Chile’s radical right wing have presented their conservative vision for the future in a draft constitution that some observers consider a step backwards for the country.
The new draft, which could replace the current Pinochet-era charter, was drawn up by a council led by the far-right Republican party and could threaten access to abortion, curb the right to collective strike action, and would reduce the number of deputies elected to Chile’s congress.
The leftwing president, Gabriel Boric, was handed the new draft on Tuesday at a ceremony in Santiago, where he formally called a plebiscite for 17 December in which all Chileans must voteon the proposal.
The moment marked the latest twist in four years of political drama: in 2019 entrenched inequality and political dissatisfaction triggered months of political unrest. In an effort to quell the protests, political leaders agreed to start the process of replacing the country’s 1980 constitution, which remained unpopular despite dozens of reforms.
A first draft, which was described as the world’s most progressive constitution, was overwhelmingly rejected in a September 2022 plebiscite. Now Chileans will vote on an alternative at the opposite end of the political spectrum.
In stark contrast to the presentation of the first draft – which featured representatives of the country’s 10 Indigenous peoples wearing traditional dress – Boric was flanked by Beatriz Hevia, the German-speaking president of the current constitutional council, who described the plebiscite as the day that the hopes of “true Chileans” would be realised.
Like the Pinochet-era document it is intended to replace, the new proposal makes no mention of Indigenous Chileans, despite nearly 13% of the population identifying as Indigenous.
Boric said that if the document were accepted, his government would work on its implementation and if rejected, it will focus on “continuing to work and govern for the wellbeing of the people”.
The previous draft was criticised for its length – it would have been one of the longest constitutions in the world – and extensive list of rights, guaranteeing everything from universal rights to healthcare and education, to protections for culinary heritage and animal welfare.
One of the most controversial articles in the new draft says that “the law protects the life of the unborn”, with a slight change in wording from the current constitution which some have warned could make abortion fully illegal in the South American country. Terminations are currently legal in the case of rape, if there is a risk to the mother’s life and if the foetus is unable to survive.
After the failure of the first draft, Chile’s political parties devised a tightly controlled second process in which voting would be compulsory at each stage and experts nominated by congress would draft a pre-proposal for elected delegates to amend.
Amid fevered media coverage of public security before the vote, the ultra-conservative Republican party stormed elections in May and took up more than one-third of the seats in the slimmed-down constitutional council.
