Reforming Chile’s Constitution: The Debate over Social and Ethnic Rights

Date: 

Tuesday, April 27, 2021, 12:00pm to 1:20pm


This event is part of a virtual series. It will be held in English with simultaneous Spanish interpretation. To view the recording, click here

Speakers: Veronica Figueroa Huencho, Associate Professor at the Institute of Public Affairs, University of Chile; Daniel Brinks, Professor of Government and of Law, UT Texas at Austin; Rossana Castiglioni, Professor of Political Science, Universidad Diego Portales; Christian Rodriguez, DRCLAS Associate 2020-2021
Moderated by: Steven Levitsky, Director, David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies; Professor of Government, Harvard University

Following the overwhelming vote to discard Chile’s Pinochet-era Constitution, Chileans will elect a new Constituent Assembly in April 2021. The new Assembly is under pressure to write a more inclusionary Constitution that incorporates a range of new social rights, including indigenous rights. What are the benefits and potential pitfalls of expanding constitutional rights in this way? Are social rights the key to deepening Chilean democracy?

Presented in collaboration with Weatherhead Center for International Affairs 

Co-sponsored by  Andes & Southern Cone Program and Chile Regional Office initiative Academic Forum for the New Constitution in Chile