A commune ( Spanish : comuna , IPA: [koˈmuna] ) is the smallest administrative subdivision in Chile . It may contain cities , towns , villages , hamlets as well as rural areas. In highly populated areas, such as Santiago , Valparaíso and Concepción , a conurbation may be broken into several communes. In sparsely populated areas, conversely, a commune may cover a substantial rural area together with several settled areas which could range from hamlets to towns or cities.
5-610: Río Hurtado is one of five communes in the Limarí Province of Chile 's north-central IV Coquimbo Region . As a commune, Río Hurtado is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a municipal council , headed by an alcalde who is directly elected every four years. Within the electoral divisions of Chile , Río Hurtado is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Pedro Velásquez ( independent ) and Matías Walker ( Christian Democratic Party ) as part of
10-468: Is similar to a "county" in Anglo-American usage and practice, and may be more universally understood as a "municipality". Each commune or municipality is governed by a directly elected body known as a municipal council ( concejo municipal ) consisting of a mayor ( alcalde ) and a group of councillors ( concejales ), for a period of four years. The communal civil service administration is known as
15-582: The municipality ( municipalidad ) and is headquartered at the mayor's office ( alcaldía ). According to Chilean law, a single municipality may administer one or more communes, though currently, the only such case is the municipality of Cabo de Hornos , which administers the communes of Antártica and Cabo de Hornos . Chile's 346 communes are grouped into 56 provinces ( provincia , pl. provincias ), which are themselves grouped into 16 regions ( región , pl. regiones ). Traditionally, Chilean regions are listed in geographical order starting with
20-467: The 8th electoral district, (together with Coquimbo and Ovalle ). The commune is represented in the Senate by Evelyn Matthei Fornet ( Independent Democratic Union ) and Jorge Pizarro Soto (Christian Democratic Party) as part of the 4th senatorial constituency (Coquimbo Region). Río Hurtado spans an area of 2,117.2 km (1,316 mi). According to data from the 2002 Census of Population and Housing,
25-566: The Río Hurtado commune had 4,771 inhabitants, all of whom are considered to live in rural areas , making it the least populous commune in the province. The Río Hurtado population represents 0.79% of regional population and 3.1% of the provincial population. Communes of Chile The term "commune" is ambiguous in English, but the word is commonly used in translation for "comuna", although with some controversy among translators. A comuna
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