Constitución (Spanish pronunciation: [konstituˈsjon]) is a city and commune of Talca Province, Maule Region, Chile.

[citation needed] While numerous attempts were made to establish a permanent settlement in the area, Santiago Oñederra was the first successful colonizing pioneer, circa 1791.

[7] After the devastating 8.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Chile on 27 February 2010, an estimated 350 people died in Constitución from a tsunami.

[8] Two weeks before the earthquake, the local people were trained to head for the hills if unable to stand during the tremor, as the likelihood of a tsunami was high.

According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Constitución spans an area of 1,343.6 km2 (519 sq mi) and has 46,081 inhabitants (23,389 men and 22,692 women).

[2] As a commune, Constitución is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a municipal council, headed by an alcalde (mayor) who is directly elected every four years.

[1] Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Constitución 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, Empedrado, Pencahue, Maule, San Clemente, Pelarco, 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).

The main employment sources are the primary sectors, fishing, farming, forestry and low level artesanal production.

[17] Railway expansion first came to the Maule Region in mid-1889 when rail-line construction began by the North and South American Company.