Chile is divided into thirteen regions, each of which is headed by an intendant (intendente). Every region is further divided into provinces headed by a governor (gobernador). Finally, each province is divided into various municipalities (comunas), each with its own mayor (alcalde). Intendants and governors are appointed by the president, mayors are elected by popular vote.

Each region is designated by a name and a Roman numeral (i.e. IV, fourth; X, tenth). Numbers are assigned from north to south. In general the Roman numeral is used, rather than the name. The only exception is the region where Santiago is situated, which is designated RM, that stands for Región Metropolitana, (Spanish for Metropolitan Region).

The current regional politico-administrative division of Chile was established in 1974 under the Augusto Pinochet dictatorial regime. The new territorial organization was implemented in phases with some initial "pilot regions" beginning to operate in 1974, and then from January 1 1976 the process was extended to the remaining regions. The Santiago Metropolitan Region began to operate in April 1980, with Santiago named National Capital.

In 2003, president Ricardo Lagos sent a bill to Congress so that law makers could discuss — now in democracy — how the territory should be divided.

List of regions

Reference

• Decreto Ley 2.339 (Chile Law)

See also

• ISO 3166-2:CL
• Patagonia

External links

• Provinces of Chile