Heine Outlines Shortcomings of Chile’s Constitutional Convention
Ambassador Jorge Heine, Research Professor at Boston University’s Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, has published a new Clarin article on the results of Chile’s September 4, 2022, plebiscite.
In his article, titled “Chile después de la debacle (Chile after the debacle),” Heine asks the question of how Chile – a country that had overwhelmingly called for a redrafting of its constitution – ended up with a bloated draft constitutional text that was vetoed by a majority of Chileans. He argues that concessions made by the country’s Congress led to a situation in which “Identity politics, victimization, and rampant narcissism, prevailed over respect.” Heine speculates that there will be a second vote on a re-drafted constitution, and if so, he says “the lesson [to learn] is that good intentions are not enough if they do not go hand in hand with appropriate procedures and professionalism.”
Heine’s full column can be read on Clarin‘s website.
Ambassador Jorge Heine is a Research Professor at the Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University. He has served as ambassador of Chile to China (2014-2017), to India (2003-2007), and to South Africa (1994-1999), and as a Cabinet Minister in the Chilean Government. Read more about Ambassador Heine on his faculty profile.