Most political forces agree that a Magna Carta is needed in which all Chileans feel recognized.
Shortly after the outcome of the constitutional plebiscite was announced, Colombian President Petro tweeted: “Pinochet revived.” His appeal to Chile’s dictatorial past ignored the high number of voters (85% of the census) and the overwhelming majority in support of the ‘rejection’. A majority that, mathematically speaking, included numerous center-left voters and no less than those who had once overwhelmingly supported the attempt to abolish the Pinochet Constitution.
Why was the ‘approval’ rejected? There is no reason to explain this, starting with the deterioration of the image of the Constitutional Convention and its little weighted product. Not only was the text long, cumbersome and contradictory, but more than that, the new constitution the country needed seemed to be the political program of a group of anti-system forces. It was as if the world would end tomorrow and previously the outstanding bills of perpetual receivables had to be paid.
As former President Ricardo Lagos correctly put it, the majority of Chileans did not see themselves represented in the Pinochet Constitution, retouched several times in democracy, nor in the Convention’s proposal. The latter, while encompassing important advances such as the rule of law and equality between men and women, left open numerous margins as to the scope of the plurinational, the rights of the misnamed indigenous peoples, the power of the chambers of deputies and senators (who empty the latter), of the independence of the judiciary or of the extent of possible intervention of the armed forces in crisis situations.
The triumph of rejection will not mean, except for an unexpected outcome, the enforcement of the old Constitution. Most political forces agree that the country needs a new Magna Carta, a constitution in which all Chileans feel recognized, or at least the vast majority, and not under the wings of political altercations the day after tomorrow.
This consensus has the merit of being promoted by the government of Gabriel Boric, to the point that the President himself, as he acknowledged his defeat in his speech on Sunday, called for the constitutional reform process to be kept alive, albeit with new rules. These will depend on government-opposition negotiations and the balance of power within each bloc. And Parliament will undoubtedly play a leading role in this process.
The bad news for Boric, who has lost a lot of political capital through his support for approval and who will have to reform his cabinet, is that the right-wing parties control Congress and have significant bargaining power. It is hoped, however, that both the government and the opposition have come to the conclusion that Chile is not a country that wants to fall off a cliff or squander such a fertile and positive past despite setbacks and disappointments.
Source: La Verdad
I am an experienced and passionate journalist with a strong track record in news website reporting. I specialize in technology coverage, breaking stories on the latest developments and trends from around the world. Working for Today Times Live has given me the opportunity to write thought-provoking pieces that have caught the attention of many readers.
