The Constitutional Convention informed that a new period of Popular Participation has begun, through Cabildos and Self-convened Encounters, with the idea of discussing already normative initiatives that are in full debate in the CC and its different commissions, which can finally influence this discussion in said instances and in plenary, which has already approved the first articles to be included in the draft of the new Constitution.
The deadline to carry out these debate spaces is until March 20, which may be organized by local authorities, different civil society organizations, neighborhood associations, among others, and may be face-to-face, virtual or in a hybrid format. All the opinions and suggestions that are compiled will be systematized and presented in the different discussion instances of the CC. It will be the members of the Popular Participation Rapporteurship who will report the results to both the commissions and the plenary.
Tomás Laibe, Deputy Vice President of the Constitutional Convention indicated that “the Convention continues to deepen its instances of participation; this time, with councils that will have the possibility of influencing the discussion. It is an unprecedented process in the history of Chile, so that the new Constitution represents the most diverse perspectives of society”.
“With Norma’s Popular Initiatives we reach all the country’s communes. Now, we want that same interest to be replicated in the Cabildos because we know that dialogue builds, that sharing our concerns and preferences will allow us to deliver a great proposal for a new Constitution”, said Bastián Labbé, constituent and co-coordinator of the commission of Popular Participation.
Steps and recommendations
Among the steps listed by the Convention to carry out these meetings are indicating the objective, setting a day and time for the meeting, in which those who participate are divided into groups of at least 7 people, to decide which rule or which topic to discuss.
Each group must prepare a record of the discussion they carried out, and then upload it to a virtual platform for popular participation that will be available in the coming days. The discussion, conclusions and proposals of each self-convened council or meeting, whether or not they have been separated into groups, must be consolidated into a single act. At least 7 members of the group must validate said document with their Unique Key on the same digital site where it will be uploaded.
