Placilla

For other uses, see Placilla (disambiguation).

Placilla is a Chilean town and commune in Colchagua Province, O'Higgins Region.

Placilla
Town and Commune
Flag Coat of arms Map of Placilla commune in O'Higgins Region Placilla Location in Chile
Coordinates (city): 34°38′15″S 71°07′30″W
Country	Chile
Region	O'Higgins
Province	Colchagua
Government [1]
• Type	Municipality
• Alcalde	Marcelo González Farías
Area [2]
• Total	146.9 km2 (56.7 sq mi)
Elevation	234 m (768 ft)
Population  (2012 Census)[2]
• Total	8,277
• Density	56/km2 (150/sq mi)
• Urban	2,114
• Rural	5,964
Sex [2]
• Men	4,134
• Women	3,944
Time zone	UTC-4 (CLT[3])
• Summer (DST)	UTC-3 (CLST[4])
Area code	(+56) 72
Website	Municipality of Placilla

Demographics

According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Placilla spans an area of 146.9 km² (57 sq mi) and has 8,078 inhabitants (4,134 men and 3,944 women). Of these, 2,114 (26.2%) lived in urban areas and 5,964 (73.8%) in rural areas. The population grew by 3.6% (279 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.^[2]

Administration

As a commune, Placilla 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 2012–2016 mayor was José Joaquín Latorre Muñoz (PDC); Latorre, however, died as a consequence of a car crash on 22 July 2013. Latorre had previously held the mayoral office between 1992 and 2008.^[5] He was succeeded by Tulio Contreras Álvarez, a member of the local council, who has been reelected until 2024. He died in 2022, during his third term as mayor of Placilla, and was succeeded by Marcelo González, also a Christian Democrat.