Palena 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 commune located in Palena Province

Palena Province

Palena Province is one of the four provinces in the southern Chilean region of Los Lagos . Due to the eruption of Chaitén Volcano and the subsequent destruction of Chaitén, Futaleufú is since March 2009 the new capital of Palena Province. The private Pumalín Park is located in the province as is...

, Los Lagos Region

Los Lagos Region

Los Lagos Region is one of Chile's 15 regions, which are first order administrative divisions, and comprises four provinces: Chiloé, Llanquihue, Osorno and Palena. The region contains the country's second largest island, Chiloé, and the second largest lake, Llanquihue.Its capital is Puerto Montt;...

. The commune is named after Palena Lake.

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...

, Palena spans an area of 2763.7 sqkm and has 1,690 inhabitants (904 men and 786 women), making the commune an entirely rural area. The population grew by 2.2% (37 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.

Administration

As a commune, Palena 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 Aladin Delgado Casanova (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...

).

Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Palena 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 Gabriel Ascencio (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 Alejandro Santana (RN) as part of the 58th electoral district, (together with Castro

Castro, Chile

Castro is a city and commune in the Chilean island of Chiloé Island. Castro is the capital of the Chiloé Province in the Los Lagos Region. It is Chile's third oldest city in continued existence...

, Ancud

Ancud

Ancud is a city in southern Chile located in the northernmost part of the island and province of Chiloé, in Los Lagos Region .-Geography:...

, Quemchi

Quemchi

Quemchi is a Chilean town and commune in Los Lagos Region, located in the eastern shore of Chiloé Island. It acquired certain celebrity because the famous Chilean writer Francisco Coloane was born nearby the town.-History:...

, Dalcahue

Dalcahue

Dalcahue is a port town and a commune on Chiloé Island, Los Lagos Region, Chile.-Demographics:According to the 2002 census by the National Statistics Institute, the Dalcachue commune spans an area of and had 10,693 inhabitants; of these, 4,933 lived in urban areas and 5,760 in rural areas. At...

, Curaco de Vélez

Curaco de Vélez

Curaco de Vélez is Chilean commune in Chiloé Archipelago which is part of Chiloé Province and Los Lagos Region. The commune is located in western Quinchao Island while the eastern part is administered by the commune of Quinchao.-History:...

, Quinchao

Quinchao

-External links: *...

, Puqueldón

Puqueldón

Puqueldón is Chilean commune in Chiloé Archipelago which is part of Chiloé Province and Los Lagos Region. The commune is located on Lemuy Island. Puqueldón was one of the town to receive the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundations scholarship in 2002.-History:...

, Chonchi

Chonchi

Chonchi is a Chilean town and commune located in Los Lagos Region. Chonchi is a truly rural community. The country people have given a distinct form to its valleys, hills and waterways...

, Queilén

Queilén

Queilén is a town and commune in the Archipelago of Chiloé in southern Chile. It covers a portion of the southeast of the Greater Island of Chiloé, between the communes of Chonchi, Quellón, Tranqui Island and Acuy Island...

, Quellón

Quellón

Quellón is a Chilean port city and commune in southern Chiloé Island, Los Lagos Region. It is considered an end-station of the Panamerican Highway and the Pacific Coastal Highway. The majority of men work on small boats called "lanchas" for days at a time fishing...

, Chaitén

Chaitén

Chaitén is a Chilean town, commune and former capital of the Palena Province in Los Lagos Region. The town is located north of the mouth of Yelcho River, on the east coast of the Gulf of Corcovado...

, Hualaihué

Hualaihué

Hualaihué is a Chilean commune located in Palena Province, Los Lagos Region. The communal capital is the town of Hornopirén.-Demographics:According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Hualaihué spans an area of and has 8,273 inhabitants . Of these, 2,406 lived in urban areas...

 and Futaleufú

Futaleufú, Chile

Futaleufú is a Chilean town and commune located in Palena Province, Los Lagos Region. The commune is named after Futaleufú River. Due to the eruption of Chaitén Volcano and the subsequent destruction of Chaitén, Futaleufú has been the capital of Palena Province since March 2009. The town is close...

). 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 Camilo Escalona Medina (PS

Socialist Party of Chile

The Socialist Party of Chile is a political party, that is part of the center-left Coalition of Parties for Democracy coalition. Its historical leader was the late President of Chile Salvador Allende Gossens, who was deposed by General Pinochet in 1973...

) and Carlos Kuschel Silva (RN) as part of the 17th senatorial constituency (Los Lagos Region).