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President Pinera says a meeting to draft a new constitution to replace Pinochet’s letter will begin on July 4.
Chilean President Sebastian Pinera has said that the first session of the drafting of the new constitution will take place on July 4, when the South American country is going to replace the current Conservative-era conservative charter.
The rewriting of the constitution is the result of a broad political consensus, following the social protests that erupted around inequality in late 2019.
“There is no doubt that this convention represents a great opportunity to achieve a new constitution that is recognized and respected by all Chileans, within the framework of unity and stability for the future of democracy,” Pinera said on Sunday.
For nine months, the 155-member drafting body will have to balance the popular outcry for profound social change with the need to maintain a strong economy as it rewrites the old constitution that came under Augusto Pinochet’s tenure.
Their term could be extended by another three months, and the body will need a two-thirds majority to approve the draft that will lead to the national referendum next year, as voting will be mandatory.
Chile’s current constitution dates back to 1980, when it was established at the height of Pinochet’s 1973-1990 tenure, and limits the role of the state while strengthening private enterprise.
Many accuse him of having a deep root between the rich and the poor, but others have praised him, especially the right, for many decades of the country’s economic growth.
In choosing the body to write the new letter, voters turned their backs on traditional political parties in May and turned to independent candidates who had no party affiliation but mostly leftist or socialist ideas.
Many independent candidates – many teachers, writers, journalists, lawyers and activists – took part in or were inspired by the 2019 uprisings and campaigned with promises of social change.
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