council

Municipal council

A municipal council is the local government of a municipality. Specifically the term can refer to the institutions of various countries that can be translated by this term...

, headed by an alcalde

Alcalde

Alcalde , or Alcalde ordinario, is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An alcalde was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian cabildo and judge of first instance of a town...

 who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Gregorio Mendoza Chura.

Within the electoral divisions of Chile, General Lagos is represented in the Chamber of Deputies

Chamber of Deputies of Chile

The Chamber of Deputies of the Republic of Chile is the lower house of Chile's bicameral Congress. Its organisation and its powers and duties are defined in articles 42 to 59 of Chile's current constitution....

 by Mr. Nino Baltolu (UDI) and Mr. Orlando Vargas (PPD

Party for Democracy

The Party for Democracy is a political party in Chile; it is social democratic in its political orientation. It was founded in December 1987 by Ricardo Lagos, who aimed at forming a legal social democratic party . The party continued to function after the defeat of Pinochet...

) as part of the 1st electoral district, which includes the entire Arica and Parinacota Region.The commune is represented in the Senate

Senate of Chile

The Senate of the Republic of Chile is the upper house of Chile's bicameral National Congress, as established in the current Constitution of Chile.-Composition:...

 by Fulvio Rossi Ciocca (PS

Socialist Party of Chile

The Socialist Party of Chile is a political party, that is part of the center-left Coalition of Parties for Democracy coalition. Its historical leader was the late President of Chile Salvador Allende Gossens, who was deposed by General Pinochet in 1973...

) and Jaime Orpis Bouchon (UDI) as part of the 1st senatorial constituency (Arica and Parinacota Region and Tarapacá Region

Tarapacá Region

The I Tarapacá Region is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions. It borders the Chilean Arica and Parinacota Region to the north, Bolivia's Oruro Department on the east, the Antofagasta Region on the south and the Pacific Ocean on the west. The port city of Iquique The I Tarapacá...

).