Representatives from the Senate and Chamber of Deputies presented a document on Monday evening (local time) defining the body and timeline for drafting a new basic law. It was agreed that a constitutional process was “essential,” according to the document titled “Agreement for Chile.”
Unlike the previous attempt, when all members of the Constituent Assembly were elected, this time a mixed committee of freely chosen experts and experts appointed by parliament has to work out the new draft. As before, this should consist of an equal number of women and men, the paper said. Seats are also reserved for indigenous people. A first draft will then be presented in October 2023, to be voted on at the end of November, it said.
A new constitution was one of the core demands of the protesters, who took to the streets against the government by the thousands at the end of 2019. In a September vote, Chileans overwhelmingly rejected a newly drafted text. For many, the forward-thinking design probably went too far.
Chile thus retained its current constitution, which dates from the time of the military dictatorship under General Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990). Critics complain that the constitution codifies the neoliberal economic system, makes sweeping legislative changes difficult due to high quorums, and barely guarantees basic social rights.
(SDA)