Tense disagreements, apathy and majority rejection: this is how the constitutional process advances in Chile

The second plebiscite will be held on December 17.

The drafting of the second proposal for the new Constitution of Chile entered a decisive stage in which the Constitutional Council, which was elected through popular vote, will review and modify the preliminary draft prepared by an Expert Commission and which will be plebiscitated on December 17. December.

The process, however, is carried out in a climate of tension since the left-wing councilors (government members) denounce that those on the right (opposition) resist negotiating and they take advantage of the fact that they have a large majority (33 of 17 seats) to impose amendments without any spirit of consensus.

The complaint implies a paradox, since last year, when the first draft was prepared, it was the left – which then had a majority in the now defunct Constituent Convention – that ended up accused of not giving in and of implementing its vision in a project that Finally, it was rejected in the plebiscite of September 4 of last year, which forced a second attempt to be made, which is the one that is underway.

To avoid the mistakes made last year, on this occasion another institutional structure was designed, since a Expert Commission, a Technical Admissibility Committee and a Constitutional Council, But in any case, the drafting of a new proposal advances amid apathy, distrust and rejection.

On Monday, on the first anniversary of the plebiscite that rejected the first draft, the consulting firm Cadem published a survey that revealed that only 30% support the new Constitutionwhile 53% reject it, a negative trend that has been firm and growing throughout this year.

Furthermore, 46% are in favor of maintaining the current Constitution, which is inherited from the late dictator Augusto Pinochet, and whose replacement by a new Magna Carta was one of the main demands of the social outbreak of 2019.

On the other hand, 57% consider that, if the second draft is also rejected in the December plebiscite, the process should be terminated, which would imply that the current Constitution remains in force and it is no longer possible to think of a new one in several years.

Talks

Last week, the commissions of the Constitutional Council began the analysis of more than 1,000 amendments to the draft that he received from the Expert Commission, in a work that should be completed this week.

The first sessions demonstrated the complexity of the negotiations, since, for example, the right imposed an amendment to declare rodeo as a “national sport”, despite the fact that it is not a practice that is carried out throughout the country nor does it represent the majority of the population.

The same thing happened with the cueca, a traditional dance from certain regions that was incorporated as a “national dance”. In both cases, they were considered activities “that give rise to the identity of being Chilean”, which dissatisfied the left because it left out other identities.

In the midst of the controversy, the most radical opposition gave in and withdrew proposals for amendments such as the one that established “the protection of the unborn child” and the imposition of a two-thirds quorum in Congress to reform the Constitution, or the one that allowed prisoners over 75 years of age or with terminal illnesses to finish serving their sentences at home, which opened the door to those convicted of human rights violations.

The president of the Constitutional Council, Beatriz Hevia, of the far-right Republican Party, presumed that the withdrawal of these amendments was a sign that they are open to agreements and dialogue and not, as they accuse them, to imposition.

Added to the concrete debate in the Constitutional Council are political fights that, in some cases, are considered provocations.

On Monday, for example, organizations and parties opposed to President Gabriel Boric celebrated the first anniversary of the rejection of the first constitutional proposal, which was held in a plebiscite on September 4 of last year, and which they considered as their own victory.

“The day that citizens saved the future of Chile”was the name with which they baptized the celebration that once again altered the spirit of the process.