Chile Constitutional Updates 2021 (Aug. 30, 2021)
Chile's Convention might plebiscite clauses
Chile's Constitutional Convention is finalizing the bylaws that will guide the actual drafting of a new magna charter. On Saturday the Bylaws Commission approved the draft rules, which the full plenary of delegates is expected to vote on next week. Several key points delegates have agreed on include several instances of popular consultation for the creation of the new constitution -- including a proposal to plebiscite clauses that do not obtain a two-thirds majority but do garner more than three-fifths in two votes. The move would require Congress to pass a constitutional amendment permitting this kind of referendum. Voting would be permitted for people older than 14-years, and all of the clauses submitted to the public might be gathered into one consolidated vote. But the consultation process could be legally challenged by right-wing opponents before Chile's Supreme Court. Within the Frente Amplio, some leaders have questioned the mechanism as well, arguing that there needs to be more clarity on which issues would be brought before the electorate for decisions. (La Bot Constituyente, El Mostrador, El Mostrador, CNN Chile, 24 Horas)
Other key points in the bylaws: the gender parity mandate will be interpreted as a 50 percent cap on men in all of the Convention's instances (commissions, etc), but not as a limit on how many women can participate. Delegates can speak in Indigenous languages, and will be alloted double time if they do so, to allow for simultaneous translation. And the Ethics commission will consider teasing, sarcasm and irony infractions. The willful sharing of fake news -- on social media or in sessions -- will also be considered an ethical lapse for delegates. Sanctions could include warnings, penalty fees and restrictions oral deliberation in the Convention for a period of time. (La Bot Constituyente, CNN Chile)
Delegates decided not to include the term "Republic" in the bylaws, a move that was criticized by right-wing delegates by aims at emphasizing the plurinational nature of the Convention -- it does not affect the republican nature of Chile as a country, a condition the new constitution is bound to maintain. (Plataforma Contexto, La Tercera)
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A group of Constituent delegates, along with 70 organizations, denounced misogynist and racist attacks received for being women, Indigenous and environmental defenders. (El Mostrador)
Fifteen right-wing Constituent Convention delegates in Chile signed a letter recognizing "errors and injustices" in the country's historic treatment of Indigenous peoples. (Nodal)
The Convention's Ethics Commission agreed to sanction delegates who deny human rights violations committed by the Pinochet dictatorship or in the government response to the 2019 mass protests. (Nodal)
The Convention's Human Rights Commission held a session in a female penitentiary, an exercise that delegates hope to repeat in other prisons, permitting inmates to participate. (24 Horas)
Chile’s presidential race kicked off this week, with nine candidates from across the political spectrum officially registered. The Eurasia Group risk consultancy said in a report that it foresaw a second round in which “the Left is well-placed to capitalize on the demand for change.” (Reuters, El Mostrador)