Cristóbal Andrade, also known as Dino, is one of 155 popularly elected members of Chile’s Constitutional Convention. Created in response to massive cost-of-living protests that rocked the country in October 2019, the assembly elected in May 2021 is now drafting a new constitution to replace the charter imposed by Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship over four decades ago.

Andrade was elected to the assembly with the People’s List, a loosely organized grouping made up of figures from social movements, often skeptical of established parties. But he’s most recognizable because of his characteristic blue dinosaur costume. Like fellow convention member Tía Pikachu — a school-bus driver dressed as the Pokémon character — Dino first adopted his costume when he took to the streets during the October 2019 demonstrations. The mood of the protests was hardly just celebratory — violent police repression killed 36 people and left 460 with eye trauma caused by rubber bullets. But the strength of the revolt ultimately succeeded in bending the hand of the establishment politicians and starting the current constitutional process.

Today, Dino is one of the assembly members representing the Valparaíso Region. Apart from the humor of his costume, his election owed to his willingness to speak up for real popular grievances. In particular, his area has been hit hard by deforestation and the malign effects of real estate monopolists. Two communes, Quintero and Puchuncaví, have suffered from so much air and water contamination that they’ve been dubbed a “Chilean Chernobyl.” One of Dino’s mottos — sometimes emblazoned on the T. rex’s T-shirt — is “Free the Water,” a popular demand among many of his constituents. Drought-stricken Chile’s water supply is completely privatized.