Authorities decided to declare this day a national holiday, and banned everyone from working, to ensure the success of the census.
As a result, movie multiplexes, malls, supermarkets, bakeries are all closed. Only some pharmacies are open to the public.
State employees have taken to the streets, visiting houses to count their occupants.
Even President Michelle Bachelet was shown on television on her way to visit houses as a census field interviewer.
Authorities regard the census as critical to gather information that can be a tool to develop public policies.
A cloudy and mostly cold day has been the backdrop to the census, inviting everyone to stay indoors, contributing to the feeling of ghost town in Santiago.
In the case of this writer, his house was visited at about 9:30 a.m.. The census field interviewer, a woman, asked a series of question, while filling in a form.
What kind of material was used for roofing in the house? What kind of flooring does the house have? How many people live in the house? How many bedrooms does the house or department have? How old are they? Their level of education?
Foreigners are also included in the census.
According to the head of the National Statistics Institute, the preliminary results of the census will be released in August this year, and in December this year we will know how many people are living in Chile, by region and by district.
The idea is not to repeat the embarrassing census of 2012, during the administration of former president Sebastian Piñera, when a census turned into a big fiasco for the administration, forcing the then President Piñera to publicly apologize for the errors.
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