In a room full of students, academics, artists, social leaders and neighbors of the area took place the forum entitled “Constituent Agreement in Chile. Conditions for the free exercise of popular sovereignty”, organized by the Chile chapter of the Network of Intellectuals, Artists and Social Movements in Defense of Humanity, REDH.
The forum took place at the Academia de Humanismo Cristiano (UAHC) university and was attended by the mayor of Recoleta, Daniel Jadue, the spokesperson of the Social Unity table, Carolina Espinoza and the rector of the UAHC, Álvaro Ramis.
This is the second event carried out by the Chile chapter of the REDH, an association created in 2003 due to the concerns of Cuban and Mexican intellectuals, in order to constitute a movement of critical thought and action against all forms of domination and exclusion. The initiative has been replicated in 40 countries around the world, creating a relationship between intellectuals, artists and social movements critical of neoliberalism and its effects on humanity.
During the meeting, the panelists and an enthusiastic audience discussed the conditions for exercising popular sovereignty in the face of the proposal for a Constituent Convention with its obstacles versus the popular desire for a Constituent Assembly.
Javiera Olivares, journalist, academic and coordinator of the Chile chapter of the REDH: “We have decided to carry out this second event in order to deepen the analysis of Chilean political and social expression in the face of a neoliberalism that exists throughout Latin America. We will also look at the challenges posed by the economic power that wants to maintain the status quo. We believe that it is urgent to debate and reflect more from the left on how to generate the conditions for the free exercise of popular sovereignty to be the true protagonist of the constituent process, and on how we can build an alternative for development that is different from the neoliberal model”. Olivares added that REDH would like to be established in Chile as an instrument for these critical debates.
During the debate, Carolina Espinoza, on behalf of the coalition of more than 100 social organizations in the country called Social Unity, rejected projects conceived within four walls without the active participation of citizens. She also underscored the need for options such as intermediate plebiscites to express dissent throughout the discussion of a new constitution in which parity quotas must be guaranteed, special quotas for indigenous peoples, Chileans abroad and representatives of neighbourhood councils, among others.
Daniel Jadue provoked a critical debate with the idea that the Chilean social movement is something that has had a long process of accumulation of forces and organization since the end of the dictatorship, unlike those who see it as a spontaneous outburst. “During the last three decades there have been nearly 500 mobilizations in which the same actors always participate, who tend to move from one side of the left political spectrum to the other but who remain in the struggle in the street,” he said of organizations, people and political parties that have always been present and that today continue in marches, town halls or forums.
Álvaro Ramis, rector of the Academy, inquired about the next steps for the organization of the movement in a Constituent Assembly. “What do we do, we can maintain enthusiasm, resolution, hope, but if we do not organize this enormous movement and its ideas, the right will do it with a discourse of NO to change that could even gain legitimacy for the Constitution of the dictatorship. After 50 days of demonstrations, the people deserve to be victorious, to achieve tangible and real gains. If we are not capable of achieving it, we will be judged for it,” he warned.
Carolina Espinoza, a spokeswoman for Unidad Social, is a social worker and part of the initiative that set up a camp on the front of the Courthouse on December 9. The mayor of Recoleta, Daniel Jadue, has renewed innovation with his proposal of “popular electric energy” to put an end to electricity bills. This initiative is in line with other initiatives such as pharmacies, bookshops and popular real estate agencies.
At the end of the event and after an intense exchange between participants and exhibitors, the Chilean chapter of the REDH announced that it will continue to make spaces for critical reflection and artistic-political actions to be established as a tool for action in the Chilean constituent process. In addition, it invited people to follow its social networks: Twitter @redhchile, Instagram ; Facebook www.Facebook.com/redhchile Youtube redhchile
