Chile’s Constitutional Council has begun voting on the articles of the new Magna Carta

Chile’s Constitutional Council began voting Friday on the first articles of what should be the Magna Carta that replaces the one created by the military in the midst of the unrest. There are major differences between the right-wing opposition and the ruling left-wing party.

This is Chile’s second attempt in one year to change the constitution installed in 1981 by the military dictatorship (1973-1990). The first failed when 62% of voters rejected a project prepared by a conference mostly from the left.

A year later, the opposition dominates the 50-member democratically elected Constitutional Council: The far-right Republican Party has 22 seats, the traditional right has 11 seats, while the center-left has 16 seats and there is an indigenous representative.

The first article that was approved stipulates that Chile is a social and democratic state of law, while the first amendment that was rejected was the amendment presented by the extreme right, which stated that “every human being is a person.”

The articles require approval by two-thirds of the votes and inclusion of the text There will be a referendum in December.

Although the article on the type of state in Chile has been approved, the ruling party is not satisfied with it He estimated that he was not as strong as he expected and was moved from first place to second place. The provision to protect life was rejected because, as the GOP put it, it would mean a setback to the law that allows abortion on three grounds. Voting in the Council will continue until October 7.

Although no further amendments can be made, it is possible to insist on further amendments when drafting the regulation.

The first chapter under discussion also includes that prisoners over the age of 75 serve their sentences at home and It mentions sports and national dance, among other topics.

The Council introduced amendments and changes in the order of presentation of the materials of the initial draft, which was prepared by a committee of 24 experts appointed by the political parties that presented it. A text that takes into account 12 constitutional rules that sets limits on the final text.

In the face of disagreements between the ruling party and the opposition over several issues, the former socialist president Michelle Bachelet (2006-2010 and 2014-2018), she said this week that she was very concerned about… “There are symptoms that indicate that we may fail to give the country a good new constitution.”

He added that Republicans “intend to impose their weight to give identity signals to their voters” in public policies in which they are not involved, such as health, insurance and termination of pregnancy.

For his part, the former president of the center-right Sebastian Piñera (2010-2014 and 2018-2022), he declared that the Council’s work “must be the result of broad and strong agreements that go beyond current circumstances” in order to be accepted by the majority of Chileans. He added that the Magna Carta is neither a government program nor a law or regulation.

The project presented by the Council will be voted on in a public referendum on December 17, and if approved, it will be published in the Official Gazette and will enter into force after 10 days, as stipulated in the current constitution, which does not specify what will happen if it is rejected. Experts point out that the previous Magna Carta will remain in effect again. The third constitutional process must ultimately be approved by Congress.

(With information from AP)