Mulchén is a city and commune in Biobío Province

Biobío Province

Biobío Province is one of four provinces of the Chilean region of Biobío . Its capital is Los Ángeles . It is bounded on the north, west and south by the provinces of Concepción, Arauco and Malleco, respectively, and on the east by Argentina. It has an area of of well-wooded and mountainous...

 of Biobío Region, 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...

. It was first settled in 1871 by soldiers during the so called Pacification of the Araucania. In 1875 Mulchén was officially founded.

The city is surrounded by a meander of the Bureo River on all sides except the south, where it is bounded by the Mulchén River

Mulchén River

-References:*...

. It is located 32 km south of the city of Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, close to Chile Highway 5

Chile Highway 5

Chile Highway 5 or Route 5 known locally as Ruta 5 is Chile's longest route. It is part of the Panamerican Highway.-Stretch:It runs from the Peruvian border connecting with Peru Highway 1 north of Arica to Puerto Montt where it connects by ferry to the island of Chiloé...

.

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...

, Mulchén spans an area of 1925.3 sqkm and has 29,003 inhabitants (14,513 men and 14,490 women). Of these, 21,819 (75.2%) lived in urban area

Urban area

An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...

s and 7,184 (24.8%) in rural areas. The population fell by 3.1% (931 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.

Administration

As a commune, Mulchén 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 Francisco Jara Delgado (UDI).

Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Mulchén 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 Juan Lobos (UDI) and José Pérez (PRSD

Social Democrat Radical Party

The Social Democratic Radical Party is a social democratic party in Chile.The party is a member of Socialist International....

) as part of the 47th electoral district, (together with Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, Tucapel

Tucapel

Tucapel is a town and commune in the Arauco Province, Biobío Region, Chile. It was once a region of Araucanía named for the Tucapel River. The name of the region derived from the rehue and aillarehue of the Moluche people of the area between the Lebu and the Lleulleu Rivers, who were famed for...

, Antuco, Quilleco

Quilleco

Quilleco is a Chilean town and commune located in the Biobío Province, Biobío Region.-Demographics:According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Quilleco spans an area of and has 10,428 inhabitants . Of these, 5,486 lived in urban areas and 4,942 in rural areas...

, Santa Bárbara

Santa Bárbara, Chile

Santa Bárbara is a Chilean city and commune in Biobío Province, Biobío Region. In 2004 a great portion of its territory was taken off to form the new commune of Alto Biobío.-History:...

, Quilaco

Quilaco

Quilaco is a Chilean town and commune located in the Biobío Province, Biobío Region. The commune spans an area of .-History:Quilaco has two accepted meanings: "Three waters" or "Quila in the water". The town has its roots in the Mapuche and Spanish races, as produced with the arrival of Franciscan...

, Negrete

Negrete

Negrete is a Chilean town and commune in Biobío Province, Biobío Region. It is bordered by the commune of Los Ángeles to the north, Renaico to the south, Mulchén to the east and Nacimiento to the west....

, Nacimiento

Nacimiento, Chile

Nacimiento is a Chilean city situated in the Biobío Province, Biobío Region, south of Santiago, and from the closest major city in the region, Concepción....

, San Rosendo

San Rosendo

San Rosendo is a Chilean city and commune in Biobío Province, Biobío Region.The city of San Rosendo lies on the gentle slopes of a hill overlooking the confluence of the rivers Biobío and Laja, which respectively bound the city to the west and south...

, Laja

Laja

Laja is a location in the La Paz Department in Bolivia. It is the seat of the Laja Municipality, the second municipal section of the Los Andes Province.- References :*...

 and Alto Biobío

Alto Biobío

Alto Biobío is a Chilean commune located in the Biobío Province, Biobío Region. The commune spans an area of .-History:The commune was created 25 August 2003, separating the southeast portion from the existing Santa Bárbara commune.-Demographics:...

). 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 Victor Pérez Varela (UDI) and Mariano Ruiz -Esquide Jara (PDC

Christian Democratic Party

Christian democratic parties are those political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social teaching, and it continues to be influential in Europe and...

) as part of the 13th senatorial constituency (Biobío-Coast).

External links

Municipality of Mulchén