Santiago de Chile, October 14 (teleSUR-RHC)-- Chilean President Michelle Bachelet announced on Tuesday the start of a process that could lead to a new constitution for the South American country.

Bachelet also vowed to launch a constituent assembly in order to introduce changes to the country's current constitution, which was established in 1980 under the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet.

During a televised speech to the nation Tuesday evening, Bachelet said that a "civic education" phase would run until March 2016, which would be followed by "a process of dialogue with citizens in which everyone can take part." 

Former radical student leader and current Congress member Camila Vallejo urged her fellow Chileans to take part in the process.  She posted on Twitter: “Now is the time to work together to build a social majority in order to achieve a new constitution through a constitutional assembly.” 

The Chilean president said she will form a team of specialists to look into the best way to device and implement a constitutional reform.

President Bachelet ran her political campaign on three key proposals -- education, and tax and constitutional reforms -- arguing that these have the potential to transform Chile socially, economically and politically.