Chilean constitutional process puts nearly 30 popular initiatives up for debate again

The citizen participation phase of the Chilean constituent process has relaunched around 28 popular initiatives of norm (IPN) that will now be discussed in the Constitutional Council responsible for drafting the final text to be put to a plebiscite on December 17.

Over a two-week telematic vote, Chileans chose from nearly 1,300 proposals, of which only 28 received over 10,000 supports, allowing them to be debated by the constitutional councilors.

The executive secretary of the Secretariat of Citizen Participation, Claudio Troncoso, highlighted the challenging yet enriching process of opening up spaces for participation, integrating a representative sample of the country.

The approved initiatives range from conservative to progressive proposals. Notable conservative IPNs include those seeking to constitutionalize the “right to life of the unborn” and legalizing civilian gun ownership as a “right to legitimate self-defense.”

Progressive IPNs that succeeded include those advocating for the right to education, health, decent housing, sexual and reproductive rights, and access to water for the entire population, largely privatized in Chile.

The IPNs aim to modify the preliminary draft for a new constitution, incorporating their ideas into the final Magna Carta.

Around 225,000 Chileans participated in the telematic vote, casting over 580,000 votes.

The Constitutional Council, where the ultra-right holds a majority, will determine the content of the IPNs.

Political scientist Danilo Herrera believes conservative initiatives will have a greater chance of being included in the final text, while progressive proposals face challenges given the right-wing majority in the Council.

Chile initiated the constituent process in response to widespread protests in 2019, demanding significant changes to the current Constitution, which was drafted during the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship and is considered one of the most neoliberal in the world.

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