Chile is about to rewrite its constitution to create a more egalitarian society

When metro fares increased in the Chilean capital last year, the decision was expected to end with the collapse of the country’s dictator-era constitution, which sought to make the country a politically treacherous, but transformative society.

On Sunday, 78 percent of Chileans voted to change the current charter, written by General August Gusto Pinochet, who ruled from 1973 to 1990. Beginning in April, the 155-member constitutional legislature – which must have a feature of equal men and women elected by the public – will draft it in early 2022. When they expire, the entire population of the South American country must vote to approve or reject the new document.

It’s a dramatic move, but thousands of Chileans have demanded it over the years and especially in recent months.

Last October, there was a massive protest in the capital, Santiago, over a cent percent metro-fare increase, which quickly became a symbol of the nation’s political elites not being in touch with the daily needs of Chileans. About a quarter of the country’s wealth goes to just 1 percent of the population, leaving a large part of the country in debt. As a result, even a small spike in the cost of public transport caused economic hardship to millions.

That pain was originally contained in Pinochet’s constitution. His rule made land law a neoliberal, free market economic model, which also led to the privatization of education, health care and pensions. Those policies (and later democratization) helped make the country the most prosperous and stable in the region.

But politicians on the left and right failed to address the enormous inequalities that produced the same policies.

That is why most of the country started calling for a massive change in the constitution: if the country’s political leaders do not completely break the laws written by the dictator, the people will take matters into their own hands. “This is a great victory, and the young people who made this history,” said Jennifer Preble, an expert on Chilean politics at the University of Richmond.

The victory did not happen without spending: During months of protests, Chilean police killed 36 people and injured hundreds, tortured or sexually assaulted them.

Now the hard part begins. Creating a whole new constitution is more challenging than tearing it apart, as most of the country’s buying and selling continues. It is therefore possible that the promise of the moment gives way to the realities of governance and politics.

Promise, better than nothing. “There is an opportunity to be holistically involved in this kind of political and social agenda that clearly supports 78 percent of Chile,” Christina Mani, chair of Latin American studies at Berlin K College Ledge, told me.

“Democracy has never been legitimate in the constitution”

Pinochet’s 17-year rule was ruthlessly cruel. Approximately 40,000 people were wrongfully imprisoned, tortured or killed, and more than 1,000 have been officially declared invisible (although experts believe the actual number is much higher).

In 1980, the country’s constitution was written by the Pinochet regime and a referendum was held to approve it. Beyond economic laws, it gave the dictator and his cronies immense powers, now known as “dictatorial houses”, which have survived Chile’s post-1990 democratic era.

Most notably, the constitution gave seats to elected senators elected to the upper chamber of parliament – one of which Pinochet himself occupied after stepping down – in order to impede popular representation and give the regime more control over the political process.

As the country moved on from its autocratic past – oddly, the 1988 referendum led to the fall of Pinochet – Chilean leaders made 42 amendments to the constitution. For example, in 2005, the Pinochet-granted seats, numbering 10 at the time, were canceled from the upper house of parliament, leaving it with 38 elected members. The reform also stripped the army of its unexpected power, eventually placing Chile’s armed forces under direct presidential order.

Despite that and other efforts, two things made people angry about the country’s constitution.

AFP by Getty Images

First, the simple fact that it was largely written by a dictator made it a highly obscure charter. Preble of Richmond told me, “The Constitution never had democratic legitimacy.” It was always the Achilles heel of the document. ”

Second, the Constitution does not just work for everyday citizens. According to the World Bank, its free market model Dell reduced poverty from 31 percent in 2000 to 6.4 percent in 2017, making the copper-rich Andean nation the highest-ranked country in Latin America in the United Nations Human Development Index. But below the surface Mercury puts the picture.

A recent study by Santiago-based think tank fundraiser SOL found that 50 percent of Chilean workers earned 100,000,000 pesos (approximately 50 50,050) a month, a small change from the cost of public transportation.

Amalia Gomez, 66, who had to find a job to increase her monthly $ 125-month pension, asked the New York Times on Sunday why her government could not give her a better life. “Why not, if we are a country rich in minerals, fish, agriculture?” She said. “Why can’t we use those resources to our advantage, to our education and health?”

The experts told me, the reason is the constitution.

Simply put, it is very difficult for Chilean politicians to reform those areas because the laws governing them are in the National Assembly. Any changes require a supermajority pass in Parliament, which is difficult given the political divisions in the body. Plus, the U.S. Like, any considered change in the constitution of a nation becomes a contentious and controversial war, on which some leaders seek to spend political capital.

Which explains why Chile sees a protest movement after nearly two decades. Some of them, the student demonstrations of 2011, rocked the political class to its roots, making them feel that people were very unhappy with the status quo. National dialogue grew around not only updating the constitutional law but writing the full text of the charter.

Listening to those calls, the last president of Chile, the leftist Michelle Bachelet, promised to do just that – but she could not pass a more liberal constitution. When right-wing billionaire Sebastian Pinera came to power in 2018, he said the new constitution was not even on the table.

But his views have changed with protests over metro fare hikes starting May 18, 2019. Despite his government’s deadly crackdown on largely peaceful protests, the demonstrations continued and led to a campaign for economic and social equality. In other words, the formation of society can only provide the new constitution of Chile.

This stern dr ta ta pushed Pinera’s hand. “Politically, it was destroyed by demonstrations. He was a constituency for his tenure, ”Oberlin’s Mani told me. That November, Pinera said he supported the new constitution. His government initially held a referendum for April, but the Covid-19 epidemic withdrew the vote earlier this month.

Marcelo Hernandez / Getty Images

Now that the rewritten charter on Sunday has received a proud order, Pinera has given a different tone. “The constitution has divided us so far,” he said in a speech at the presidential palace on Sunday. “To this day we must all cooperate to make the new constitution a home for all of us.”

The experts I spoke to said the Chilean president may not be happy about the situation, but he is potentially happy about how he will be viewed. “This is Pinera’s clever move to go down in history as the leader of the popular shift in China,” Mani said.

What is the next step, is what will play a role in Chilean politics for the next few years.

The road to Chile’s new constitution is long and steep

It is difficult enough to determine the rules of how a country should be run. Add political complications and the whole process becomes almost impossible.

Take only three The main concerns the experts mentioned to me.

The first, 15 seats in the Constitutional Assembly are to be captured. That means hundreds of Chileans will campaign to represent their districts, promising to win every possible vote they can’t keep. Intense and awkward discussions can dominate discussions, there are obstacles to any kind of process.

That’s problematic, of course. Once the delegates meet in April, they will have nine months to draft a new constitution, with the option of a one-time three-month extension. Time, obviously, will be short.

Then there is the fact that the draft of the new charter will be consistent with next year’s presidential elections in the country. Debates by presidential candidates could influence potential constitutional debates and partisan sentiments. As a result, logically, further discussions can lead to more pertinent, short-term concerns.

This concern speaks to the heart of the debate. Chile’s current constitution, like many in Latin America, does not codify social rights, women’s rights, indigenous rights, water rights, and more. People hope that the new document will reflect local and regional needs, as well as provide for a more inclusive society.

“This is going to be a controversial process,” Preble said. “Young voters are looking for many specific guarantees and rights in this constitution.”

Matthias Besualdo / Nurphoto by Getty Images

If political holes are formed in how those rights are provided, the result may be more of a compromise than activists want. And if so, the public may reject the new document in a 2022 vote.

Third and relevant, only half of the nation voted in Sunday’s referendum, the highest turnout for a national vote in nearly a decade, but when the stake is low. Relying on 50 percent of the public to support a whole new charter – which they did not vote for individually – can be difficult.

Experts do not minimize difficulties, and note that there can be many difficulties on the road ahead. But nonetheless, it is a route that Chileans have long hoped to travel. “It’s important for the system to have legitimacy again,” Oberlin’s Mani said.

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