Elite Rhetoric About Indigenous Representation in Chile

• In Event: Politics of Electoral System Reform

Abstract

This article explores the rhetoric of Chilean political elites during 2019 and 2020 discussions to establish reserved seats for Indigenous communities in Chile’s Constitutional Convention. Indigenous demands were prominent during the 2019 protests demanding constitutional change. But while gender parity was guaranteed in the resulting constituent assembly to rewrite the constitution, Indigenous communities’ representation was an ongoing, contentious negotiation over who can run, who can vote, how many seats, and how those seats would be allocated in comparison to other assembly seats. What do these conversations about Indigenous representation reveal about how Chilean politicians understand indigeneity, identity, and citizenship? This article documents and analyzes these conversations, drawing on legislative transcripts and quotes from politicians in newspaper articles related to the legislative discussion over what became Law 21.298 (23 December 2020) that reserved 17 of 155 seats for Indigenous representatives. These debates reveal that while activists demanded reserved seats as a means sharing power in a plurinational society, politicians responded and negotiated these seats with a protectionist logic.

Author

• Kelly Bauer, Nebraska Wesleyan University