This Sunday, September 4, Chile will hold the last vote of the constitutional reform process that began after the social outburst of 2019. After the drafting of its new laws has been approved and the Constitutional Convention - the group appointed to write them - has been chosen, the country will finally decide whether to approve or reject the text.
The drafting of the new Magna Carta began on July 4, 2021 under the government of Sebastián Piñera. If approved, it would entail major changes and the creation of new bodies, such as a National Water Agency or a Chamber of Regions, which would replace the Senate. If the draft is rejected, the current Constitution will remain in force.
Key points
Some points of the new text have generated large divisions amongst the population. The study and research center Libertad y desarrollo raises "6 critical points of the constitutional principles in the proposal":
Indigenous peoples and plurinationality: Article 1 of the proposal states that Chile is "plurinational, intercultural, regional and ecological". The ruling party proposes that the indigenous consultation mechanism be applied "only to matters that may directly affect them". In turn, indigenous peoples are recognized and guaranteed the right to self-government.
2. End of national sovereignty: Article 2 states that "sovereignty resides in the people of Chile, made up of diverse nations." Likewise, it states that "diverse peoples and nations" coexist and that these are of a pre-existing nature. The State guarantees and promotes the exercise of self-determination and collective rights in favor of these nationalities. However, despite referring to the unity of the territory, the proposal provides every incentive for territorial autonomies.
Nature as a subject of rights (non-humanist character): to consider nature itself as a legal subject and to consider that without nature it is impossible to understand what a human being is. This implies equalizing the rights of nature and those of people, which will necessarily conflict and be the subject of litigation.
4. Principles governing international relations: "Chile is committed to the promotion and respect for democracy, recognition and protection of human rights (....) in accordance with international law". This limits Chile's international capacity, as it defines all international actions of the State and diplomats, as well as the international capacity to sign international treaties and ratify or not resolutions and documents in international bodies.
5. Expansion of sources of law: "the proposal makes an immoderate expansion of the sources of Chilean law, to the detriment of its citizens". The requirement that the general principles of international human rights law be understood as incorporated into the text demands a high level of legal expertise that is far removed from the civic training that can be demanded of a citizen, generating multiple questions and uncertainties.
6. A social state of law: it proposes a social and solidary state, it changes the paradigm of the role of the State in society, but the issue is that it does so by severely subtracting spaces of freedom and opportunities to citizens who have diverse needs and interests.
Latest surveys
With 38%,"Hope" and "uncertainty " are the most representative emotions of the population before the plebiscite on the new Constitution. This, according to the latest Ipsos survey, conducted in conjunction with the think tank Espacio Público.
Both the latest Cadem and Criteria Research surveys indicate that the rejectionist party would take the majority of preferences with an advantage of around 10 percentage points. Both suggest that this gap has been narrowing considerably since a month ago, when the options were separated by almost 20 points.
The government has arranged for free copies of the Magna Carta to be handed out, and even the same president Gabriel Boric, who was its promoter, has read passages of the proposal and has referred to both the text and the plebiscite in several of his media appearances: "Both options on September 4 are legitimate, but let the decision they make be based on what the text says and not on lies that are circulating." said the president.
Axel Kaiser, the main critic of the new Constitution, summarized what it would mean to approve the text:
The summary of the new constitution: pic.twitter.com/9QdqYOpI0z
- AXEL KAISER (@AXELKAISER) May 17, 2022
