José María Caro Martínez[a] (Spanish pronunciation: [xoˈse maˈɾia ˈkaɾo maɾˈtineθ] ⓘ; 1830 – 11 November 1916) was a Chilean politician and civil servant.

In May 1894, he was unanimously elected as the first mayor of the commune of Pichilemu, with Pedro Nolasco de Mira and Francisco Reyes made second and third magistrate respectively.

The eleven-year mayorship of Caro Martínez, which lasted from 1894 and 1905, was described by journalist and local historian José Arraño Acevedo as "the most fruitful" in the history of the commune.

"[2] Caro served for several years as administrator (llavero) of the hacienda of San Antonio de Petrel,[3] property of José Vicente Ortúzar Formas.

During his administration of San Antonio de Petrel, the hacienda was "rich", as it "possessed 1,500 cows, [...] and produced yearly 15 thousand sacks of wheat, each of 100 kilograms.

According to journalist José Arraño Acevedo, the archives of the Archiepiscopate of Santiago —which are published yearly— show he was elected as a steward of the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament for the years of 1888, 1890, 1892, and 1900.

Those include the schools of Yerbas Buenas, Las Garzas, Trinidad, Molineros, Peñablanca, all in the current territory of the commune of Marchigüe, and one in central Pichilemu.

[4] Other works during Caro Martínez's mayorship include the grant of 1,300 Chilean pesos for the design of plans for the construction of the railway from Alcones to Pichilemu, and the installation of a water tank, located in the house of municipal secretary Albino Pulgar.

Additionally, the government of Caro Martínez determined the urban limits of the commune of Pichilemu, gave help to victims of heavy rainstorms that hit the area in the time, brought Carabineros forces to "scare away" bandits from the local farms, and made repairs to the roads of Marchigüe, Trinidad, Molineros, and Peñablanca.

[13] In late September–early October 1916, he became ill with an unspecified disease, which forty days later, in the night of that 11 November, "won against his strong physique" and provoked his death at age 86.

[2] Caro was subsequently cremated and is buried with his wife Rita, who died at age 97 on 7 August 1931,[note 3][2] in a mausoleum constructed by their son José María, located at the churchyard of Ciruelos.