commercial development. By 1950 it had a population of 27,500, and the city was rapidly urbanizing. However, the 1960 Valdivia earthquake destroyed much of Puerto Montt, collapsing the port and the train station along with many building and houses. Eventually the city recovered, becoming once again an important urban centre as well as a port of national interest. 1969 violence At the start of March 1969, approximately 90 landless persons received advice from Socialist member of parliament Luis Espinoza due to the local authority never granting them any land they needed to build homes. On March 4, 1969, they settled on farmland belonging to an absentee landlord. Having been denied titles by the local authorities, these families simply moved onto the empty, unoccupied land. They did so seeking squatters' rights, and without making any payment of rent. Some four or five days later, the local Police Chief Rolando Rodríguez Marbán reassured the squatters that they would not be disturbed and could proceed with their home construction. However, a change of plans by the ministry of the interior quickly led to new orders. At midnight on March 9, Luis Espinoza was charged with breaking the law, arrested, and moved to the city of Valdivia. Following direct orders from Interior Minister Edmundo Pérez Zujovic, 250 armed policemen launched an assault on the squatting families that dawn. Eight of the landless persons were shot dead and two, a 9-month child and an adult, died afterwards. All of the newly built homes were burned to the ground. The massacre is poignantly memorialized by singer-songwriter Víctor Jara in his song Preguntas por Puerto Montt. The massacre of Puerto Montt and the public outcry that followed were major factors contributing to the defeat of Eduardo Frei's party in the Chilean presidential election of 1970 which was succeeded by Salvador Allende's Unidad Popular. Late 20th century By 1979 Puerto Montt was nominated and later become the Capital of Los Lagos Region, thereby becoming the principal administrative, political and commercial centre of Southern Chile. Demographics According to the 2017 census, Puerto Montt has 245,902 inhabitants (121,019 men and 124,883 women), of which 25,759 live in rural areas and 220,143 live in urban areas. From 218,858 inhabitants in the 2012 census, the population grew by 12.36% (27,044 people). Of the overall population, 52,483 belong to indigenous groups, with 50,247 being Mapuche, 314 Aymara people, 73 Rapa Nui people, 19