Academic Forum for the New Constitution in Chile
Chile’s constitutional process is being closely watched across the world. Not only does reform offer a path out of the profound legitimacy crisis threatening Chilean democracy, but it offers Chileans an opportunity to build a more inclusive, participatory, and responsive democratic system. As such, the repercussions of Chile’s constitutional process will likely extend past its borders, to the region and beyond. Thanks to strong State institutions and an effective rule of law, any innovations produced by Chile’s Constitutional Convention will likely have an enduring influence in the country’s legal and political foundations.
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Through the constitutional drafting process – and beyond – DRCLAS will provide a platform for open and high-caliber debate on critical issues facing Chileans as they rethink and redesign their constitution. This platform will develop through webinars, colloquia, substantive contributions to the constitutional discussions and, in general, a process of academic companionship to the fundamental institutions, rights and obligations debate. As the Foro strives to make a contribution to reaching consensuses, it will not shy away from hosting representatives from different points of view and political visions.
Aimed at an audience not only domestic but extending beyond Chile to include at least the rest of Latin America and the United States, the Foro will bring together scholars, practitioners, and opinion leaders from across the political spectrum — and across the world – to debate issues such as social rights and the future of Chile’s famed economic model, how to restore legitimacy to a political system that has lost public trust, the promise and limitations of a “green and sustainable” constitution, the potential role of direct and participatory democratic institutions, and how to improve democratic representation, especially of women, indigenous communities, and other historically under-represented minorities.
Upcoming Webinar

HOW DOES THE PROPOSAL OF CHILE'S NEW CONSTITUTION LOOK?
Wednesday, July 13th, 9:30 am ET (9:30 Chile Time)
This talk will be held in Spanish with simultaneous English translation.
Introduction:
- Steven Levitsky, Director, David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies; Professor of Government, Harvard University
International Panelists:
- Roberto Gargarella, Professor of Constitutional Theory and Political Philosophy, Torcuato Di Tella University and Professor Constitutional Law, University of Buenos Aires
- David Landau, Dean for International Programs, and Mason Ladd Professor of Law and Associate, Florida State University
National Panelists:
- Miriam Henríquez, Dean of the Faculty of Law and Professor of Political and Constitutional Theory and Constitutional Law, Alberto Hurtado University
- Alejandra Ovalle, Associate professor, Department of Public Law and Director of the UC Constitutional Forum, Catholic University
Moderated by: Juan Pablo Luna, Professor School of Government and the Institute of Political Science, Catholic University, Researcher Instituto Milenio de los Datos, and DRCLAS Luksic Scholar
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Webinars
GREEN CONSTITUTION AND NATURAL RESOURCES
Wednesday, April 20, 2022, 12:30 pm ET / Chile Time
Forest Reinhardt, Jorge Viñuales, Dominique Hervé, Ricardo Irarrázabal, Verónica Delgado, Cristián Rodríguez-Chiffelle.
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PLURINATIONALITY AND CONSTITUTIONALISM: INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES AND LESSONS FOR CHILE
Wednesday, March 30, 2022, 06:00 pm ET (07:00 pm Chile Time)
Steven Levitsky, Sofia Cordero, Deborah J. Yashar, Salvador Millaleo, Daniel Loewe, Sol Serrano.
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PUBLIC DELIBERATION AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IN A MORE INCLUSIVE SOCIETY: CAN WE HAVE BOTH?
Thursday, December 9, 2021, 9:00 am ET (11:00 Chile Time)
Steve Levitksy, Archon Fung, Patricio Bernedo, Paula Molina, Chiara Saez, Francisco Urbina.
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Chile's New Constitutional System: Presidencial, Semi-Presidential, or Parlamentary?
Wednesday, November 10, 2021, 9:00 am EDT (10:00 am Chile)
Steve Levitsky, John Carey, Pamela Figueroa, Valeria Palanza, Flavio Quezada, Lucas Sierra, Ignacio Walker, Claudio Fuentes
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Democratic Innovations: The Role of Direct Democracy
Wednesday, October 6, 2021, 9:00 am EDT (10:00 am Chile)
Steve Levitsky, Director, David Altman, Yanina Welp, Patricio Zapata, Claudia Heiss
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The New Constitution and the Chilean Economy: A Break with the Past?
Wednesday, June 16, 2021, 9:30 am ET / Chile Time
Steve Levitsky, Cristián Rodríguez-Chiffelle, Dani Rodrik, Claudia Sanhueza, Rodrigo Valdés, Rodrigo Vergara
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Why should you care about the Convention's regulation?
Tuesday, May 4, 2021, 6:30 pm ET / Chile Time
Javiera Ascencio de la Fuente, Rosalind Dixon, Claudia Heiss, Steven Levitsky, Gabriel Osorio, Sergio Verdugo
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Constitutional Change and Social Demands: Can the Gap be Closed?
Friday, March 19, 2021, 11:00 am ET (12:00 Chile Time)
Daniel Brinks, Rossana Castiglioni, Marisol Peña, Sebastián Soto, Yanira Zúñiga
Constituent Elections in Chile: How to Provide Representation during a Representation Crisis?
Friday, January 29, 2021, 10:30 am ET (12:30 Chile Time)
Isabel Aninat, Verónica Figueroa, Claudio Fuentes, Manuel Antonio Garretón, Jennifer Piscopo, Kenneth Roberts
Launch: Academic Forum for the New Constitution in Chile
Wednesday, December 2, 2020, 3:00 pm ET
Claudia Heiss, Steven Levitsky, Juan Pablo Luna, Sebastián Soto
Advisory Committee Members
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Organizers:
- Steve Levitsky – Director, David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies (DRCLAS)
- Marcela Renteria – Chile Regional Office, Executive Director, DRCLAS
- Jimena Codina – Andes & Southern Cone Program Manager, DRCLAS
Harvard University
- Cristián Rodríguez Chiffelle – Fmr Head of Trade and Investment Policy, World Economic Forum; Fmr Executive Director, InvestChile. DRCLAS Associate 2020-2021
- Benjamín Maluenda – Vice President, Harvard Association of Chilean Students, HACHS; MPA 2023, Harvard Kennedy School
Constitutional Laboratory, Universidad Diego Portales
- Claudio Fuentes – Professor, Universidad Diego Portales; Constitutional Laboratory Coordinator, Universidad Diego Portales; DRCLAS Luksic Visiting Scholar, 2010-11
Institute of Public Affairs, Universidad de Chile:
- Claudia Heiss – Professor and Head of Political Science Department of the Institute of Public Affairs (Instituto de Asuntos Públicos, INAP), Universidad de Chile
- Verónica Figueroa – Professor of the Institute of Public Affairs (INAP), Universidad de Chile, DRCLAS Luksic Visiting Scholar, 2019-2020
Universidad Católica:
School of Government
- Juan Pablo Luna – Professor, School of Government and Institute of Political Science, Universidad Católica, DRCLAS Luksic Visiting Scholar, 2012-13
School of Law
- Sebastián Soto – Professor, Public Law Department; Director of the Public Law Department, School of Law, Universidad Católica; DRCLAS Luksic Visiting Scholar, 2013-14
Institute of Political Science, School of History, Geography and Political Science
- Sol Serrano – National History Award 2018; History Professor, Universidad Católica; DRCLAS Luksic Visiting Scholar, 2008-09
Instituto Milenio Fundamentos de los Datos:
- Juan Pablo Luna – Professor, School of Government and Institute of Political Science Universidad Católica, DRCLAS Luksic Visiting Scholar, 2012-13
News/Noticias
Publications
In recent months, there has been intense activity of public deliberation and information surrounding Chile's constituent process. Listed below are some of the publications and initiatives of think tanks, universities, civil society organizations, and social movements that are part of this discussion.
Publications are mainly in Spanish
- Bassa, Jaime (editor). 2020. Proceso constituyente en Chile: desafíos para una nueva constitución. Thompson Reuters. http://www.thomsonreuters.cl/PortalLN/carro_new/nw_Ficha_Producto.asp?id...
- Bassa, Jaime, Juan Carlos Ferrada y Christian Viera. 2020. La Constitución que queremos. Santiago: LOM. https://lom.cl/products/la-constitucion-que-queremos-propuestas-para-un-...
- Brito, Sofía (ed). 2020. Por una constitución feminista. Santiago: Pez Espiral. https://www.librosdelpezespiral.cl/porunaconstitucionfeminista
- Figueroa, Pamela y Tomás Jordán (editores). 2020. 7 propuestas para la nueva Constitución de Chile (Pamela Figueroa y Tomás Jordán, editores) Editorial USACH. Sep 10, 2020. https://issuu.com/editorial-usach/docs/7_propuestas_para_la_nueva_consti...
- Garretón, Manuel A. (2019). Política, democracia y convivencia. Revista Mensaje. https://www.mensaje.cl/edicion-impresa/mensaje-683/politica-democracia-y...
- Guerrero, José Luis. La constitución económica chilena. Bases para el cambio. DER Ediciones. https://www.derediciones.com/products/la-constitucion-economica-chilena-...
- Lorca, Rocío, Pablo Marshall, Nicole Selamé, Matías Guiloff (editores). 2020. La hoja en blanco: claves para conversar sobre una nueva Constitución. https://lapollera.cl/libros/la-hoja-en-blanco-constitucion/
- Muñoz León, Fernando y Viviana Ponce de León Solís (coordinadores). 2020. Conceptos para una nueva constitución. DER Ediciones. https://www.derediciones.com/products/conceptos-para-una-nueva-constituc...
- Piscopo, Jennifer M., & Siavelis, Peter M. (2021, 6 de febrero). Convención Constituyente: ¿Caras nuevas o las mismas de siempre? Ciper Chile. https://www.ciperchile.cl/2021/02/06/convencion-constituyente-caras-nuev...
- Varias autoras. 2020. Nueva constitución con perspectiva de género. https://radiojgm.uchile.cl/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Nueva-Constitucion...
Advisory Committee
- Fuentes, Claudio. (2019). La erosión de la democracia. Santiago: Catalonia. https://www.amazon.es/erosi%C3%B3n-democracia-Claudio-Fuentes-ebook/dp/B...
- Heiss, Claudia. (2020). Qué se juega en el Plebiscito chileno del 25 de octubre? (Y cómo llegamos hasta aquí). Análisis Carolina, (50), Análisis Carolina, 2020 (50). https://www.fundacioncarolina.es/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/AC-50.pdf
- Heiss, Claudia. (2020). "Paso a paso hacia la constituyente". En Varios autores. Proceso constituyente. Aún creemos en los sueños. Ver publicación.
- Heiss, Claudia. (2020). Chile: entre el estallido social y la pandemia. Análisis Carolina. https://www.fundacioncarolina.es/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/AC-18.2020.pdf
- Heiss, Claudia. (2020). ¿Por qué necesitamos una nueva constitución? Santiago: Aguilar. https://www.amazon.es/%C2%BFPor-qu%C3%A9-necesitamos-nueva-constituci%C3...
- Levitsky, S., & Ziblatt, D. (2018). ¿Cómo mueren las democracias? (Primera ed.). Editorial Ariel. https://www.amazon.es/C%C3%B3mo-mueren-las-democracias-Ariel/dp/84344277...
- Luna, Juan Pablo. (2018). “En vez del optimismo. Crisis de representación política en el Chile actual”, CATALONIA. https://www.amazon.es/optimismo-Crisis-representaci%C3%B3n-pol%C3%ADtica...
- Marín, P. (2019, 10 de noviembre). Sol Serrano: “Hoy, poder, autoridad e ilegitimidad son sinónimos” - La Tercera. La Tercera. https://www.latercera.com/culto/2019/11/10/sol-serrano-entrevista-poder/
- Rocío Montes. (2020, 25 de octubre). “Parte de los jóvenes en Chile no tiene conciencia de cuán fácil es perder la democracia.” EL PAÍS. https://elpais.com/internacional/2020-10-25/parte-de-los-jovenes-en-chil...
- Rodríguez Ch., Cristián (2018). ¿Qué hace que Chile sea la economía más competitiva de América Latina?. World Economic Forum. https://es.weforum.org/agenda/2018/10/que-hace-que-chile-sea-la-economia...
- Rodríguez Ch., Cristián y Portales U., Carlos (2021). Agencias de Promoción de Inversión Extranjera, su rol de política pública y de repuesta a crisis (en “Enciclopedia del Derecho Internacional de las Inversiones”). Springer. https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-981-13-5744-2_1...
- Serrano, Sol. (2018). “El liceo. Relato, memoria y política”. Taurus. https://www.amazon.es/El-liceo-relato-memoria-pol%C3%ADtica-ebook/dp/B07...
- Soto Velasco, Sebastián. (2015). Congreso Nacional y Proceso Legislativo. Teoría y Práctica. Thomson Reuters. https://www.thomsonreuters.cl/PortalLN/carro_new/nw_Ficha_Producto.asp?i...
- Soto Velasco, Sebastián. (2020). La hora de la re-constitución (Primera ed.). Ediciones UC. https://ediciones.uc.cl/index.php/autores/sebastian-soto-velasco/la-hora...
Online Resources
- Proceso Constituyente, Gobierno de Chile https://chileconstituyente.cl/
- Laboratorio controversias constituyentes, U. de Chile http://labcontroversias.cl/
- Lexen: U.Chile, facultades de Derecho y Economía http://lexenconstitucion2022.cl/
- Foro constitucional UC: http://derecho.uc.cl/es/foroconstitucionaluc
- Razones Constituyentes (U. Adolfo Ibáñez) https://www.razonesconstituyentes.cl/
- Tenemos que hablar de Chile (U. Chile + PUC): https://www.tenemosquehablardechile.cl/nosotros
- Red de centros por una nueva constitución https://www.porunanuevaconstitucion.cl/
- Centro de Estudios Públicos – Reflexiones constitucionales https://www.cepchile.cl/cep/site/edic/base/port/reflexionesconstituciona...
- Corporación humanas (género y derechos humanos): http://www.humanas.cl/
- Horizontal https://www.horizontalchile.cl/
- Propuesta de Sergio Verdugo sobre el reglamento: https://www.horizontalchile.cl/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/CRC.pdf
- Espacio Público https://www.espaciopublico.cl
- Encuesta Ipsos – Espacio Público: ¿Qué perfil de constituyentes queremos en la Convención? https://www.espaciopublico.cl/encuesta-ipsos-espacio-publico-que-perfil-...
- Contexto (plataforma virtual) https://plataformacontexto.cl/
- La Participación Ciudadana en el Proceso Constituyente. Gonzalo Delamaza. https://plataformacontexto.cl/recurso/111
- Ahora nos toca participar: https://ahoranostocaparticipar.cl/
- Que Chile Decida (comando Frente Amplio) https://quechiledecida.cl/
- Independientes No Neutrales http://www.independientesnoneutrales.cl/
- Constituyo https://www.constituyo.cl/ Cabildero (centro-derecha) https://cabilderos.cl/
- Plataforma de candidaturas a la Convención http://votamostodos.org/
- Chile Transparente https://www.chiletransparente.cl/
- La Constitución de la Confianza https://laconstituciondelaconfianza.cl/
- Espaciopublico.cl. 2021. Estabilización de expectativas y valoración de acuerdos: Espacio Público e Ipsos lanzan nueva encuesta sobre el proceso constituyente. https://espaciopublico.cl/estabilizacion-de-expectativas-y-valoracion-de...
- Jan21, LaBot Constituyente. 2021. La Convención aprueba las primeras piezas del puzzle constitucional. https://robotlabot.substack.com/p/-la-convencion-aprueba-las-primeras?to...
Organized by
Chile Regional Office and Andes & Southern Cone Program
Co-sponsored by
The Luksic Scholars Foundation was established in Chile in 2020 with the purpose of promoting continuous education and connecting professionals, educators and students, mainly from Chile, who have benefited from educational scholarships supported by the Luksic Family over the past 20 years. Through the promotion of education, the Foundation also seeks to contribute to the creation of a committed, international community that will mutually benefit from long-term connections.
Read More About The Foundation
Consistent with these objectives, the Foundation has decided to financially support an academic activity developed by Harvard’s David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies (DRCLAS) in relation to Chile’s process of drafting a new constitution. The role of the Luksic Scholars Foundation in the context of this academic forum is solely to provide funding for DRCLAS to carry out this initiative.
The Luksic Scholars Foundation has no involvement in the appointment of the forum participants, and therefore, is and remains independent from the deliberations or conclusions produced by it, since none of them, nor the opinions of the participants, are necessarily shared by the Foundation itself nor its representatives.