CHILE
We the People
Chile’s constitutional assembly chose an Indigenous Mapuche woman to lead the drafting of a new constitution to replace the one adopted during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, Al Jazeera reported.
Nearly 100 delegates of the assembly – including 17 Indigenous people that make up the body – picked independent delegate Elisa Loncon, a university professor and activist for Mapuche educational and linguistic rights.
Loncon welcomed the decision to allow “a Mapuche person, a woman, to change the history of this country.”
Her selection marks another highlight for Chile’s constitutional assembly: Chilean voters opted to elect dozens of progressive and independent delegates to redraft the constitution amid frustration with the political status quo.
The election was a major blow for conservative candidates, who failed to secure a third of the seats needed to veto any proposals.
Analysts said that one of the main challenges will be to build trust and cooperate in redrafting Chile’s main legislation.
The assembly will need two-thirds of the vote to approve each new article. It will have nine months – with a possible three-month extension, to draft a new document to be voted on in a referendum.
The previous constitution was widely unpopular and seen as a source of social inequality in Chile, despite being amended over the past few decades.
No comments:
Post a Comment