Last weekend, Chile elected members of the Constituent Assembly that will reform the country’s Charter. In a message to President Sebastián Piñera’s government and traditional parties, independent candidates won the most votes and will form 42% of the new body, with 65 of the 155 seats.
The setback imposed on right-wing legends was not limited to the composition of the assembly and also extended to conflicts of governors, mayors and councilors – even in important places they had dominated for decades. . The ruling alliance, which competed on a single list, won only 37 of the 155 seats (24%) in the constituent body. The left, divided into two relations, won 53 seats (34%).
The performance of the Conservatives will have a direct effect on the wording of the Constitution, because, in order to approve the inclusion of an agenda in the document, the support of two-thirds of the plenary is needed. Thus, the 37 seats obtained in the body do not offer enough strength to, without alliances, stop the proposals they do not want, such as the dilution of the private pension system, the approval of abortion, the gratification of higher education and greater autonomy for indigenous peoples.
Meet five elected members of the Constituent Assembly who are the two presidential candidates who stood out in this election: the re-elected mayor of the city of Recoleta and the former Minister of Development of Piñera who succeeded in elect a sponsor from the prefecture of Las Condes as his successor.
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Francisca Linconao Huircapan
At 62, Francisca was the most voted candidate among the names of the 17-seat quota reserved for natives. An activist and defender of human rights, she is also a “machi”, that is to say the spiritual authority of the Mapuche people. In 2013, she was accused of participating in an attack on a couple of landowners who were murdered by a group of extremists. She was arrested and investigated for participating in the attack, but was eventually acquitted in 2018.
Marcela cubillos
A member of the governing coalition, Cubillos, 54, campaigned for the rejection of Chile’s new constitution. Former Minister of Environment and Education under the leadership of Sebastián Piñera, he has clashed with teachers in national strikes. The lawyer was also a pupil of Jaime Guzmán (1946-1991), one of the main creators of the current Chilean Constitution, promulgated under the dictatorship.
Jorge Baradit
The historian, author of bestselling books on the country’s history, such as “Historia Secreta de Chile” and “La Dictadura”, Baradit decided to run for the Constituent Assembly “to try to maintain the legacy of Salvador Allende alive “, the socialist president overthrown by a coup led by the army, Augusto Pinochet. An independent candidate, he campaigned door to door in Valparaíso, where he grew up, and in Santiago.
Giovanna Grandón, the “ aunt Pikachú ”
Elected by the Popular List, made up mainly of foreigners who define themselves as fighters from “all history to obtain dignity and justice”, Grandón was known to have participated in the 2019 protests wearing the costumes of the famous character Pikachu. The 45-year-old school bus driver defends that the state is the guarantor of the population and that businessmen are not privileged.
Macarena Ripamonti
The 29-year-old center-left conquered the city of Viña del Mar, which for 16 years was ruled by the right-wing UDI, the party that makes up the Vamos por Chile alliance. Macarena’s victory was celebrated in the streets of the resort on Sunday evening. Graduated in law and philosophy, she has a poor education and worked in clothing stores to pay for her education. He gained prominence in defending the end of military justice.
Presidential
Daniel Jadue
Reelected mayor of Recoleta with 64% of the vote, the Communist Party’s pre-candidate for the presidency of Chile seems strengthened in the election. At 54, the grandson of Palestinian immigrants, he graduated in sociology and architecture. Recoleta is a stronghold of immigrants and workers, its main constituency.
Joaquín Lavín
Another presidential candidate, Lavín was one of the few names on the right to have anything to celebrate in the election: the former Minister of Development of Piñera succeeded in electing the mayor of the municipality of Las Condes and his successor, a sponsored person, Daniela Peñaloza. He, who presents himself as a good candidate for the November elections and is part of the economic thought of the Chicago school, is affiliated with Opus Dei.