Chile Constitutional Updates (March 9, 2022)
Gabriel Boric will take office on Friday. Chile's youngest president, he will preside over the end of the constitutional rewrite process that could redefine many aspects of how the country is governed. (El Mostrador)
Chile's Constitutional Convention has until April 28 to approve proposed norms for a new magna carta, after which a commission will harmonize the document ahead of the July 4 deadline to present a new constitution for public consultation in September. (El País)
The discussions will profoundly alter Chile's governance structure. The current proposal would create a unicameral Congress, with a Territorial Council that some interpret as a second chamber. (LaBot Constituyente)
Among the major changes that have already passed the convention's two-thirds approval requirement for inclusion is the definition of Chile as a plurinational state, and the creation of autonomous regions that include Indigenous territories as such. (El País)
According to a recent Criteria poll, the convention's work has a 31 percent approval rate (two points below the previous month's) and a 48 percent disapproval. Nonetheless, it's the country's most backed political institution. (El País)
More on the Convention
Many of the Environmental Commission's proposals were voted down by the Convention's plenary, including a clause that would permit any person to represent "nature" in court, and another that would make crimes against nature imprescriptible.
Several other clauses passed, including recognition of the environmental crisis as a consequence of human activity, the duty of the State to "guarantee and promote the rights of nature", the protection of animals as sentient beings, education based on empathy with animals, the right to binding participation in environmental decisions and the right of access to environmental information. (LaBot Constituyente)
The Justice Commission approved juridical pluralism (recognizing Indigenous justice systems) and irremovability of judges. The commission has also approved removing Supreme Court judges after a 12-year mandate and a chapter on feminist justice. (LaBot Constituyente)
It has become increasingly clear that the foundational spirit of the convention represents a risk to Chilean governance, argues Patricio Navia in Americas Quarterly. The process looks likely to produce a long, comprehensive and extremely detailed constitution, he writes. "Indeed, every political institution in Chile is under threat of elimination or deep redesign."