Freire is a 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...

an town and commune in Cautín Province

Cautín Province

Cautín Province is one of two provinces in the southern Chilean region of Araucanía , bounded on the north by Arauco and Malleco provinces, on the east by Argentina, on the south by Valdivia Province, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. Its population at the 2002 census was of 667,920. The most...

, Araucanía Region

Araucanía Region

The IX Araucanía Region is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions and comprises two provinces: Malleco in the north and Cautín in the south....

. According to the 2002 census, the commune population was 25,514 and has an area of 935.2 sqkm.

The town of Freire lies at the junction of Chile Highway 5

Chile Highway 5

Chile Highway 5 or Route 5 known locally as Ruta 5 is Chile's longest route. It is part of the Panamerican Highway.-Stretch:It runs from the Peruvian border connecting with Peru Highway 1 north of Arica to Puerto Montt where it connects by ferry to the island of Chiloé...

 and the Route CH-199, which links Freire with Villarrica

Villarrica, Chile

Villarrica is a city and commune in southern Chile located on the western shore of Villarrica Lake in the Province of Cautín, Araucanía Region south of Santiago and close to the Villarrica Volcano ski center to the south east. Residents of Villarrica are known as Villarriquences.Tourism, grain and...

 and Pucón

Pucón

Pucón is a Chilean city and commune administered by the municipality of Pucón located in the Province of Cautín, Araucanía Region, 100 km to the southeast of Temuco and 780 km to the south of Santiago....

.

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 Population and Housing by the National Statistics Institute (Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas or INE) Freire had 25,514 inhabitants; of these, 7,629 (29.9%) 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 17,885 (70.1%) in rural areas. At that time, there were 13,143 men and 12,371 women. The population grew by 10.9% (2,517 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.

Administration

As a commune, Freire 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 Luis Armando Arias Lopez, and the council has the following members:

• Luis García Friz
• Luis Marchant Morales
• Sebastian Daniel Rojas Rivera
• Yanina Barría Rojas
• Patricio Ríos González
• José Oñate Orias

Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Freire 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....

 as a part of the 51st electoral district (together with Carahue

Carahue

Carahue is a city and commune in southern Chile. It is located 56 km west of Temuco, on the northern bank of the Imperial River.The city was founded as La Imperial April 16, 1552 by Pedro de Valdivia....

, Nueva Imperial

Nueva Imperial

Nueva Imperial is a city and commune in the south of Chile. It is located in Cautín Province in the Araucanía Region. Nueva Imperial lies about to the west of Temuco, the regional capital.-Geography:...

, Saavedra, Teodoro Schmidt

Teodoro Schmidt, Chile

Teodoro Schmidt is a Chilean town and commune located in Cautín Province, Araucanía Region. Teodoro Schmidt spans a coastal area of .-Demographics:...

, Pitrufquén

Pitrufquén

Pitrufquén is a Chilean city and commune in Cautín Province, Araucanía Region. The city is located 30 km south of Temuco and lies immediately south of the Toltén River, along Chile Highway 5.-History:...

, Cholchol

Cholchol

Cholchol is a Chilean town and commune located in Cautín Province, Araucanía Region. The commune was created by Law 19,944 on April 22, 2004 by dividing off the northern area of the existing Nueva Imperial commune.-Demographics:...

). 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:...

as part of the 15th senatorial constituency (Araucanía-South).

External links

Municipality of Freire