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| Constituent Assembly of Chile 2021– | |
|---|---|
| Name | Constituent Assembly of Chile 2021– |
| Native name | Convención Constitucional |
| Jurisdiction | Chile |
| Established | 2021 |
| Membership | 155 |
| Leader title | President |
| Leader name | Elisa Loncón |
| Location | Santiago |
Constituent Assembly of Chile 2021–
The Constituent Assembly of Chile 2021– was a democratically elected body tasked with drafting a new Constitution of Chile following mass mobilizations and a national plebiscite; it convened amid debates involving Michelle Bachelet, Sebastián Piñera, Giorgio Jackson, Gabriel Boric, Camila Vallejo, and indigenous leaders such as Mapuche representatives. The assembly's membership included activists from Movimiento Social, academics from Universidad de Chile and Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, labor leaders from Central Unitaria de Trabajadores and feminists linked to Movimiento Feminista, and delegates associated with parties like Partido Socialista de Chile, Partido Comunista de Chile, Partido por la Democracia, Renovación Nacional, and independents aligned with Lista del Pueblo.
The call for a constitutional process emerged after the 2019 2019 Chilean protests that challenged neoliberal policies rooted in the 1980 Constitution of Chile. High-profile actors including Ricardo Lagos, Patricio Aylwin, Evelyn Matthei, and civil society groups prompted the 2020 Chilean national plebiscite, in which voters favored a new text and an elective assembly over a mixed commission, reflecting pressures from movements such as No+AFP, Movimiento Estudiantil de 2011, Fridays for Future, and indigenous mobilizations connected to the Arauco conflict.
The 2021 election produced 155 delegates selected through proportional representation rules influenced by legal reforms advocated by Jaime Guzmán opponents and facilitated by the Servicio Electoral de Chile. The assembly's roster combined former members of Chilean Parliament, leaders from Federación de Estudiantes de la Universidad de Chile (FECh), representatives from Asociación Chilena de Municipalidades, and activists tied to Casa de la Memoria. Indigenous seats reserved under accords included representatives linked to Aymara, Rapa Nui, Quechua, Atacameño, and Mapuche communities. Notable figures included Elisa Loncón, Vladimir Huenchumilla, Catalina Parot, and constituents affiliated with Frente Amplio and Chile Vamos.
The assembly operated under rules ratified in the plebiscite framework and subsequent organic laws debated in the Senate of Chile and the Chamber of Deputies of Chile. Its mandate—drafting a new Constitution of Chile—required supermajority thresholds in some cases, committee structures inspired by precedents such as the Constitutional Convention of Iceland and constitutional processes in Spain and South Africa. Procedural norms drew on models from Inter-American Commission on Human Rights recommendations, with guarantees for gender parity influenced by CEDAW advocates and mechanisms to incorporate Indigenous rights norms referenced in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Deliberations were organized into commissions mirroring topics addressed in texts like the 1980 Constitution of Chile overhaul: rights and Social security, the model of the State of Chile, environmental protections including Atacama Desert water rights, and autonomy for indigenous territories akin to discussions in Bolivia and Ecuador. Main thematic commissions included Rights and Justice, Structure of the State, Environment and Natural Resources, System of Government, and Economy and Fiscal Policy. Prominent debates referenced jurisprudence from the Corte Suprema de Chile and comparative law examples such as the Constitution of Norway, the German Basic Law, and constitutional provisions cited from the Constitution of Argentina.
Key proposals emerging in drafts addressed plurinational recognition inspired by the Plurinational State of Bolivia, an expanded bill of rights with social guarantees resembling elements from the Brazilian Constitution of 1988, water as a public good drawing on disputes over the Río Maipo and Río Baker, and a reconfiguration of the Congress of Chile and executive powers with references to Presidentialism debates in Latin America. Proposals also included mechanisms for constitutional control via a Constitutional Court and participatory tools like popular initiatives and recall modeled after practices in Switzerland and Uruguay. Economic chapters debated the future of Pension Fund Administrators (AFP system), taxation reforms affecting the Service for Internal Revenue policies, and public health models comparable to Sistema Nacional de Salud variations present in Spain and Canada.
Public engagement included hearings with organizations such as Comisión Ética Contra la Tortura, testimony from families linked to Derechos Humanos cases dating to the Pinochet dictatorship, and outreach to municipal forums in Valparaíso and Concepción. Street mobilizations periodically influenced proceedings, featuring coalitions related to Sindicato Nacional chapters, student groups reminiscent of the 2011 Chilean student protests, and feminist collectives commemorating events at Plaza Italia. Political tensions involved presidential actors like Sebastián Sichel and presidential campaigns referencing the assembly during the 2021 Chilean general election cycle, with media outlets such as El Mercurio, La Tercera, and Radio Biobío covering developments intensively.
The assembly produced a final draft submitted to a ratifying plebiscite administered by the Servicio Electoral de Chile, with campaign dynamics involving coalitions like Apruebo Dignidad and opposition blocs including Chile Vamos. The referendum outcome led to contested political realignments affecting figures such as Gabriel Boric and prompting institutional dialogues in the Senate of Chile about implementation timelines and transitional provisions. International reactions cited experiences from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and constitutional processes in neighboring countries like Peru and Colombia, while domestic debates shifted to constitutional interpretation, institutional reform, and follow-up legislation in the Congreso Nacional de Chile.
Category:Politics of Chile Category:Constitutional assemblies