Chile celebrates the premiere of the commission that will draft its new Constitution

A demonstration runs through the center of the capital during the constitutional ceremony, / EFE

The 155 representatives elected by the people celebrate the first session of the Constituent Convention, between marches and some clashes with the Police

Chile made history yesterday. The 155 representatives elected to draft the new Magna Carta of the American country held the first session of the body that will write this fundamental text for approval in a plebiscite at the end of 2022. The premiere of the so-called Constituent Convention was surrounded by a festive atmosphere, with the participation of social and professional groups, indigenous people, members of the culture and politicians that filled the streets of the Chilean capital.

The ceremony was not without incident either. Some dissatisfied groups and others formed by constituents who demanded the “freedom of political prisoners” while recalling the damage of the recent social crisis organized demonstrations in front of the headquarters of the old Congress, the meeting place of the convention, which were dissolved by the Police . The confrontations, including the demolition of security fences, reached the interior of the building, where the elected officials suspended the session for a few minutes “until they assure us that they have stopped repressing the people.” “We want to have a party for democracy and not a problem,” stressed the rapporteur of the Elections Qualifying Court, Carmen Gloria Valladares.

Far from the altercations, there was also time for the tributes. A march organized by the People’s List, a pact of left-wing independents that gained a lot of weight in the recent constituent elections, brought together the largest number of Chileans, who remembered the thirty deaths and thousands of injured registered during the social outbreak that began in 2019. The country is now looking into a new space and political time. It is the first experience in the world in which an assembly elected in an election has drawn up the charter of rights and obligations that will govern the destiny of the nation. With a parity profile, the body includes 48 independents and 17 representatives of indigenous communities. The native culture had a great role in this first day, since traditional rituals abounded to wish a good progress of work.

Manual

And it is necessary. Those elected had to get the batteries to familiarize themselves with all the operational and administrative details of their position – each one was given a thick work manual translated into the five languages ​​of the native peoples -, solve doubts, begin to compose the agenda and elect the president of the body. At the close of this edition, a decision had not yet been made between the three candidates: two independents and a representative of the Mapuche community.

Tears ran down the street. Many citizens who lived through the dictatorship and the crisis of recent years congratulated themselves on this “historic moment for Chile” called to combat abuses in public services and the huge economic and social gap that divides the country. The former Chilean president and current United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, also showed her “admiration” for this first session of the convention.

The constituent body is the result of efforts to appease the harsh mobilizations that for two years have claimed a fairer socio-economic model and turned the government against the cards. Its text will definitively shelve the Pinochet era by replacing the Constitution drawn up during the dictator’s regime between 1973 and 1990.

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source https://pledgetimes.com/chile-celebrates-the-premiere-of-the-commission-that-will-draft-its-new-constitution/