“In Chile as elsewhere, democracy needs oxygen and must be strengthened”

An academic specializing in the study of indigenous languages, Elisa Loncon Antileo is from the Mapuche people of Chile and a long-time activist for the recognition of the rights of indigenous peoples. She was elected, in July 2021, to the presidency of the convention responsible for drafting the new Constitution of the country, on which the Chileans will vote, on September 4, by referendum. In a compulsory ballot, they will have to say if they accept (apruebo) or reject (rechazo) the text intended to replace the Constitution inherited from the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.

Passing through France, Elisa Loncon Antileo takes part, on August 23 and 24, in the Agir pour le vivant festival in Arles. On the program: a dialogue with the philosopher Edgar Morin and the presentation of the exhibition of photographs “Geometric Forests” which retraces the struggles of the Mapuche to defend the forest against the development of the monoculture of the paper industry.

After a year of work, in what state of mind do you approach the referendum, the final stage of the constitutional process?

I am fully satisfied with the humanist text that we have succeeded in drawing up. Our proposed Constitution opens new democratic paths, by placing parity and the plurality of cultures at the heart of the political system. It recognizes everyone’s rights and affirms the rules necessary for living together with respect for differences, whether of gender, religion or origin.

But I’m also worried that it won’t pass, because lately rejection seems to have taken over. Proponents of the right oppose it and disseminate false information, seeking to convince uninformed citizens with lies. They present us as wanting to divide the countrywhile our approach aims, on the contrary, to unite Chile in its diversity.

Read also: Constitution in Chile: the final draft submitted to the president, referendum in September

This is worrying, because a democracy is not built on lies, it needs ethics and informed citizen participation. I am a linguist and, for me, language is an instrument of dialogue and peace, not a tool of lies. So far, neither approval nor rejection has won. Since voting is compulsory, many 18-year-olds will vote, and they are likely to make a difference.

How was the editorial work organised?

The process was born, in 2019, from a parliamentary decision to find a way out of the social revolt and the political crisis that the country was going through. Nearly 80% of Chileans demanded by referendum that a new Constitution be put in place, not by deputies or experts, but by democratically elected citizens, including half of them women and integrating representatives of the indigenous peoples.

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