[citation needed] The name Lota is thought to be derived from the Mapudungun word Louta meaning small piece of land.

When Allende was overthrown and a military dictatorship established, Lota's political parties and powerful trade unions were forbidden.

[8] Tourism, forestry, artisan fishing and small-scale entrepreneurship have replaced mining as sources of employment, but older miners have found it difficult to adapt.

[5] Compared to the 1960s and 1970s the city is very much depoliticized; evidence of this is the fact some evangelical churches have more attendants than the offices of political parties.

[8] According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Lota spans an area of 135.8 km2 (52 sq mi) and has 49,089 inhabitants (23,944 men and 25,145 women).

[8] As a commune, Lota 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 commune has been represented in the Senate by Victor Pérez Varela (UDI) and Mariano Ruiz -Esquide Jara (PDC) as part of the 13th senatorial constituency (Biobío-Coast).