Peumo is a 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...

an city and commune in Cachapoal Province

Cachapoal Province

Cachapoal Province is one of three provinces of the central Chilean region of O'Higgins . Its capital is the city of Rancagua .-Geography and demography:...

, O'Higgins Region

O'Higgins Region

The VI O'Higgins Region is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions. It is subdivided into three provinces. It is named in honour of Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme, one of Chile's founding fathers....

. It is believed that Peumo was named for the vast amount of Cryptocarya alba

Cryptocarya alba

Cryptocarya alba, the Peumo, is an evergreen tree that grows in Chile and Argentina from 33 to 40° southern latitude. It can live both in wet and as in dry conditions. Its distribution can reach up to 1500 meters above sea level. It measures up to 20 meters height and one meter diameter, with...

, or Peumo trees, that grow there.

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...

, Peumo spans an area of 153.1 sqkm and has 13,948 inhabitants (7,128 men and 6,820 women). Of these, 7,628 (54.7%) 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 6,320 (45.3%) in rural areas. The population grew by 8.6% (1,105 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.

Administration

As a commune, Peumo 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 Fermín Alejandro Carreño.

Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Peumo 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 Mrs. Alejandra Sepúlveda (PRI) and Mr. Javier Macaya (UDI) as part of the 34th electoral district, (together with San Fernando

San Fernando, Chile

San Fernando is the capital of the province of Colchagua, in central Chile, and the second most populated urban center of the O'Higgins Region. Located close to the Tinguiririca River in a fertile valley, San Fernando sits 1,112 feet above sea level...

, Chimbarongo

Chimbarongo

Chimbarongo, Chile, is a city and commune located south of Santiago in the Colchagua Province of the O'Higgins Region. Many of the people of Chimbarongo make their living weaving wickerwork, or "mimbre", baskets.-Demographics:...

, San Vicente, Peumo, Pichidegua

Pichidegua

Pichidegua is a Chilean commune and town in Cachapoal Province, O'Higgins Region.-Demographics:According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Pichidegua spans an area of and has 17,756 inhabitants . Of these, 4,965 lived in urban areas and 12,791 in rural areas...

 and Las Cabras

Las Cabras

Las Cabras is a Chilean commune and city in Cachapoal Province, O'Higgins Region.-Demographics:According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Las Cabras spans an area of and has 20,242 inhabitants . Of these, 7,548 lived in urban areas and 12,694 in rural areas...

). 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 Andrés Chadwick Piñera (UDI) and Juan Pablo Letelier Morel (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...

) as part of the 9th senatorial constituency (O'Higgins Region).