May 31, 2023, 11:14 PM
May 31, 2023, 11:14 PM
The Committee of Experts in charge of drafting the proposed Constitution of Chile approved on Tuesday the last chapters of the document that will be delivered to the Constitutional Council elected on May 7.
The 24 experts (12 men and 12 women appointed by Congress) concluded their work amidst applause and singing the Chilean anthem, work that the Constitutional Council must now continue as of June 7, when it will be officially installed.
Among the latest developments provided by the draft drafted by the experts, the chapter that regulates how to replace the future Constitution stands out (the current Magna Carta did not have a defined formula and parliamentarians had to reform it to carry out the current constituent process).
“We reached an agreement that establishes a combination of mechanisms: that it be a Congress that, through a technical commission, prepares a text and submits it to a new Congress that would already have a draft Constitution, which should finally approve this text. and subsequently submit it to a plebiscite,” said commissioner Francisco Soto, a representative of the center-left.
Another relevant chapter is the one dedicated to environmental protection, which does not exist in the current Magna Carta. The only amendment that was not approved in this area was the one that provides special protection to animals, a point that was criticized by the expert representing the Social Green Regionalist Federation (FRVS), Magaly Fuenzalida.
“The proposed norm does not recognize them as subjects of law, but rather recognizes the State’s duty to protect them,” the commissioner stressed.
Before the end of the session, the rules for the operation of the Central Bank were also approved, which included the duty of the issuing entity to render annual accounts to the President of the Republic and to Congress, among others.
The constituent elections left control of the constitutional body in the hands of the extreme right, in favor of maintaining the current Constitution of Chile and defender of the neoliberal model installed during the dictatorship (1973-1990).
Although initially the far-right seats were 23 out of 51, the resignation of elected counselor Aldo Sanhueza, accused of sexual abuse, presented last week reduced the figure to 22 seats, however, this Tuesday the Election Qualifying Tribunal (Tricel) declared his resignation is inadmissible for “lack of competence” to rule on the matter.
Beyond this particular seat, the Republicans will continue with a majority and together with the votes of the traditional right (11 seats), they will be able to approve regulations without the need to negotiate with the center-left, which was left with 16 representatives.
As of June 7, the elected councilors will have a period of five months to work on a final text that will be submitted to a mandatory plebiscite on December 17 of this year.
