Mapuche Woman to Lead Creation of Chile's New Constitution
2021-07-07
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1Members of Chile's constitutional delegation have chosen a woman from the indigenous Mapuche people to lead efforts to create the new constitution.
2The choice marks a big turning point for a people that were ignored during the making of the country's present constitution.
3The Mapuche are the largest group of indigenous people in Chile.
4Elisa Loncon is a political independent, a university professor and an activist for Mapuche educational and language rights.
5She was chosen by 96 of the 155 men and women -- including 17 indigenous people -- that make up the new constitutional body.
6The group will replace Chile's current constitution, which was approved under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.
7Loncon was celebrated by members of the group after accepting the position on Sunday.
8She said, "I salute the people of Chile from the north to Patagonia, from the sea to the mountains, to the islands, all those who are watching us today."
9Loncon added that she was thankful for the support of "coalitions that placed their trust and their dreams in the hands of the Mapuche nation."
10They voted for "a Mapuche person, a woman, to change the history of this country," she said.
11Electing Loncon represented a high point in a day that included a suspension of the delegates' swearing in ceremony.
12The delay happened after protests took place outside and inside Santiago's former congress building, where the event was being held.
13During Loncon's election, demonstrators from all political sides demanded that police not be involved in the ceremony.
14The protesters were met by heavily armed police at blockades.
15As demands came from delegates for the special forces police to leave, the head electoral court official agreed to suspend the event until midday.
16The incident demonstrated the intense issues for creating a new constitution as the country faces deep divisions.
17In 2019, there were massive protests over inequality that worsened after police responded with violence.
18The constitutional body was chosen by a popular vote in May and is made up mainly of independent and leftist candidates.
19Some candidates had roots in the protest movement.
20A smaller share of more conservative candidates received backing from the current center-right government.
21The delegates have promised to work on issues including water and property rights, central bank independence and labor policies.
22This has led to worry among business investors about possible big changes to the free market system for the world's top copper producer.
23Before the ceremony began, Aymara and Mapuche delegates held spiritual ceremonies in the streets that included song and dance.
24Not recognized in the current constitution, these indigenous communities are hoping the new document will include cultural, political and social rights.
25The delegation has up to a year to agree to a common rulebook, establish committees and write a new document.
26I'm Alice Bryant.
1Members of Chile's constitutional delegation have chosen a woman from the indigenous Mapuche people to lead efforts to create the new constitution. The choice marks a big turning point for a people that were ignored during the making of the country's present constitution. 2The Mapuche are the largest group of indigenous people in Chile. 3Elisa Loncon is a political independent, a university professor and an activist for Mapuche educational and language rights. She was chosen by 96 of the 155 men and women -- including 17 indigenous people -- that make up the new constitutional body. The group will replace Chile's current constitution, which was approved under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. 4Loncon was celebrated by members of the group after accepting the position on Sunday. She said, "I salute the people of Chile from the north to Patagonia, from the sea to the mountains, to the islands, all those who are watching us today." 5Loncon added that she was thankful for the support of "coalitions that placed their trust and their dreams in the hands of the Mapuche nation." They voted for "a Mapuche person, a woman, to change the history of this country," she said. 6Electing Loncon represented a high point in a day that included a suspension of the delegates' swearing in ceremony. The delay happened after protests took place outside and inside Santiago's former congress building, where the event was being held. 7During Loncon's election, demonstrators from all political sides demanded that police not be involved in the ceremony. The protesters were met by heavily armed police at blockades. 8As demands came from delegates for the special forces police to leave, the head electoral court official agreed to suspend the event until midday. 9The incident demonstrated the intense issues for creating a new constitution as the country faces deep divisions. In 2019, there were massive protests over inequality that worsened after police responded with violence. 10The constitutional body was chosen by a popular vote in May and is made up mainly of independent and leftist candidates. Some candidates had roots in the protest movement. A smaller share of more conservative candidates received backing from the current center-right government. 11The delegates have promised to work on issues including water and property rights, central bank independence and labor policies. This has led to worry among business investors about possible big changes to the free market system for the world's top copper producer. 12Before the ceremony began, Aymara and Mapuche delegates held spiritual ceremonies in the streets that included song and dance. Not recognized in the current constitution, these indigenous communities are hoping the new document will include cultural, political and social rights. 13The delegation has up to a year to agree to a common rulebook, establish committees and write a new document. 14I'm Alice Bryant. 15The Reuters news agency reported this story. Alice Bryant adapted it for Learning English. Bryan Lynn was the editor. 16_______________________________________________________________ 17Words in This Story 18indigenous - adj. of the earliest known inhabitants of a place, especially a place that was colonized by a now-dominant group 19salute - v. to publicly praise someone or something 20swear in - v. to have a ceremony in which a new leader makes a promise to do their work properly and with honesty and loyalty 21committee - n. a group of people who are chosen to do a particular job or to make decisions about something