Saavedra () is a commune of Chile in CautÃÂn Province, AraucanÃÂa Region. The principal community and administrative centre of the commune is the town of Puerto Saavedra. The commune is named after the Chilean soldier General Cornelio Saavedra RodrÃÂguez who was placed in charge of the occupation of the AraucanÃÂa in 1860. It has the highest percentageâÂÂthough not the largest numberâÂÂof Mapuche people in the region (64%, 2002 census). It is also the location for the 1991 movie "La Frontera".
According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Saavedra spans an area of and has 14,034 inhabitants (7,259 men and 6,775 women). Of these, 2,679 (19.1%) lived in urban areas and 11,355 (80.9%) in rural areas. The population fell by 2.8% (398 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.
As a commune, Saavedra 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 2008-2012 alcalde is Ricardo Tripainao Calfulaf (PPD).
Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Saavedra is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by José Manuel Edwards (RN) and JoaquÃÂn Tuma (PDC) as part of the 51st electoral district, together with Carahue, Nueva Imperial, Teodoro Schmidt, Freire, Pitrufquén and Cholchol. The commune is represented in the Senate by José Garcia Ruminot (RN) and Eugenio Tuma Zedan (PPD) as part of the 15th senatorial constituency (AraucanÃÂa-South).