It is the National Congress in Valparaiso, and every single Chilean president has been sworn into presidency in this room. Chile has the fourth oldest Congress in the world (U.S. is numero uno; then Great Britain; then France). Constitutional Law is so intrinsically important and vital in the great Latin American debate. Think of it: the U.S. constitution has never been changed in over 200 years of its existence. Bolivia has changed its constitution about 200 times! This is why Chile has a separate court to deal solely with constitutional issues, whereas our Supreme Court absorbs those issues.
Here is another room at the National Congress where bills are argued. Copper is Chile's greatest source of wealth, thus the giant copper backboard. And there are giant scoreboards on the wall to reveal how each person voted.
Afterward we were treated to a very nice sit-down lunch; the service was nice, we had three courses, and the view was wonderful (as we were on the top floor). The plates had the special crest of the National Congress.
It is nice to travel with such a reputable school- we're treated so nicely!
No comments:
Post a Comment