Huara is a Chilean town and commune in

Tamarugal Province Tamarugal Province ( es, Provincia de Tamarugal) is one of two provinces in the northern Chilean region of Tarapacá. The capital is the city of Pozo Almonte. Name The province is named after Pampa del Tamarugal. Spanish name: * Provincia de Tam ...

, Tarapacá Region. It is located or ( by road) northeast of Iquique. The village is crossed by the Pan-American Highway and is the crossing point for the road that goes to Oruro in

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

. This road also serves as access to the

Atacama Giant The Atacama Giant ( es, Gigante de Atacama) is an anthropomorphic geoglyph on the Cerro Unitas area of the Atacama Desert, Chile. It is the largest prehistoric anthropomorphic. It has been suggested that the petroglyph represents a shaman, spiri ...

site and the Volcán Isluga National Park. The commune also comprises the Pisagua and

Tarapacá San Lorenzo de Tarapacá, also known simply as Tarapacá, is a town in the region of the same name in Chile. History The town has likely been inhabited since the 12th century, when it formed part of the Inca trail. When Spanish explorer Diego d ...

hamlets. Huara was badly damaged during an earthquake in 2005.

Demographics

According to the 2002 census of the

National Statistics Institute National Institute of Statistics may refer to: *National Institute of Statistics of Bolivia *National Institute of Statistics of Cambodia *National Institute of Statistics and Census of Costa Rica *National Institute of Statistics and Census of Nica ...

Huara had 2,599 inhabitants (1,499 men and 1,100 women), making it an entirely rural area. The population grew by 1.8% (627 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.

Administration

As a commune, Huara is a third-level

administrative division of Chile The administrative division or territorial organization of Chile exemplifies characteristics of a unitary state. State administration is functionally and geographically decentralized, as appropriate for each authority in accordance with the law. ...

administered by a municipal council, headed by an

alcalde Alcalde (; ) 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'' (the municipal council) a ...

who is directly elected every four years. Within the

electoral divisions of Chile Chile has two distinct electoral division systems: * To elect members of the Chamber of Deputies and of the Senate, Chile is divided into several electoral divisions, namely electoral districts and senatorial constituencies. * To elect members of ...

, Huara is represented in the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

by Mrs. Marta Isasi ( Ind.) and Mr. Hugo Gutiérrez ( PC) as part of the 2nd electoral district, which includes the entire Tarapacá Region. The commune is represented in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

by José Miguel Insulza (PS, 2018–2026) and José Durana (UDI, 2018–2026) as part of the 1st senatorial constituency (

Arica and Parinacota Region The Arica y Parinacota Region ( es, link=no, Región de Arica y Parinacota ) is one of Chile's 16 first order administrative divisions. It comprises two provinces, Arica and Parinacota. It borders Peru's Department of Tacna to the north, Bolivia ...

and Tarapacá Region).

References

External links

* Claudio Aguirre Munizaga y Alberto Díaz Araya
El espejismo de los lugares. La construcción del espacio en el desierto tarapaqueño. Huara, siglos XIX-XX
Revista de geografía Norte Grande versión On-line ISSN 0718-3402 {{Authority control Communes of Chile Populated places established in 1885 Populated places in El Tamarugal Province