UCL Institute of the Americas Public Seminar Roundtable on the Chilean Constitutional Reform Process

On December 17, 2023, 55% of Chileans voted to reject a second draft constitutional text in as many years. The first draft text had been dismissed in September 2022. The second referendum, which turned down a draft text widely perceived as more conservative than the Constitution in place since 1980 during Pinochet’s dictatorship, brings to an end the constitutional reform process begun in the aftermath of the 2019 anti-inequality social uprisings in the country. In this timely panel, our experts will discuss the scenarios ahead, considering alternative pathways for reform, prospects for human rights protections, and the disconnect that exists between Chile’s political parties and its citizens. 

Chair: Francesca Lessa, Associate Professor in International Relations of the Americas, UCL

Panellists: 

• Jennifer Piscopo, Professor of Gender and Politics, Royal Holloway
• Hugo Rojas, Professor of Sociology of Law and Transitional Justice, Universidad Alberto Hurtado.
• Javier Sajuria, Reader in Comparative Politics, Queen Mary