Villaraigosa in South America
The mayor is in South America to head a delegation of city, port and airport officials as well as business executives.
The delegation will also be traveling to Brazil and Colombia and aims to promote the expansion of the Port of Los Angeles, which is being renovated at a cost of $1.2 billion.
There is some concern that the the widening of the Panama Canal, scheduled to open in 2014, could negatively impact on trade in and out of Los Angeles.
Villaraigosa is first Los Angeles mayor to make a offical visit to South America since since Tom Bradley in 1985.
Marketing Los Angeles as a tourist destination is also on the agenda during the South American expedition.
"The future of Los Angeles is tied closely to our neighbors in South America. As we strengthen and build our local economy, we must leverage our assets in this global marketplace to create jobs here in Los Angeles,'' Villaraigosa said before leaving for Chile.
"With two previous trade missions, we worked to develop strong economic ties with Asia. Now, we're going to strengthen our relationships in South America to increase investment, trade, and tourism in L.A.''
In this year alone, Villaraigosa has made at least 29 trips out of Los Angeles.
The visit to Chile is his second overseas in the last 12 months after he traveled to China, South Korea and Japan last December.
The delegation will travel to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil on Tuesday after spending Monday in Santiago, Chile.
The $252,000 cost for the visit to South America will be paid for by port and airport departments. Non-city workers, meanwhile, are paying their own way.
