Affluence isn’t a prerequisite for being at the cutting-edge of connectivity. The proof is Peñalolén, a working-class municipality on the outskirts of Santiago, which was named this year as one of the most-connected municipalities in Chile by the Universidad Adolfo Ibañez, and declared the most digital medium-sized city in Latin America by the Ibero-American Association of Research Centers and Telecommunication Enterprises in Madrid.
The reason for Peñalolén’s stature is not hard to find: smart political leadership.
Peñalolén’s digital revolution is led by its 42-year-old, second-term mayor, Claudio Orrego. The Harvard-educated Orrego has aggressively pursued digital literacy forhis constituents since he was first elected in 2004…