Orlando Cornejo Bustamante (26 October 1929 – 20 April 2015) was the 37th Mayor of the commune of Pichilemu, office which he held between September 1992 and December 1996, representing the Union of the Centrist Center (UCC). He was the first mayor of Pichilemu to be elected following the Chilean transition to democracy. In 1996 and 2000, he ran again as a candidate in the municipal elections of these years, but failed to be elected in either.

Orlando Cornejo
Cornejo (right) during the re-inauguration of the Centro Cultural Agustín Ross in 2009
37th Mayor of Pichilemu
In office
26 September 1992 – 6 December 1996
Preceded byRené Maturana Maldonado
Gustavo Parraguez Galarce (interim)
Succeeded byJorge Vargas González
Personal details
Born(1929-10-26)26 October 1929
Cáhuil, Pichilemu Chile
Died20 April 2015(2015-04-20) (aged 85)[1]
Pichilemu, Chile
Political partyUnion of the Centrist Center (UCC)
SpouseMaría Soledad Cornejo Vargas (2007–present)
Residence(s)Pichilemu, Chile
OccupationTourism entrepreneur, civil servant

Early life

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Cornejo Bustamante was born on 26 October 1929 in the village of Cáhuil, Pichilemu, in current Cardenal Caro Province, Region of O'Higgins, Chile. His parents were Jermán Luis Cornejo Becerra and Ester Bustamante de Cornejo.[2] He married María Soledad Cornejo Vargas (born 20 November 1963) in Rengo, Cachapoal Province, Region of O'Higgins, on 22 November 2007.[3]

Cornejo was described in a Pichilemu News article from 2011 as "not a very literate person, but criterious, honest."[4]

Political career

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Orlando Cornejo Bustamante ran as a candidate in the 1992 municipal election, held in June of that year, representing the Union of the Centrist Center (UCC). He was elected mayor, after obtaining 634 votes (10.72%) out of 5,915.[5] He took office on 26 September of that year,[6] along with councilors Aldo Polanco Contreras, Raúl Tobar Pavez, Jorge Vargas González, Mario Bichón Cáceres, and Mariano Polanco Galarce. Cornejo was the first mayor of Pichilemu to be elected in democracy, after the military regime of Augusto Pinochet Ugarte ended.[6][7]

 
The former Agustín Ross casino was purchased during Cornejo's mayorship

Among Cornejo's work as mayor of Pichilemu, in 1995, he purchased for the Municipality of Pichilemu the former Agustín Ross Casino, now turned into a cultural center. The purchase was made with the support of the Pichilemu City Council, composed through the term of 1992–96 by Aldo Polanco Contreras, Jorge Vargas González, Mario Bichón Cáceres, Mariano Polanco Galarce, and Raúl Tobar Pavez,[8] for 30 million pesos (approximately US$60,000).[9] Cornejo created a police control booth in the entrance of Pichilemu, near the local cemetery, which has "proved effective helping that crimes affecting other beach resorts do not occur" in Pichilemu.[4] He also contracted monitors to instruct locals of Pañul to work with clay,[10] and gave kiosks to local artisans at the Avenida Costanera Cardenal José María Caro.[11] In 1994, along with President of the Chamber of Tourism of Pichilemu Washington Saldías González, Cornejo requested the National Monuments Council the designation of the Pichilemu historical centre as a "typical zone" (zona típica). The proposal was approved ten years later, on 1 September 2004, thereby naming the area comprising most of the Avenida Agustín Ross area, including the Agustín Ross hotel, former casino, and park.[12]

Orlando Cornejo's mayorship has been qualified as "one of the best administrations of Pichilemu in democracy" by conservative National Renewal (RN) politician Aldo Polanco Contreras, who went on to say in an October 2008 interview with El Expreso de la Costa that "he [Cornejo] would not do anything if it was wrong, because he asked people who are knowledgeable in administrative matters in the municipality and so he had never any trouble."[13]

In 1996, Cornejo ran as a candidate in that year's municipal election, as an independent supported by the List B, of right-wing candidates. However, he failed to be elected, as he obtained 216 votes (3.40%) out of 6,352.[14] He unsuccessfully ran again as a candidate in the 2000 election, as an independent supported by the List D, of his former Progressive Union of the Centrist Center party. Cornejo obtained 86 votes (1.35%) out of 6,370.[15]

Other work

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Cornejo is a member of the Chamber of Commerce of Pichilemu. In the organization's fortieth anniversary, Cornejo Bustamante was awarded as a "collaborator of the commune's commerce."[16] He is also a member of the Club Deportivo Independiente de Pichilemu, sports club which he also directed. He owns a residencial (small hotel), which for several years served as the headquarters of Independiente.[17]

Death

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Cornejo died on 20 April 2015 in Pichilemu, Chile, at 85. His health was "delicate" in recent times, and was in custody of his family.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b Grez, Diego (20 April 2015). "Falleció Orlando Cornejo Bustamante, exalcalde de Pichilemu, a los 85 años" [Orlando Cornejo Bustamante, former mayor of Pichilemu, died at 85]. El Marino (in Spanish). Pichilemu, Chile. Archived from the original on 20 April 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  2. ^ "Certificado de Nacimiento para Asignación Familiar – Orlando Cornejo Bustamante" (in Spanish). Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación de Chile. 23 March 2013. Archived from the original on 23 March 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
  3. ^ "Certificado de Matrimonio para Asignación Familiar – Orlando Cornejo Bustamante" (in Spanish). Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación de Chile. 31 May 2013. Archived from the original on 31 May 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  4. ^ a b Saldías, Washington (17 January 2011). "Coqueros y marihuaneros con el traste a dos manos". Pichilemu News (in Spanish). Pichilemu, Chile. Archived from the original on 23 January 2011.
  5. ^ "Votación Candidatos por Comuna Pichilemu Municipales 1992" (in Spanish). Chile: Ministry of the Interior and Public Security. Archived from the original on 1 March 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
  6. ^ a b Gestión Municipal 1993 – 1996. Pichilemu, Chile: Ilustre Municipalidad de Pichilemu. 1996. p. 23.
  7. ^ Saldías González, Washington (2 August 2007). "Alcaldes, regidores y concejales de la comuna de Pichilemu". Pichilemu News (in Spanish). Pichilemu, Chile. Archived from the original on 1 March 2012. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  8. ^ "Votación Candidatos por Comuna Pichilemu Municipales 1992" (in Spanish). Ministry of the Interior of Chile. 1992. Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  9. ^ Saldías, Washington (5 February 2010). "Don Agustín Ross Edwards: a 166 años del natalicio del impulsor del balneario de Pichilemu". Pichilemu News (in Spanish). Pichilemu, Chile. Archived from the original on 24 August 2011. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
  10. ^ Saldías González, Washington (7 December 2006). "Artesanía en arcilla de Pañul". Pichilemu News (in Spanish). Pichilemu, Chile. Archived from the original on 28 June 2013.
  11. ^ Grez Cañete, Diego (16 November 2011). "Reconstrucción de Pichilemu casi completa". El Mercurio de los Estudiantes. Vitacura, Chile: El Mercurio S.A.P. Archived from the original on 1 June 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  12. ^ Saldías González, Washington (1 February 2005). "Zona Típica de Pichilemu fue publicada en Diario Oficial". Pichilemu News (in Spanish). Pichilemu, Chile. Archived from the original on 1 June 2013.
  13. ^ Calderón, Félix (15 October 2008). "Aldo Polanco Contreras: "Yo voy por la primera mayoría"". El Expreso de la Costa (in Spanish). Pichilemu, Chile: Imprenta O'Higgins. p. 6. (¿Y cómo ha sido su rol fizcalizador? [sic: fiscalizador]) Mire si una de las mejores administraciones en democracia fue la de don Orlando Cornejo, el no hacía nada si estaba mal, porque se respaldaba en la gente que sabe de materias administrativas en el municipio y nunca tuvo problema.
  14. ^ "Votación Candidatos por Comuna Pichilemu Municipales 1996" (in Spanish). Chile: Ministry of the Interior and Public Security. Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
  15. ^ "Votación Candidatos por Comuna Pichilemu Municipales 2000" (in Spanish). Chile: Ministry of the Interior and Public Security. Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
  16. ^ Saldías, Washington (3 July 2007). "Cuarenta años conmemoró la Cámara de Comercio del balneario". Pichilemu News (in Spanish). Pichilemu, Chile. Archived from the original on 1 June 2013. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  17. ^ Saldías, Washington (14 January 2010). "El "Independiente" de Pichilemu construye su sede definitiva y hay que inaugurarla". Pichilemu News (in Spanish). Pichilemu, Chile. Archived from the original on 1 June 2013. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
Political offices
Preceded by Mayor of Pichilemu
1992–1996
Succeeded by