Freirina


Freirina is a Chilean commune and town in Huasco Province, Atacama Region. The commune spans an area of. Freirina is both an agricultural and a mining town.
Prior to the founding of Vallenar in 1789 Freirina, then known as Santa Rosa, was the main town of Huasco Valley. The town was renamed to Freirina in honor of Supreme Director Ramón Freire in 1824 when it was raised in settlement category from asiento a villa.
From the 1930s to the 1950s there was significant gold mining in Capote 25 km north of Freirina.

Demographics

According to the 2002 census by the National Statistics Institute, Freirina had 5,666 inhabitants; of these, 3,469 lived in urban areas and 2,107 in rural areas. At that time, there were 2,800 men and 2,866 women. The population grew by 8.5% between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.

Administration

As a commune, Freirina is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a municipal council, headed by an alcalde who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Roberto Bruzzone Galeb.
Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Freirina is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Mr. Alberto Robles and Mr. Giovanni Calderón as part of the 6th electoral district,. The commune is represented in the Senate by Isabel Allende Bussi and Baldo Prokurica Prokurica as part of the 3rd senatorial constituency.

Notable people