The Mapuche Woman will lead the body that drafts the new Chilean constitution in the News of Indigenous Rights

The Constitutional Assembly has elected academic Elisa Loncon to lead the body that writes the new text to replace the Pinochet-era constitution.

The architects of Chile’s new constitution have chosen indigenous Mapuche women to lead the process, as was the country’s constitutional assembly inaugurated on Sunday in the capital Santiago.

Elisa Loncon, a 58-year-old independent voter, university professor and activist for Mapuche education and language rights, was elected by 96 of the 155 delegates, including 17 indigenous people, who make up the constitutional institution.

Delegates were chosen to write a new text to replace the previous Carta Magna in Chile, created during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.

“We are grateful for the support of the various coalitions that put their trust and dreams in the hands of the Mapuche nation, the Mapuche people, the women, who voted to change the history of this country,” Loncon said.

Disgusted by the political status quo and demanding systemic reforms, Chilean voters in May selected dozens of progressive and independent representatives redesigned the constitution – a shocking blow to the Conservative candidates who failed to secure a third of the seats to veto the proposals.

“The idea of ​​this 155-member assembly is to try to bring together and represent all elements of Chilean society,” Al Jazeera’s Daniel Schweimler reported from Buenos Aires, Argentina.

He explained that two-thirds of the assembly must approve each article of the new constitution. The body will have a period of nine months, with a possible extension of three months, to write a new document which will then be taken to the referendum.

“At the moment there is no group to veto these articles,” Schweimler said. “What we will see in the next nine months and a year is a lot of negotiations; forming alliances, forming coalitions, trying to decide the best way for people to move forward.”

The previous version of the Chilean constitution, although changed in recent decades, was not very popular and was considered a source of social inequality.

The start of Sunday’s early session was delayed by several hours after protesters and a special police unit collided on the streets of Santiago near the venue of the event.

Demonstrations also took place in nearby Italy Square, which became the center of mass social justice protests that erupted in 2019 and eventually led to the country forming a constitutional assembly.

“I hope this process will help us build a country for all,” 47-year-old bank employee Carolina Vergara told AFP news agency.

Experts tell Before the Al Jazeera session, the biggest challenge for the components will be to build trust and learn to work together.

“We need to understand that we are facing something completely new that we are not practicing,” said independent component Malucha Pinto. “The challenge we face as a country in the future is huge and beautiful.”