Along with neighbours of the Mesana settlement, in the outskirts of Valparaíso -the second most populated city in Chile- civil society organisations handed over to Jaime Bassa, vice-president of the Constitutional Convention, their proposal to include the right to adequate housing in Chile’s new Constitution.

The proposal -drafted by local grassroots leaders, GI-ESCR, Techo-Chile, Fundación Vivienda and the Casa Abierta Association- has four main themes:

• Constitutional principles.

• The recognition of the right to adequate housing.

• The right to live in a dignified habitat and integrated cities.

• Norms and mechanisms to realise these rights.

Although the International Law recognises the right to housing, Chile’s 1980 Constitution does not mention it. Consequently, there are no judicial or policy mechanisms to warrantee access to adequate and dignified housing.

Jaime Bassa, vice-president of the Constitutional Convention, praised the proposal and highlighted the importance of including this right in the new Constitution:

“Many proposals around housing appear again and again in different conversations, but we are in conditions for a step ahead because housing is not strictly a personal right but also has a collective dimension. That should be made visible because it implies how housing -and the recognition of other social rights- help to distribute political power in the way in which we participate in our communities, but also helps to distribute economic power since it entails a debate around the economic model.”

Valentina Contreras, the GI-ESCR representative in Chile, welcomed the presence of Mr Bassa in the activity:

“I’d like to highlight the dialogue between the local, national and international levels. Many times we all remain in the theoretical sphere, and this kind of interchange helps us to fill with meaning all those legal elements we believe should be included in Chile’s new Constitution to effectively warrantee the right to adequate housing, including the exigibility mechanisms.”

Celsa Durán, president of the grassroots Casa Abierta Association of Valparaíso, remarked the participatory process behind the proposals drafting, which included sessions with communities and interviews with social leaders:

“Settlement leaders also back these proposals because they weren’t drafted only by them [Techo-Chile y GI-ESCR] in their offices. We also participated concretely. This is important because it’s also our work, and we want to be considered, and our voice can be heard.”

The social director of Techo-Chile, Vicente Stiepovich, recapped the meaning of this proposal:

“For us, the recognition of the right to housing in the new Constitution is crucial: it’s a guarantee for democracy, defines a basic agreement around the degree of protection of this right; and offers orientation for the development and interpretation of the legislative framework and public policies.”

The organisations hope the Constitutional Convention will consider their proposals as supplies for the detailed discussion of the new Constitution's rights.