Molina (Chile)
Molina is a commune in the Curicó Province, which is located in the Maule Region in central Chile.
It is part of Electoral District No. 36 and belongs to the 10th Senatorial District (Maule Norte).
Demographics
The municipality of Molina covers an area of 1,551.64 km² and has a population of 45,976 inhabitants (2017 Census), corresponding to 4.4% of the total population of the region, with a density of 29.63 inhabitants. /km². Of the total population, 23,341 are women (50.77%) and 22,635 are men (49.23%). In 2002, 26.71% corresponded to the rural population and 73.28% to the urban population. The main urban centers are the communal capital, Molina, and the city of Lontué (10,029 inhabitants). Other populated localities are Pichingal, Quechereguas, Entre Ríos, Casa Blanca, Santa Cristina and Radal.
History
In 1834, the Mayor of Talca at the time, José Donoso Bustamante, visited the Hacienda "Quechereguas" owned by María del Tránsito de la Cruz y Antúnez, married to José Antonio Rosales, Deputy of the province, who wanted to found a town at one of the ends of his hacienda, bordering the Villa Verde Hacienda. In March 1834, the Mayor, following a report from personalities in the sector, including the parish priest of Lontué, sent the petition to the President of the Republic, José Joaquín Prieto Vial. On December 10, the Decree of November 28 was received, by which the new population was created with the name of "Villa de Molina", in memory of Abate Juan Ignacio Molina SJ, a Chilean Jesuit scholar who enriched the national sciences.
In 1874 the title of city was given to Molina, November 7, 1874, also in the same year the city opened its Molina Station.
Economy
Molina is characterized, par excellence, for being one of the great poles of the Chilean wine industry. In addition to the vines, there is the existence of a fruit industry, highlighting the production of apples, pears and kiwis. It is the headquarters of important wine exporting and producing companies such as Viña Concha & Toro, Viña San Pedro Tarapaca (VSPT Group), Viña Echeverría and also agricultural companies such as Dole, Hortifrut, Patagonia Fresh Agrícola Garcés and several others. This commune makes up almost 32% of the region's GDP and also stands out for the lowest unemployment rate in the central area.
In 2018, the number of companies registered in Molina was 771. The Economic Complexity Index (ECI) in the same year was 0.1, while the economic activities with the highest Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) index) were Wine Production (50.1), Crop Rotation Service and Similar (34.91) and Grape Cultivation Destined for Wine Production (32.55).
Tourism
Thanks to its extensive nature reserve (Radal 7 tazas) this town has camping, ecotourism, international and native food as well as extensive native forests where you can hike and horseback ride, being able to explore large tourist territories in this area in just a few hours. In addition, it has a large number of eco-artisans, that is, artisans who generate their articles without deforesting or damaging the flora and fauna of the sector.
Sports
Football
The municipality of Molina has had three clubs participating in the National Soccer Championships in Chile.
- Atlético Molina (Third Division 1981-1982).
- Lautaro de Molina (Fourth Division 2000).
- Unión Molina (Third Division B 2012).
Media
- Revista CCM: Digital Media.
Nova TV Canal 7: television channel by the cable operator Novavision, founded more than 6 years ago
Punto Lontue Noticias: digital communication medium, the oldest in the commune with more than 10 years of life