Constitutional Convention (Chile)

The Constitutional Convention (Chile), also known as the Constitutional Assembly (Chile), was a body of elected citizens tasked with drafting a new constitution for Chile. It was convened following a national plebiscite in October 2020, in which an overwhelming majority of voters approved the option of writing a new constitution and entrusting that task to a specially elected convention. This plebiscite was a direct response to widespread social unrest in late 2019, triggered by various socio-economic inequalities and a perceived lack of responsiveness from the existing political system. A key demand of the protesters was the replacement of the 1980 Constitution, drafted during the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.

The Convention was composed of 155 members elected in May 2021. Crucially, the election process included reserved seats for Indigenous peoples, ensuring representation for historically marginalized communities. The Convention was required to adhere to a two-thirds majority threshold for approving each article of the new constitution, a rule designed to foster consensus-building and prevent the imposition of radical changes.

The proposed new constitution drafted by the Convention included provisions addressing a wide range of issues, including environmental rights, gender equality, Indigenous autonomy, social rights to housing, healthcare, and education, and a reformed political system. However, the proposed text was ultimately rejected in a national plebiscite held in September 2022.

Following the rejection, political actors in Chile began a new process to draft a constitutional reform proposal, this time involving a panel of experts and an elected Constitutional Council. This new process aimed to address concerns regarding the content and perceived representativeness of the initial proposal from the Constitutional Convention.