The Constituent Process in Chile (2019–2022) from the Perspective of Indigenous Peoples

Abstract

Chile has been in the process of rewriting its constitution since 2019. This chapter examines the “constituent process” as it relates to the demands for recognition made by Chile’s Indigenous peoples. It highlights the fundamental problems shared by Indigenous groups across Latin America with regards to recognition. The chapter demonstrates the unique experience of Chile’s Indigenous peoples, with its specific multiple social, political, economic, and normative dimensions and textures. Reflecting the liberal tendencies predominating throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, Latin American states have been structured as “constitutional states.” The Bolivian experience demonstrates the critical importance of the question of constituent power and social mobilization as a central element of the institutional and intercultural transformations necessary to make the recognized rights truly effective.