Chilean Constitutional Convention finalized
(July 6, 2022)
Chile’s constitutional convention formally finished its work Monday. Delegates presented President Gabriel Boric with a formal draft of a new magna carta, that will be put to citizen referendum in September.
The text has 388 articles, and 57 transitional norms, which would make it one of the longest constitutions in the world, if approved. It proposes a “representative and reinforced democracy” with elements of direct democracy that are new to Chile. Pointedly, it proposes social rights, environmental conservation and decentralization that diverge strongly from Chile’s current market-oriented magna carta.
The proposed constitution also focuses on equality for women and minorities, particularly Chile’s long-marginalized Indigenous communities. The constitution is one of the first in the world to be drafted in the context of a climate crisis, and recognizes the sentience of animals, and their “right to live a life free from abuse.”
"It’s a woke constitution propelled by left-leaning millennials and built for a modern nation led by one. The question is whether Chileans are ready for it," according to the Washington Post.
The undertaking is a response to massive social protests that broke out in 2019, in response to structural inequality in Chile. If the new constitution is approved, it will replace the current charter, implemented by General Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship government in 1981.
The drafting process is considered by many to be among the most inclusive and democratic instances ever in Chile, carried out by a gender-equal convention made-up mostly of politically independent delegates.
But the process has also been messy and confusing for many citizens. While the drafting process received widespread initial support, polls in recent months indicate that many Chileans have soured on the proposed constitution, and approval is not assured.
Official campaigns in support or against Chile’s proposed constitution begin today. While polls suggest voters would reject the new magna carta if elections were today, opinions could shift significantly as the formal campaigns get underway, notes the Latin America Risk Report.
The latest Pulso Económico poll puts rejection of the new constitution close to 50 percent, with support from 25 percent of the population. Criteria found that 57 percent of the population disapproves of the convention's work, while Cadem found that a similar percentage doesn't trust the convention. Mori found that 32 percent of the population felt the convention had done its work poorly.
Former President Ricardo Lagos published a letter supporting a “third way” option that wants a new constitution that is not the current draft. Supporters of the new constitution say there is no legal third way option and are concerned that discussion of it could cause the constitution to be rejected.
(El País, Associated Press, Deutsche Welle, Al Jazeera, EFE, Latin America Risk Report)
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