Chile Constitutional Updates (Jan. 7, 2022)
Chilean Constitutional Convention delegates chose epidemiologist María Elisa Quinteros as the body's new head, after nine rounds of voting. She is an environmental epidemiologist, and was selected as part of the Asamblea Popular por la Dignidad y Movimientos Sociales Constituyentes. She will be seconded by rural medic and gay activist Gaspar Domínguez. (Al Jazeera, CNN, CNN)
Both Quinteros and Domíneguez are young (40 and 33 respectively), and represent independent groups that compose a majority of delegates at the Constitutional Convention. The drawn-out-selection process dashed the hopes of establishment parties, including the Frente Amplio of president-elect Gabriel Boric, to lead the next phase of the Convention.
The election came as the Convention heads into a crucial phase: commissions are concluding their proposals for new constitutional norms, which the convention plenary will begin to vote on in February, reports El País.
The new leadership faces significant challenges in the drafting phase, as well as obtaining broad consensuses on norms that must be ratified by two-thirds of delegates. They must also advance on indigenous consultation, promote citizen participation and implement a communication strategy with the public. They might have to request increased funding from Chile's incoming government, reports La Bot Constituyente.
The new constitution will be a major political issue this year. President-elect Boric's biggest immediate test will be his leadership in the midst of an ongoing constitutional rewrite that will be put to citizen referendum. "In the presidential seat, Mr. Boric will have to walk the fine line of championing the new Constitution — which could inevitably circumscribe his own power — and not alienating that part of the electorate that doesn’t share the progressive values of the drafting committee members who themselves are still debating key provisions," writes Cristian Farias in a New York Times op-ed.
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Chile's approach to the environment is among the central issues the convention is analyzing -- with likely large impacts on the country's key mining industry, reports the New York Times.
A proposal to create autonomous regions within Chile, replacing the current unitarian system, has majority support within the relevant commission within the Convention, and will be voted on by the plenary, reports La Tercera.
Historian Joshua Frens-String spoke to Jacobin on how the Chilean working-class dream of “wine and empanadas” became the basis for a political revolution, and how that dream can be revived amid a left-wing resurgence in the country today. His new book Hungry for Revolution: The Politics of Food and the Making of Modern Chile, shows that underlying the Allende government's drive for agrarian reform and consumer protections was a vision of working-class abundance that had deep roots in Chile’s century-old socialist movement.
Four beekeepers were detained after protesting in front of Chile's presidential palace in Santiago this week. The beekeepers set around 60 beehives, which contained an estimated 10,000 bees, on the avenue in front of the palace, demanding government help in the midst of a damaging, long-term drought that has hurt honey production. Seven police officers were stung during the demonstrations. (Reuters)