San Ignacio 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 located in the Ñuble Province

Ñuble Province

Ñuble Province is one of four provinces of the Chilean region of Biobío . It spans an area of and is administratively constituted by 21 communes. It has a population of 441,604 inhabitants. Its capital is the city of Chillán.-History:...

, Biobío Region. It spans an area of 363.6 sqkm.

Demographics

According to data from the 2002 Census of Population and Housing, San Ignacio had 16,106 inhabitants; of these, 4,873 (30.3%) 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 11,233 (69.7%) in rural areas. At that time, there were 8,192 men and 7,914 women. Sanignacino is the demonym

Demonym

A demonym , also referred to as a gentilic, is a name for a resident of a locality. A demonym is usually – though not always – derived from the name of the locality; thus, the demonym for the people of England is English, and the demonym for the people of Italy is Italian, yet, in english, the one...

 for a man, and Sanignacina is that of a woman.

Administration

As a commune, San Ignacio 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. For the years 2008-2012, the alcalde is Nelson Aedo Figueroa (UDI), and the councilors are:

• Osiel Soto Lagos (UDI)
• Juan Muñoz Pérez (UDI)
• Rolando Flores Monsalve (UDI)
• Mauricio López Muñoz (RN
  National Renewal
  National Renewal may refer to:*National Renewal *National Renewal...
  
  )
• Patricio Hernán Chávez Benavente (PDC)
• Romeo Valdés Guerra (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...
  
  )

Within the electoral divisions of Chile, San Ignacio 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 41st electoral district (together with Chillán

Chillán

Chillán is a city in the Biobío Region of Chile located about south of the country's capital, Santiago, near the geographical center of the country. It is the capital of Ñuble Province and, with a population of approximately 170,000 people , the most populated urban center of this province...

, Coihueco

Coihueco

Coihueco is a Chilean commune and city in Ñuble Province, Biobío Region. It is located near Chillán, the provincial capital. Coihueco borders San Carlos and San Fabián on the north, Argentina on the east, Pinto on the South, and Chillán on the west....

, Pinto

Pinto, Chile

Pinto is a Chilean town and commune in Ñuble Province, Biobío Region. It is bordered by the commune of Coihueco to the north, Chillán and San Ignacio to the west, and El Carmen and Antuco to the south...

, El Carmen

El Carmen

-Colombia:*El Carmen, Santander a municipality in the Santander Department*El Carmen de Atrato, a municipality in the Chocó Department*El Carmen, Norte de Santander, a municipality in the Norte de Santander Department...

, Pemuco

Pemuco

Pemuco is a Chilean town and commune in Ñuble Province, Biobío Region.-Demographics:According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Pemuco spans an area of and has 8,821 inhabitants . Of these, 3,844 lived in urban areas and 4,977 in rural areas...

, Yungay

Yungay, Chile

Yungay is a Chilean town and commune in Ñuble Province, Biobío Region. The commune spans an area of .-Demographics:According to data from the 2002 Census of Population and Housing, the Yungay commune had 16,814 inhabitants; of these, 11,469 lived in urban areas and 5,345 in rural areas. At that...

 and Chillán Viejo

Chillán Viejo

Chillán Viejo is a city and commune in the Ñuble Province of Chile's eighth region of Biobío . According to the 2002 census, the population of the commune was 22,084 and it has an area of .-History:...

). 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 13th senatorial constituency (Biobío Coast).