Chile Constitutional Updates (Dec. 7, 2021)
Chile's new president and the Constitution
Chile is in the midst of a presidential election that will likely have a significant impact on efforts to rewrite and adopt a new constitution. The winner of this weekend's runoff vote will be in charge of the transition to a new constitution and the implementation of its norms, according to La Bot Constituyente. Ultra-conservative José Antonio Kast, who came in first in the November presidential elections opposed efforts to rewrite the magna carta, said he would not hesitate to oppose approval of the new constitution in a plebiscite, if "the project is bad." In fact, some pundits suggest that many of Kast's voters were specifically supporting his opposition to the constitutional assembly. (The New Republic)
Some delegates have sought to shield the drafting process, regardless of who wins the elections, reports El Mostrador.
Regardless, Chile's November presidential and legislative elections will have a moderating effect on the ongoing Constitutional Convention, according to La Bot Constituyente. The incoming Congress, which will be fractured and evenly split between right and left-wing lawmakers, will be in charge of creating regulations based on the new constitution.
The results of the congressional elections are comparatively much more moderate than the presidential vote, according to the Latin America Risk Report. The center right and center left coalitions (Chile Podemos and Nuevo Pacto Social) performed the strongest overall, far better than the coalitions for Kast or Boric. Both houses of congress are split relatively evenly between parties on the left and right.
Leftist presidential candidate Gabriel Boric is in the lead, with 54 percent, over conservative José Antonio Kast, with 46 percent, ahead of the Dec. 19 runoff election, according to a new Criteria poll released last week. (Reuters) Other recent polls give Boric a stronger lead, AS/COA compares them, and delves into who voters will support based on their first round choice.
Chile's first-round presidential election results are confusing for outsiders: Kast, a proponent of order and security, came in first -- only a year after voters chose to rewrite the country's constitution and elected a slate of independent and leftist delegates to do so. "There is no confusion or repentance," argued Patricio Navia in Americas Quarterly. "While people want a new constitution that will give them more social rights, they also want to maintain many aspects of the economic model that has brought that country so much prosperity over the past three decades." (See yesterday's post.)
The finalists in Chile's presidential election come from opposite ends of the ideological spectrum; what they "have in common is that they reject the centrist consensus that has held sway since the dictatorship," reports the Economist.
But political scientist Jennifer Pribble warned about using the blanket term "polarization" to equalize both Kast and Boric: "If we refer to ‘polarization,’ we must differentiate between t/ radicalized (& anti-democratic) right and a social democratic left that seeks to respond to broad societal demands for a welfare state, rights for historically marginalized groups, & a response to the climate crisis." (Twitter)
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Constitutional Convention debates presidentialism
Despite the political upheaval, the convention has been advancing in concrete terms, reports LaBot Constituyente. In the Political System commission, there have been audiences on the system of government, a plurinational state, and the electoral system. And, from what delegates exposed in their speeches, positions on these issues do not follow a left-right divide, according to LaBot, which says agreements seem likely to take place transversally, which will be positive for the new charter's legitimacy.
In terms of the system of government, an "attenuated presidential" model seems likely. Few delegates support the idea of a fully parliamentary system, though all agree that the hyper-presidential model should be modified. Delegates also hope to seek formulas that present institutional exits to political crises and there was broad support for the idea of a plurinational state and decentralization of power.
Most delegates support maintaining a two-chamber Congress, but many lean towards an asymmetrical approach: different functions for each chamber, and a territorial representation in one, reports CNN.
More News
Constitutional Convention president Elisa Loncón said efforts to include consultation of Indigenous peoples in the drafting of the new charter are endangered due to lack of funding and collaboration from the government. (CNN)
Chile's lower chamber of Congress approved a measure to legalize marriage and adoption by same-sex couples. The bill already has Senate approval, and now awaits only final modifications related to the rights of same sex couples. President Sebastián Piñera has indicated he will publish it into law, reports the Associated Press.
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio met with Chilean presidential candidate José Antonio Kast this week, reports The Intercept. “I’m not a pinochetista, but I value everything he did,” Kast has said, adding that the dictatorship “laid the foundations of modernity.”
"Chile today presents one of the most challenging and promising scenarios for the global left that all socialists should pay attention to," argues René Rojas in Jacobin. "The country’s road to democratic refoundation sheds light on what insurgent movements and parties fighting to deepen democracy and guarantee social and economic rights should emulate — and what must be avoided." He argues that lessons from Chile include: "that mass mobilization must direct its disruptive force and demands at the state."
Chilean environmental activist Javiera Rojas was found dead with her hands and feet bound. She was well known in northern Chile for her participation in protests against the Prime Thermoelectric project, reports the Guardian.
A Chilean court increased the prison sentence for six former soldiers convicted in one of the most notorious killings by the former military dictatorship — the kidnapping, torture and murder of folk singer Víctor Jara— as well as that of a government official, reports the Associated Press.
"Exceptional atmospheric conditions in northern Chile, an image of political stability, favorable tax policies, and diplomatic credentials for researchers have made the country a leader in international astronomy," but "Chilean scientists and civil society actors continue to question the relative balance of benefits they get for the globally unique natural attributes in their northern deserts, which make cutting-edge astronomy research possible." (Aula Blog)