It was originally named Villa Reina Luisa del Parral in honor of the wife of Carlos IV, the King of Spain.

[citation needed] Parral is the birthplace of poet Pablo Neruda, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1971.

[citation needed] As a commune, Parral is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a municipal council, headed by an alcalde who is directly elected every four years.

in the Chamber of Deputies by Guillermo Ceroni (PPD) and Ignacio Urrutia (UDI) as part of the 40th electoral district, together with Longaví, Retiro, Cauquenes, Pelluhue and Chanco.

The commune is represented in the Senate by Hernán Larraín (UDI) and Ximena Rincón González (PDC) as part of the 11th senatorial constituency (Maule-South).