A New Beginning for Chile
Our Co-Editor Juan Miralles comments on Chile's decision to rewrite their constitution.
Last Sunday marked a historic date for Chile, as millions of citizens turned out in droves to participate in a national plebiscite regarding the rewriting of the Chilean Constitution, which dates back to the rule of Dictator Augusto Pinochet.
The plebiscite comprised two very specific questions, namely: (a) whether a new Constitution should be drafted and if so, (b) whether it should be drafted by a constitutional assembly formed by members elected directly for this assembly, or by a “mixed constitutional assembly”, made up equally by currently sitting members of Parliament and directly elected citizens.
With almost all the ballots counted, more than 78% of citizens voted in favor of rewriting the Constitution. As for the second question, an overwhelming majority of 79% of the population voted that said Constitution should be drafted by a constitutional assembly comprised of members elected directly for this assembly. Chileans are now scheduled to vote in 2022 for the approval or rejection of the Constitution the assembly drafts. But how did this plebiscite come to be?
It turns out that it was the main concession President Sebastian Piñera’s government made as it tried to pacify the protests that were taking place in the country since late 2019. A major target of the protests was the spiraling inequality that derived from the neoliberal economic model that Pinochet’s Constitution guaranteed since 1980. Since the adoption of this economic model Chile’s wealth has grown over the years, but the cost of living has also increased, as well as the gap between citizens who can afford it and those who can’t. According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Chile is actually one of the most unequal developed countries, in many areas such as education, employment and health services.
This explains why the majority of the Chilean population looks forward to writing a new Constitution, as citizens are hoping for economic policies with a more populist approach. But the truth is, if Chileans are not wary, rewriting the Constitution could lead the nation towards a similar path like that of Argentina or even Venezuela, where populist economic policies have had a significant role in their economic crises, although for the latter’s situation other factors can also be taken into account such as corruption, economic mismanagement, among others.
The truth is that rewriting the Constitution marks the beginning of a new chapter for Chile. But how that chapter will develop depends highly on the Chilean citizens as in the end, it will all come down to their vote in 2022 regarding the approval or rejection of the Constitution that is to be drafted by the elected assembly.
Cover image: Getty Images
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