Symbolic-descriptive representation in the Chilean Constitutional Convention

The crisis of representation and legitimacy faced by liberal democracies makes it necessary to reflect on the transformation of their institutions, especially the constituent power as a source of legitimacy based on the principle of political representation. Taking the approaches to the concept of political representation, this article aims to analyze the discourses that took place in the Chilean Constitutional Convention (2021–2022) to understand the significance of political representation present in the constituent assembly. To this end, we studied the modes of argumentation, that were mobilized in the opening speeches of the presidents and vice presidents who led the constituent process. As the main thesis, we consider that a symbolic descriptive logic of political representation focused on the visibility and description of the excluded sectors in Chile prevailed, considering the defense of a politics of presence of particular identities and the autonomy of their demands.