Pelarco
Town and Commune
Coat of arms Location of the Pelarco commune in the Maule Region Pelarco Location in Chile
Coordinates: 35°23′S 71°27′W / 35.383°S 71.450°W / -35.383; -71.450
Country	Chile
Region	Maule
Province	Talca
Government [1][2]
• Type	Municipality
• Alcalde	Alfredo Pérez Leiva (Ind.)
Area [3]
• Total	331.5 km2 (128.0 sq mi)
Elevation	136 m (446 ft)
Population  (2012 Census)[3]
• Total	7,632
• Density	23/km2 (60/sq mi)
• Urban	1,822
• Rural	5,444
Sex [3]
• Men	3714
• Women	3552
Time zone	UTC-4 (CLT[4])
• Summer (DST)	UTC-3 (CLST[5])
Area code	(+56) 71
Website	www.municipalidaddepelarco.cl

Pelarco is a town and commune in Talca Province, Maule Region of Chile. The commune spans an area of 331.5 km² (128 sq mi).^[3]

Demographics

According to data from the 2002 Census of Population and Housing, Pelarco had 7,266 inhabitants; of these, 1,822 (25.1%) lived in urban areas and 5,444 (74.9%) in rural areas. At that time, there were 3,714 men and 3,552 women. The population fell 5.0% (382 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.^[3]

Administration

As a commune, Pelarco 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 Alfredo Pérez Leiva (Ind.).^[1]

Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Pelarco is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Pablo Lorenzini (PDC) and Pedro Pablo Alvarez-Salamanca (UDI) as part of the 38th electoral district, together with Curepto, Constitución, Empedrado, Pencahue, Maule, San Clemente, Río Claro and San Rafael. The commune is represented in the Senate by Juan Antonio Coloma Correa (UDI) and Andrés Zaldívar Larraín (PDC) as part of the 10th senatorial constituency (Maule-North).