Pitfalls of a Precious Opportunity
Abstract
After forty years, Chile recently expressed the will to no longer being governed by the Constitution bequeathed by Pinochet. And it did so in a resounding manner through a plebiscite. The path that will lead to the election of the Constitutional Convention and then the drafting of the new Constitution seems to be exciting: we are observing how a genuine constituent moment is unfolding. However, the importance of the social question coupled with the new constitution carries the risk of over-constitutionalisation and the lack of leadership in the constitutional process could diminish its perception of legitimacy.
