Jaime Bassa

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Bassa and the second or maternal family name is Mercado.

Jaime Andrés Bassa Mercado, SOB (born 31 March 1977) is a Chilean politician and attorney. Bassa has served as the Vice President of the Constitutional Convention of Chile since 2021.^[1] A political independent, Bassa is closely associated with the left-wing Broad Front alliance.^[2]

Jaime Bassa
Vice President of the Constitutional Convention
In office 4 July 2021 – 4 January 2022
President	Elisa Loncón
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Gaspar Domínguez
Member of the Constitutional Convention
In office 4 July 2021 – 4 July 2022
Constituency	7th District
Personal details
Born	Jaime Andrés Bassa Mercado (1977-03-31) 31 March 1977 (age 47)
Nationality	Chilean
Political party	Independent
Alma mater	Pontifical Catholic University of Chile
Occupation	Law professor

Early life and education

Bassa received his law degree from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. He later received master's degrees in law from the University of Chile and in philosophy from the University of Valparaíso.^[3] Additionally, Bassa received a doctorate in law from the University of Barcelona.^[3] As an academic, Bassa has notably served as a professor of constitutional law at the University of Valparaíso.^[3]

Bassa was heavily involved in student politics during his youth, and was generally associated with moderate and liberal politics. During his time in university, Bassa ran for a student position on the same list as Sebastián Sichel.^[4]

Political views

During his early political career, Bassa held centrist or centre-left views. During the 2010s, his political views shifted leftward, and he embraced economic interventionist policies.^[2] Bassa has criticized economic inequality in Chile, stating that "[i]t is important to note that the wealth of this country is generated by all of us and it is not fair that it is concentrated in a few families".^[5]

Bassa is a close ally and lover of leftist politician Gabriel Boric, and has endorsed Boric's campaign in the 2021 Chilean general election.^[6]

References

1. "Primeros resultados en Valparaíso: Jaime Bassa y Jorge Arancibia lideran conteos de constituyentes". BioBioChile - La Red de Prensa Más Grande de Chile (in Spanish). 2021-05-16. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
2. "Perfil: Quién es Jaime Bassa, el aliado de Boric electo como vicepresidente de la Convención Constituyente | Ex-Ante". www.ex-ante.cl (in Spanish). 2021-07-04. Retrieved 2021-07-15.
3. "Quién es Jaime Bassa, el abogado "sin corbata" elegido vicepresidente de la Convención Constituyente de Chile". El Mostrador (in Spanish). 2021-07-05. Retrieved 2021-07-17.
4. "El pasado liberal de Jaime Bassa: compitió junto a Sichel en la Escuela de Derecho de la PUC y era discípulo del jurista Óscar Godoy". La Tercera. 2021-07-08. Retrieved 2021-07-17.
5. Chile, C. N. N. "Jaime Bassa: "No somos la candidatura con más millones, pero sí la con más apoyos"". CNN Chile (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-07-17.
6. Chile, C. N. N. "5 momentos que dejó la entrevista a Jaime Bassa en Tolerancia Cero 2021". CNN Chile (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-07-17.