Lably
Skip to content

Ñuble Region

Region of Chile

  • 11 min read
  • 7 chapters
Skigebiet von Termas de Chillan
Benutzer:Wurstsalat · CC BY-SA 3.0

Related on Lably

Through Regionalism (politics)

The region, located in the south-central part of the country, borders the Maule Region to the north, the province of Neuquén in Argentina to the east, the Biobío Region to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Its main urban centre is Greater Chillán, comprising the city of the same name and the surrounding urban area, with a total population of 223,070, followed by San Carlos with 55,847 inhabitants.

On 19 August 2017, President Michelle Bachelet signed the decree enacting the law creating the Ñuble Region, separating it from the Biobío Region. The law was published in the Official Gazette on 5 September 2017 and came into force a year later, on 6 September 2018.

History

On 2 February 1848, the former province of Ñuble was created as part of the reforms contemplated in the Political Constitution of 1833, through the merger of two former departments, the department of Chillán belonging to the former Province of Concepción and the department of San Carlos belonging to the Province of Maule. In 1974, with the regionalisation process of the military government, the former province (with regional status) was abolished and the province of Ñuble was created.

In 1995, with the creation of the commune of Chillán Viejo and the publication in the newspaper La Discusión of a document entitled Ñuble como región y la estrategia de desarrollo para implementarla (Ñuble as a region and the development strategy to implement it), the background for the creation of the Pro Ñuble Region Committee on 18 May 1997, which would later be renamed simply ‘Ñuble Region’, whose general council was made up of the 21 mayors of the province. This organisation was a citizens' movement that took more than 21 years to achieve its ultimate goal, as it was the only visible entity in the creation of the new region, with mayors, councillors, parliamentarians and social leaders as its main allies in its work and dissemination.

During Ricardo Lagos' administration, in 2003, a document was created at the Pontifical Catholic University entitled Diagnóstico y propuesta metodológica para modificar la división político administrativa del país (Diagnosis and methodological proposal to modify the political-administrative division of the country), whose analysis investigated the strengths of the then provinces of Arica, Ñuble, and Valdivia, determining that all three provinces had favourable aspects. However, in 2007, only the regions of Arica and Parinacota and Los Ríos were approved. In 2011, the possibility of including the communes of Parral, Cabrero and Yumbel in the bill was raised, but it did not prosper. In 2014, during Sebastián Piñera's first term in office, the University of Concepción conducted a study entitled Línea base, consideraciones y propuestas para determinar pertinencia de creación de nueva Región de Ñuble (Baseline, considerations and proposals to determine the relevance of creating a new Ñuble Region).

Although the proposals that were successful in heading the provinces are Bulnes, Quirihue and San Carlos, there were other proposals such as Chillán Viejo and Yungay in Diguillín and Coelemu and Trehuaco in Itata. Added to this was the intention of the commune of Quillón to move from the province of Itata to Diguillín and Coihueco from Diguillín to Punilla.

On 20 August 2015, President Michelle Bachelet signed the bill creating the Ñuble region in the Schaeffer Room of the University of Bío-Bío Extension Centre in Chillán. Its legislative process began on 1 September 2015, and on 10 January 2017, the bill was approved in its first constitutional stage in the Senate with 28 votes in favour and two against. The bill then moved on to the Chamber of Deputies, where it was approved and dispatched on 5 July of the same year. On 12 July 2017, this bill was approved by the Senate, with 26 votes in favour and only two against.

In 2017, following its approval by the National Congress, Deputy Marcelo Chávez sent the bill to the Constitutional Court of Chile, considering three articles to be unconstitutional: proportionality with regard to the number of senators from the region, regional councillors elected for the Biobío Region would move to the new region, and the lack of consultation with indigenous peoples. Senator Felipe Harboe defended the bill. The court approved the creation of the Ñuble region on 2 August 2017, and on 19 August of the same year, the law was signed by President Michelle Bachelet at the Casa del Deporte in Chillán. In September 2017, the law was published in the Official Gazette, noting that the new region would not be valid until 6 September 2018.

Some groups opposed to the creation of the region argue that it is a recent regionalism, without historical or cultural roots, arising mainly for economic reasons as a way to receive more resources from the central government. However, this would also have repercussions when recalculating the distribution of the public budget, as it would ultimately be the smallest region in terms of surface area and also one of the smallest regional populations, putting it at a disadvantage compared to other regions in its capacity as a higher territorial division of the country. The Biobío Region, with its borders at that time, was the second most populated and industrialised region in Chile, after the Metropolitan Region.

Artisanal fishermen in the provinces of Arauco, Concepción and Ñuble expressed their concern about the limitations that operating within the new regional boundaries would entail, in accordance with the provisions established by legislation and regulated at the national level by the Undersecretary of Fisheries.

This region has played a distinguished role in the history and culture of Chile. Many patriots who fought for independence, presidents, politicians, and artists, like pianist Claudio Arrau and folklorist Violeta Parra, were born here.

Sign in to keep reading

6 more chapters are free with a Lably account.

More in Regions and countries

British ColumbiaProvince of CanadaKeralaState in southwestern IndiaMassachusettsU.S. stateVirginiaU.S. stateNative Americans in the United StatesIndigenous peoples of the United StatesKarnatakaState in southwestern India