San Esteban is a city and commune in the Los Andes Province of central 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 Valparaíso Region

Valparaíso Region

The V Valparaíso Region is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions.Valparaíso Region, 2006 With the country's third highest population of 1,539,852 million in 2002 and third smallest area of , the region is Chile's second most densely populated after the Santiago Metropolitan Region...

. The commune spans an area of 1361.6 sqkm.

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...

, San Esteban spans an area of 1361.6 sqkm and has 14,400 inhabitants (7,298 men and 7,102 women). Of these, 7,542 (52.4%) 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 6,858 (47.6%) in rural areas. The population grew by 18.5% (2,247 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.

Administration

As a commune, San Esteban 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 René Mardones Valencia (Ind.

Independent (politician)

In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...

).

• Julio Figueroa Contreras
• Geovanna Serey Lizana
• Gabriel Bianchini Frost
• Julio Contreras Tapia
• Alejo Rodriguez Toledo
• Benjamin Olguin Cáceres

Within the electoral divisions of Chile, San Esteban 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. Marco Antonio Núñez (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...

) and Mr. Gaspar Rivas (RN

National Renewal (Chile)

National Renewal , is a liberal conservative political party belonging to the Chilean right-wing political coalition Coalition for Change in conjunction with the Independent Democratic Union and the Chile First movement...

) as part of the 11th electoral district, (together with Los Andes

Los Andes, Chile

Los Andes, founded in July 31, 1791 as Santa Rosa de Los Andes, is a Chilean city and commune located in the province of the same name, in Valparaíso Region...

, Calle Larga

Calle Larga

Calle Larga is city and one of four communes in the Los Andes Province of central Chile's Valparaíso Region.-Administration:...

, Rinconada

Rinconada

Rinconada is a city and commune in the Los Andes Province of central Chile's Valparaíso Region. It was created on 18 January 1897 by Federico Errázuriz Echaurren.-Demographics:...

, San Felipe

San Felipe, Chile

San Felipe is a commune and the capital city of the San Felipe de Aconcagua Province in central Chile's Valparaíso Region. It is located north of the national capital of Santiago...

, Putaendo

Putaendo

Putaendo is a city and commune in the San Felipe de Aconcagua Province of central Chile's Valparaíso Region.-History:Before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors, Putaendo was a very old town of hunters and gatherers. The Spanish were attracted to gold mines discovered in the outskirts of town...

, Santa María

Santa María, Chile

Santa María is a city and commune in the San Felipe de Aconcagua Province of central Chile's Valparaíso Region.-Demographics:...

, Panquehue

Panquehue

Panquehue is a Chilean town and commune in San Felipe de Aconcagua Province, Valparaíso Region.-Demographics:According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Panquehue spans an area of and has 6,567 inhabitants . Of these, 2,904 lived in urban areas and 3,663 in rural areas...

, Llaillay and Catemu

Catemu

Catemu is a city and commune in the San Felipe de Aconcagua Province of central Chile's Valparaíso Region.-Demographics:According to data from the 2002 Census of Population and Housing, the Catemu commune had 12,112 inhabitants; of these, 6,706 lived in urban areas and 5,406 in rural areas. At...

). 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 Ignacio Walker Prieto (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...

) and Lily Pérez San Martín (RN

National Renewal (Chile)

National Renewal , is a liberal conservative political party belonging to the Chilean right-wing political coalition Coalition for Change in conjunction with the Independent Democratic Union and the Chile First movement...

) as part of the 5th senatorial constituency (Valparaíso-Cordillera).

External links

Municipality of San Esteban