With gender parity and a Mapuche woman at the helm, Chile kicks off its unprecedented Constitutive Convention

Two votes and almost two years must have passed for the dream that millions of Chileans pushed on the streets in October 2019, demanding a new treatment of the state, with more dignity and social benefits, which is reflected in the start of work for a new Constitution of the country. The first democratically drafted, with members equal in gender and which could put an end to the dictator Augusto Pinochet, which dates from 1980.

It was 10 a.m., the official departure time, but dozens of elected officials had not yet arrived at the National Congress, headquarters in Santiago, where an open-air tent allowed the 155 elected officials to meet in person, by sanitary measures. Fifteen marches had been called early, many of them led by constituents of different currents. Indigenous peoples met at Cerro Huelén and others walked from the Palacio de La Moneda. Therefore, not all were at the start time.

The organization preferred to wait. And that’s what they were when, around 10:45 a.m. a group of protesters jumped one of the perimeter closures and he got to the surroundings of the Congress, demolishing the barrier that protected the press tent and the national and international media, including Clarin.

The demonstrators, close to “the People’s List”, demanded the release of the prisoners of the social uprising of October 2019. For this group, which erupted in the last election with 27 national victories, the prisoners are political and conscientious, even though the Supreme Court has issued a report detailing the crimes of which each is accused and affirming the full independence of power. any political intention of the government.

In this context, while the riflemen were deploying special forces and water launchers, the session began almost an hour late. This until after a loud intonation of the national anthem, full of slogans, some voters addressed the head of the Electoral Tribunal, María Angélica Valladares – minister of faith of the act -, to ask for his suspension due to the clashes and the possible arrest of some of his relatives in the perimeter of the ‘building .

Almost an hour later, Valladares herself indicated that there were no detainees and that the unrest outside the building was already over, as she waited for the Constituents who they went out to intercede to stop the fighting. It was only then that the inauguration of the seats and the election of the leaders of the organization began.

Woman and Mapuche

The elected president of the Constituent Convention was Elisa Loncon. After two ballots, got more than the 78 votes needed to stay with the maximum position of the body.

Loncon is a linguist and English teacher, scholar of the Faculty of Human Sciences of the Department of Education of the University of Santiago and external professor of the Faculty of Letters of the Catholic University of Chile. She was elected to one of the seats reserved for natives.

“Husband husband pu lamngen, husband husband kom pu che, husband husband Chile Mapu”, he greeted in Mapudungún (the language of his people) in his first and moving speech. Dressed typically according to the tradition of her lands, the president thanked the overwhelming majority she obtained, with 96 votes, and the symbolism of this vote for the Mapuche: “This dream is a dream of our ancestorss. This dream becomes reality, it is possible to rebuild this Chile and establish a new relationship between the Mapuche people, the nations of origin and all the nations that make up this country, ”he declared.

In the preceding days, he remarked to the newspaper The third who will seek to consecrate Chile as a plurinational state. “You can dialogue with us, do not be afraid of us, because the politics of fear has also taken hold. In other words, an indigenous candidate, Mapuche, is installed and there is a lot of prejudice. It is therefore also a call to free ourselves from our prejudices and to interact on an equal footing, ”he said.

The work of Loncon and the rest of the 155 constituents is not definitive. The text they deliver in a year moremust be voted in plebiscite compulsory for all Chileans. If the proposal is rejected, the current Constitution will continue to govern.

PB