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The right-wing dominant body tasked with drafting Chile’s new constitution approved a draft on Wednesday that would enshrine conservative positions into law, potentially hurting its chances of success in a December referendum.
The draft includes provisions limiting the right to strike, guaranteeing the speedy deportation of undocumented immigrants, protecting the right to life of unborn children and affirming rights to private pensions, education and health care systems – all issues that have raised eyebrows in Chile’s polarized society discuss aggressively.
The text will now be scrutinized by a panel of experts and the committee that drafted the constitution will have a final chance to amend it before submitting it to voters.
A survey released by Cadem on Sunday showed that only 24% of Chileans said they planned to ratify the constitution, while 54% said they would reject it.
Chile began the process of rewriting its constitution in late 2019 following mass protests over inequality. The country’s current charter was drawn up in 1980 under right-wing dictator Augusto Pinochet, and despite subsequent reforms, it has been the main target of demonstrators’ wrath.
The first attempt at a new constitution, a radical document drafted largely by left-wing leaders and independents, was soundly rejected in last year’s referendum. That opens the door to a new process controlled by politicians, which analysts say is more likely to deliver a moderate document more palatable to voters.
But Danilo Herrera, a political scientist who has closely followed Santiago’s constitutional process, said the new commission also took an ideological approach. Chile Vamos, a coalition of far-right Republicans and the traditional right, won 33 of the 50 seats.
“The result is exactly the same: last year’s constitution was a (left-wing) identitarian document, and this year it is a right-wing identitarian document,” he said, adding that “the provisions on fundamental issues” were not approved by the 17th Congress Approved with the support of the party. Left-wing MP.
The committee’s chairman, Republican member Beatriz Hevia, disagreed with the constitutional designation as right-wing. “The goal was to have a text that would make sense for the majority of Chileans, not for any particular sector,” she told the Financial Times. “I think we have achieved that.”
Hevia added that the “main factor” dragging down public support for the new constitution was not its content but voter apathy after a three-year rewriting process. Even before the June council meeting, polls showed rejection rates were high.
“But we believe it is possible to turn things around,” Hevia said. “If people read our text, they’ll approve it.”
Abortion rights campaigners said the text opened the door to a legal challenge to Chile’s “three grounds” law, which allows abortions to be terminated in cases of rape, fatal fetal malformation and risk to the mother’s life.
Hernán Larraín, founder of the center-right party Evópoli, said the draft contained party positions on controversial issues, including views on valuable property. The tax reduction plan is a legislative matter, not a legislative matter. in the constitution.
“We believe (a moderate document) will bring a greater likelihood of success in December,” Larraín said. “It’s difficult to get all the options approved, but with a consensus text it’s even more possible.”
Leaders of Chile’s main political parties said they were trying to get lawmakers to reduce the size of the draft during the revision phase, which started on October 12 and ended on November 7.
Republicans have launched a campaign to persuade voters to support the Constitution. Herrera said Chile’s other political camps had yet to confirm whether they would promote the document, although the most likely scenario would be support from the right and opposition from the left.
Uncertainty over Chile’s charter has fueled political stagnation over the past four years, hampered legislative reform and stifled investment. The International Monetary Fund expects the country’s economy to shrink by 1% in 2023.
While Chile’s left-wing President Gabriel Boric has ruled out launching a third process if the constitution is rejected, experts warn of uncertainty as the legitimacy of the Pinochet-era constitution is undermined may persist.
“The debate will remain open because Chile’s political system is hampered,” said Larraín, director of the constitutional research project Levels. “The Constitution is at the heart of the system.”
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