Retiro is a town and commune in 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...

, located in Linares Province

Linares Province

Linares is one of four provinces of the central Chilean region of Maule . The provincial capital and most populous center is the city of Linares.-Administration:...

, in the seventh region of Maule

Maule Region

The VII Maule Region is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions. Its capital is Talca. The region takes its name from the Maule River which, running westward from the Andes, bisects the region and spans a basin of about 20,600 km2...

.

Geography

Retiro is located 335 km (208 mi) to the south of Santiago

Santiago, Chile

Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...

, 27 km (17 mi) to the south of the city of Linares

Linares, Chile

Linares is a Chilean city and commune located in the Maule Region and lies in the fertile Chilean Central Valley, south of Santiago and south of Talca, the regional capital...

 (the provincial capital), and 15 km to the north of the city of Parral

Parral, Chile

Parral is a city and commune and in the Linares Province of central Chile's seventh region of Maule.-History:Parral was founded in 1795 by the Viceroy of Peru, Ambrosio O'Higgins...

. The municipality has a surface of 827.1 sqkm and is bordered by San Javier

San Javier

San Javier, a Spanish language reference to Saint Francis Xavier, is sometimes used as a toponym in parts of the world where that tongue is spoken:-*San Javier, Santa Fe*San Javier Department, Córdoba*San Javier Department, Misiones...

 and Longaví

Longaví

Longaví is a Chilean city and commune located in Linares Province, one of the four provinces that make up the Maule Region, in the geographical center of Chile.-Geography:...

 on the north, by Parral on the south, by Cauquenes

Cauquenes

Cauquenes, a city and commune in Chile, is the capital of the Cauquenes Province and is located in the Maule Region.-History:According to the historical records of Alonso de Ercilla, Cauquenes was originally inhabited by an indigenous community of the Promaucaes, known as the Cauqui by the Inca or...

 (Province of Cauquenes

Cauquenes Province

Cauquenes Province is one of four provinces of the central Chilean region of Maule . The provincial capital is the city of Cauquenes.-Geography and demography:The provincial capital, Cauquenes, lies approximately southwest of Santiago...

), on the west and by Longaví on the east.

History

The commune was founded officially on December 22, 1891. President Ramón Barros Luco

Ramón Barros Luco

Ramón Barros Luco was President of Chile between 1910 and 1915.Barros Luco was born in 1835 in Santiago, Barros Luco was son of Ramón Luis Barros Fernández and Dolores Luco Fernández de Leiva. He graduated from Law School in 1858...

 owned a manor house in this area. Retiro was, therefore, visited frequently by well-known politicians and statesmen of the time, and in general by those that contributed to the decision-making process in the country affairs. The name of "Retiro" (Retirement) was given to the commune on account of being the place of retirement - leisure - of President Barros Luco.

Demography

According to data from the 2002 Census of Population and Housing, the population of the commune of Retiro was 18,487; of these, 4,708 (25.4%) 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 13,779 (74.5%) in rural areas. At that time, there were 9,036 women and 9,451, men. The town of Retiro, has 3,300 inhabitants, whereas Copihue, the second most populated locality in the commune has 1,300 and the village of Villaseca, slightly more than 300. Between 1992 and 2002, the communal population dropped by 6.2% from its 1992 population of 19,703 (a drop of 1,216 persons). During the same period of time, the population of the town of Retiro grew only marginally (70 people).

Economy

Agriculture, in particular wine

Wine

Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...

 producing and cereal

Cereal

Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...

s cultivation constitutes the main economic activity of Retiro. The commune lies within the Maule Valley

Chilean wine

Chilean wine is wine made in the South American country of Chile. The region has a long viticultural history for a New World wine region dating to the 16th century when the Spanish conquistadors brought Vitis vinifera vines with them as they colonized the region. In the mid-19th century, French...

 subregion of the Viticultural

Viticulture

Viticulture is the science, production and study of grapes which deals with the series of events that occur in the vineyard. When the grapes are used for winemaking, it is also known as viniculture...

 Region of the Central Valley of Chile

Chilean Central Valley

The Central Valley , Intermediate Depression or Longitudinal Valley is the depression between the Chilean Costal Range and the Andes Mountains. The central valley should not be confused with Central Chile that encompasses part of the valley...

.

Environs

In the area of Copihue (in the southern border of the commune, next to the Pan-American Highway

Pan-American Highway

The Pan-American Highway is a network of roads measuring about in total length. Except for an rainforest break, called the Darién Gap, the road links the mainland nations of the Americas in a connected highway system. According to Guinness World Records, the Pan-American Highway is the world's...

 or Ruta 5 Sur), lies the larger poplar

Poplar

Populus is a genus of 25–35 species of deciduous flowering plants in the family Salicaceae, native to most of the Northern Hemisphere. English names variously applied to different species include poplar , aspen, and cottonwood....

 wood of the country. It is owned by the "Compañía Chilena de Fósforos".

Administration

As a commune, Retiro 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 Patricio Contreras Contreras (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...

).

Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Retiro 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 Guillermo Ceroni (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...

) and Ignacio Urrutia (UDI) as part of the 40th electoral district, (together with Longaví

Longaví

Longaví is a Chilean city and commune located in Linares Province, one of the four provinces that make up the Maule Region, in the geographical center of Chile.-Geography:...

, Parral

Parral, Chile

Parral is a city and commune and in the Linares Province of central Chile's seventh region of Maule.-History:Parral was founded in 1795 by the Viceroy of Peru, Ambrosio O'Higgins...

, Cauquenes

Cauquenes

Cauquenes, a city and commune in Chile, is the capital of the Cauquenes Province and is located in the Maule Region.-History:According to the historical records of Alonso de Ercilla, Cauquenes was originally inhabited by an indigenous community of the Promaucaes, known as the Cauqui by the Inca or...

, Pelluhue

Pelluhue

Pelluhue is a town and commune in the Cauquenes Province of central Chile's eighth region of Maule.-Geography:...

 and Chanco). 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 Hernán Larraín

Hernán Larraín

Hernán Larraín Fernández is a conservative Chilean lawyer, university lecturer, and politician; he is a current Senator and former President of the Senate, and is also currently serving as the president of the Independent Democrat Union. Larraín was elected to the Senate representing the 11th...

(UDI) and Ximena Rincón González (PDC) as part of the 11th senatorial constituency (Maule-South).