Two years after social outbursts, Chile begins discussion of a new Constitution

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Constituent Convention, headed by the Mapuche academic Elisa Loncón, officially began the debate to define the new Magna Carta for the country. The substantive debate on the new Constitution was one of the central demands of the wave of protests that shook Chile two years ago.

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“For the first time, the peoples of Chile have sat at the same plural table and in conditions of equality and horizontality to discuss and think about a country where dignity becomes customary,” said Loncón.

In relation to the second anniversary of the social outbreaks, Loncón highlighted the importance of the events of October 18, 2019, and how they gave way to the creation of the Convention.

“This Convention is the daughter of the yearnings and mobilization of the peoples and initiates a dialogue awaited for decades and perhaps for centuries. Two years after the awakening of the new Chile, we give free rein to the imagination. These are beautiful moments we are living,” she said.

Hours earlier, a group of demonstrators from the Central Unitaria de Trabajadores (CUT) managed to force their way into the headquarters of the constituent assembly, the former National Congress, located in the center of Santiago, for which several carabineros (police) formed a human barrier to protect the building.

The coincidence of the beginning of the debate with the anniversary of the explosion generated questions from some members of the Constituent Assembly, such as the conservative Rocío Cantuarias, who told Radio Cooperativa, “we have nothing to celebrate this October 18.”

“It seems to us an impertinence that the Constitutional Convention has been rushed, especially President Loncón (…), to want to begin today the substantive content, putting at risk not only the carabineros who are in the former National Congress but also the officials and the Convention members”, she added.

In addition, although the general debate officially begins today, the individual participation of Convention members will take place on Wednesday, when 37 of them will take the floor.

On that day, each Convention member will have five minutes for his speech, which will continue on the following days for all Convention members to take the floor.

According to the rules of operation, the Convention has up to 12 months to write a new Constitution for Chile, ratified in the so-called “exit plebiscite”. Chileans will vote whether they agree or disagree with the new text.

If approved, a Plenary Session of Congress will be convened in which all legislators will swear on the new Magna Carta. If rejected, the current Magna Carta, written during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990), will be retained.

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