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The name of the city comes from Alonso Quintero, the Spanish navigator who discovered the bay in 1536 when he arrived on the ship Santiaguillo.
In the early years of 21st century, Quintero has become famous as a symbol of insufficient environmental policies. Since the beginnings of 20th century when an industrialization politics started,[6] in the zone were built a thermoelectric coal plant by Chilectra (currently Enel Américas) and the copper smelter Fundición Ventanas by Codelco in the nearby town of the same name; arriving to this date (2019) to be a zone informally known as Industrial Park Quintero-Puchuncaví, including oil industries, liquefied gas terminals, and chemical industries among others, which has caused the bay and surroundings to be considered a "sacrifice zone".[7] Multiple protests about the gradual environmental destruction were unsuccessful, until a serious episode of mass poisoning in August 2018[8][9][10] put a spotlight on the city's situation and its surroundings in Quintero Bay causing investigations by the Senate of Chile.[11] By October 2019, the situation remains unresolved.[12]
Demographics
According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Quintero had 21,174 inhabitants (10,390 men and 10,784 women). Of these, 18,719 (88.4%) lived in urban areas and 2,455 (11.6%) in rural areas. The population grew by 19% (3,378 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.[2] The demonym for a man from Quintero is Quinterano and Quinterana for a woman.
Administration
As a commune, Quintero is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a communal council, headed by an alcalde who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is José Varas Zuñiga.[1]
^"Historia ambiental de Quintero y Puchuncaví". PRAS Programa para la Recuperación Ambiental y Social. Archived from the original on 17 November 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2019. El Programa para la Recuperación Ambiental y Social PRAS, es una estrategia de trabajo multisectorial, liderada por el Ministerio del Medio Ambiente de Chile.
^Labbé, Daniel (24 July 2019). "Quintero y Puchuncaví, la zona de sacrificio que no logra respirar tranquila". El Ciudadano. Retrieved 14 November 2019. Quintero y Puchuncaví son consideradas zonas de sacrificio. Industrias como ENDESA, COPEC, SHELL, EPOXA, ENAP, GNL, GASMAR, OXIQUIM, CODELCO, CEMENTOS BIO BIO, PUERTO VENTANAS y AES GENER se encuentran emplazados a pocos kilómetros entre Quintero, Ventanas y La Greda, además de las termoeléctricas Ventana I, Ventana II, Nueva Ventanas y Campiche.
^Fajardo, Marco (29 August 2018). "Combinación fatal en Quintero: mezcla de contaminantes, ausencia de normativas y lobby empresarial". El Mostrador. Retrieved 14 November 2019. La crisis ambiental en la zona es fruto de largos años de emisiones por encima de la norma internacional de poderosas empresas (públicas y privadas) en la bahía, que han hecho un intenso y exitoso lobby para seguir funcionando así, y la desidia del Estado, que ha sido incapaz de imponer una ley con estándares internacionales. Así de categórica es la opinión de la comunidad científica que pronostica, que de no actuar seria y drásticamente, las emergencias, cada vez más graves en la zona, serán pan de cada día.
^"Contaminación en Quintero-Puchuncaví: exigen a Codelco, Gener y Enap someterse a estudios de impacto ambiental". senado.cl. 21 August 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2019. Los senadores de la Comisión de Medio Ambiente y de la Región de Valparaíso, junto organizaciones civiles de Zona de Sacrificio Quintero-Puchuncaví exigieron a Codelco División Ventanas someterse de manera voluntaria a un Estudio de Impacto Ambiental y denunciaron amenazas de la empresa a los trabajadores que han alertado el incremento de "gases fugitivos".
