Mejillones

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Mejillones
City and Commune
Flag Coat of arms Map of Mejillones in Antofagasta Region UTC−3 (CLST)
Area code	56 + 55
Website	Municipality of Mejillones

Mejillones is a

The settlement of Mejillones dates back to the first communities of Chango people who inhabited the coastal area from 1825.

Mejillones was included in maps of the Captaincy General of Chile in the 18th century, depending from the city of Copiapó.^[2]

Between 1838 and 1839, French businessmen known as Hermano Latrille ("Brothers Latrille"), contracted mining services of the Copiapino Juan López (miner known as Chango Lopez, considered the founder of Antofagasta), to mine guano deposits located south of Mejillones. In this manner, Luan López began mining around the vicinity of San Luciano hill in 1841. The concession for the mining of this raw material was obtained by Domingo Latrille at the hands of the Bolivian government, which would last until 1842. Between 1841 and 1842, they made the largest shipments of this product to Europe.

In 1845,

The territory was disputed between Chile and Bolivia until the signing of the Boundary Treaty of 1866. Bolivia and Chile mutually agreed to finance the construction of the Oficinas de Administración y Resguardo de Aduanas ("Offices of Administration and Security of Customs") in order to protect the interests of Chilean workers and to implement an export tax on minerals, primarily salt and guano. Subsequently, one of these buildings was transferred to the city of Antofagasta during the War of the Pacific; currently, this building is still in force and designated as the "Regional Museum".

On October 8, 1879, the

Also after the War of the Pacific, administrative organization began, which in the case of Mejillones would involve the preparation of

In 1970, a majority vote approved the bill presented by Mayor Araya Cuadra to build a theater located across the rear of the Plaza Almirante Latorre. The work was carried out with the grant of a loan by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development in the amount of $500,000. Such funding would not satisfy the completion of the project, and work stopped in 1972 pending the granting of a loan extension that failed to materialize by the time of the coup of the Armed Forces of September 11th of 1973.

Mejillones is within a sacrifice zone in the Atacama and has eight coal-fired power stations as of 2024. Pollution of the seabed has resulted in a decline in fishing in the area.^[3]

Demographics

According to data from the 2002 census by the

External links

• Official website (in Spanish)