For the first time, the country will have a Basic Law that will be drafted with full popular participation, as the 155 members of the Congress have been democratically elected by the population in the May 15-16 elections.
This group is distinguished by gender equality, including the ten officially recognized representatives of indigenous peoples, and has the majority of independents, who emerged directly from the population.
At 10:00 local time, the opening session of the conference, assisted by 155 members, is scheduled to begin in the gardens of the former National Congress, downtown.
Its realization outside the old building responds to sanitary measures due to the Covid-19 pandemic, in order to maintain sufficient physical distance between the participants.
An essential aspect of the program will be the election of the board of directors, which seems to be unanimously headed by a woman, and although several names have been considered, everything indicates that the Mapuche intellectual Elisa Luncon could be transformed.
The proposal of the famous academic from the University of Santiago and the 58-year-old philologist came from the seven representatives of that indigenous people who are part of the Constitutional Convention, which has the support of the other delegates.
Likewise, the leftist Amplio Front submitted constitutional attorney Jaime Bassa’s proposal to join the board of directors as vice president.
However, everything indicates that the agreement will begin its sessions with the identification of its as-yet-to-be-determined regulations, which will be a key point in the first working days.
On Sunday, various social organizations, parties and constituent groups will hold ceremonies, events and marches in the direction of the city center, as a sign of support for the agreement.
The promoters of these measures expressed the importance of “briefing the secret sessions with the people”, and that the main demands for changing the current neoliberal model to a more inclusive and social one are reflected in the new Basic Law.
Thus, activities are planned in at least new parts of that city, almost all with the end goal of marching to the perimeter of the former National Congress, although the authorities have a security perimeter and close the surrounding streets as of Saturday.
From today, the Constitutional Conference will have nine months, extendable for another three, to draft the Magna Carta, which must be approved in a referendum by a mandatory vote.
mem / rc / cvl
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