Rengo is a city and commune located in the Zona Central

Zona Central, Chile

Zona central is one of the five natural regions into which CORFO divided continental Chile in 1950. It is home to a majority of the Chilean population and includes the three largest metropolitan areas- Santiago, Valparaíso, and Concepción...

 of 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...

, situated in the Cachapoal Province

Cachapoal Province

Cachapoal Province is one of three provinces of the central Chilean region of O'Higgins . Its capital is the city of Rancagua .-Geography and demography:...

 of the O'Higgins Region

O'Higgins Region

The VI O'Higgins Region is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions. It is subdivided into three provinces. It is named in honour of Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme, one of Chile's founding fathers....

 at a distance of 28 km (17 mi) south of the city of Rancagua

Rancagua

Rancagua is a city and commune in central Chile, part of the Rancagua conurbation. It is the capital of the Cachapoal Province and of the O'Higgins Region, located south of the national capital of Santiago. It had a 2002 population of 214,344...

 and 114 km (70.8 mi) south of the national capital Santiago

Santiago, Chile

Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...

. It was named after the courageous Toqui

Toqui

Toqui is a title conferred by the Mapuche to those who are chosen as their leaders during times of war. The toqui is chosen in an assembly or parliament of the chieftains of the various clans or confederation of clans , allied during the war in question...

 Rengo for his particular bravery at the Battle of Lagunillas

Battle of Lagunillas

The Battle of Lagunillas was a battle in the Arauco War on November 8, 1557 between the army of García Hurtado de Mendoza and the Mapuche army near some shallow lakes a league south of the Bio-Bio River.-History:...

.

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...

, Rengo spans an area of 591.5 sqkm and has 50,830 inhabitants (25,311 men and 25,519 women). Of these, 37,075 (72.9%) 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 13,755 (27.1%) in rural areas. The population grew by 16.5% (7,213 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.

Administration

As a commune, Rengo 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.

Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Rengo 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 Mr. Eugenio Bauer (UDI) and Mr. Ricardo Rincón (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...

) as part of the 33rd electoral district, (together with Mostazal

Mostazal

Mostazal is a Chilean commune in Cachapoal Province, O'Higgins Region. The capital of the commune is the city of San Francisco de Mostazal.-Geography:The commune spans an area of . The Plaza de San Francisco has an elevation of .-Demographics:...

, Graneros

Graneros

Graneros is a Chilean commune and city in Cachapoal Province, O'Higgins Region.-Demographics:According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Graneros spans an area of and has 25,961 inhabitants . Of these, 22,674 lived in urban areas and 3,287 in rural areas...

, Codegua

Codegua

Codegua is a Chilean commune and city in Cachapoal Province, O'Higgins Region. According to the 2002 census, the commune population was 10,796 and has an area of 286.9 km².-Demographics:...

, Machalí

Machalí

Machalí is a Chilean commune and city in Cachapoal Province, O'Higgins Region.-Demographics:According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Machalí spans an area of and has 28,628 inhabitants . Of these, 26,852 lived in urban areas and 1,776 in rural areas...

, Requínoa

Requínoa

Requínoa is a Chilean commune and city in Cachapoal Province, O'Higgins Region.-Demographics:According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Requínoa spans an area of and has 22,161 inhabitants . Of these, 11,167 lived in urban areas and 10,994 in rural areas...

, Olivar, Doñihue

Doñihue

Doñihue is a Chilean city and commune in Cachapoal Province, O'Higgins Region.-Demographics:According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Doñihue spans an area of and has 16,916 inhabitants . Of these, 15,590 lived in urban areas and 1,326 in rural areas...

, Coinco

Coinco

Coinco is a Chilean commune and town in Cachapoal Province, O'Higgins Region. According to the 2002 census, the commune population was 6,385 and has an area of .-Demographics:...

, Coltauco

Coltauco

Coltauco is a Chilean commune and town in Cachapoal Province, O'Higgins Region. According to the 2002 census, the commune population was 16,228 and has an area of 224.7 km².-Demographics:...

, Quinta de Tilcoco

Quinta de Tilcoco

Quinta de Tilcoco is a Chilean commune and city in Cachapoal Province, O'Higgins Region.-Demographics:According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Quinta de Tilcoco spans an area of and has 11,380 inhabitants . Of these, 5,850 lived in urban areas and 5,530 in rural areas...

 and Malloa

Malloa

Malloa is a Chilean commune and town in Cachapoal Province, O'Higgins Region.-Demographics:According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Malloa spans an area of and has 12,872 inhabitants . Of these, 4,709 lived in urban areas and 8,163 in rural areas...

). 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 Andrés Chadwick Piñera (UDI) and Juan Pablo Letelier Morel (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...

) as part of the 9th senatorial constituency (O'Higgins Region).