Galvarino is a

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

and commune (), part of

Cautín Province Cautín Province () is one of two Provinces of Chile, provinces in the southern Chilean Regions of Chile, region of La Araucanía Region, La Araucanía (IX), bounded on the north by Arauco Province, Arauco and Malleco Province, Malleco provinces, ...

, in the

Araucanía Region The Araucanía ( ), La Araucanía Region ( ) is one of Chile's 16 first-order administrative divisions, and comprises two provinces: Malleco in the north and Cautín in the south. Its capital and largest city is Temuco; other important cities ...

. The town, named for the

Mapuche The Mapuche ( , ) also known as Araucanians are a group of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging e ...

warrior

Galvarino Galvarino (died c. November 30, 1557) was a famous Mapuche warrior during majority of the early part of the Arauco War. He fought and was taken prisoner along with one hundred and fifty other Mapuche, in the Battle of Lagunillas against governor ...

, was founded on April 22, 1882 within the frame of the

occupation of Araucanía The Occupation of Araucanía or Pacification of Araucanía (1861–1883) was a series of military campaigns, agreements and penetrations by the Chilean military and settlers into Mapuche territory which led to the incorporation of Araucanía i ...

by general

Gregorio Urrutia Gregorio Urrutia Venegas ( San Carlos, Chile, 1830 - Santiago, ibidem, September 10, 1897) was a Chilean military official who made a career in the Chilean Army, reaching the rank of brigadier general. He held several military positions and par ...

, next to river Quillem as a fort of . Its population come eminently from original Mapuche indigenous people. The area was colonized fundamentally by

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

colonizers. The main economic activity is forestal activity, shown as great amount of the territory dedicated to production of forestal trees, like eucalyptus and pines.

Demographics

According to the 2002

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of the National Statistics Institute, Galvarino spans an area of and has 12,596 inhabitants (6,500 men and 6,096 women). Of these, 3,539 (28.1%) lived in

urban area An urban area is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas originate through urbanization, and researchers categorize them as cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs. In urbani ...

s and 9,057 (71.9%) in

rural area In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...

s. The population fell by 10.5% (1480 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.

Administration

As a commune, Galvarino 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 A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...

, headed by an

alcalde ''Alcalde'' (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and Administration (government), administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor (position), corregidor, the presiding officer o ...

who is directly elected every four years. The 2016-2020 alcalde is Marcos Hernandez Rojas ( PDC). Within the

electoral divisions of Chile This article covers the electoral division of Chile, which involves two distinct systems: # Chamber of Deputies of Chile, Chamber of Deputies and Senate of Chile, Senate: Chile is divided into electoral districts and senatorial constituencies for ...

, Galvarino 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 Bourb ...

by Diego Paulsen ( RN) and Fuad Chahín (PDC) as part of the 49th electoral district, together with

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

Curacautín Curacautín, which means "Gathering Stone" in Mapudungun, is a Communes of Chile, commune and List of cities in Chile, city in the Chilean province of Malleco Province, Malleco. Curacautín is located 90 kilometres northeast of Temuco, in a valley ...

Lonquimay Lonquimay is a town and commune in the Malleco Province of southern Chile's Araucanía Region. Transport It is the terminus of an abandoned broad gauge railway project which supporters cited as the most practical railway route through the A ...

Melipeuco Melipeuco () is a town and commune () in Chile, located at the foot of the Andes, in the Province of Cautín, Araucanía Region. Melipeuco is from the southern entrance of the Conguillío National Park. The Nevados de Sollipulli, an ice-filled ...

Vilcún Vilcún (Mapudungun for "lizard") is a Chilean List of towns in Chile, town and Communes of Chile, commune in Cautín Province, Araucanía Region. The town is an important gateway for tourists visiting Conguillío National Park and Llaima volcano. ...

Lautaro Lautaro (Anglicized as 'Levtaru') ( " swift hawk") (; 1534 – April 29, 1557) was a young Mapuche toqui known for leading the indigenous resistance against Spanish conquest in Chile and developing the tactics that would continue to be empl ...

and

Perquenco Perquenco is a town and commune in the Cautín Province of southern Chile's Araucanía Region. The town was declared capital of the unrecognized Kingdom of Araucanía and Patagonia by Orélie-Antoine de Tounens, but soon after it was occupied ...

. 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 Alberto Espina Otero ( RN) and Jaime Quintana Leal ( PPD) as part of the 14th senatorial constituency (Araucanía-North).

References

External links

*
Municipality of Galvarino
{{Communes in Araucanía Region Communes of Chile Populated places in Cautín Province 1882 establishments in Chile