The new agreement to reform the constitution makes Chile’s official parties uncomfortable

The parties of the Chilean governing party have signed the agreement for a new constituent process reached this week with some resignations and some MPs, reluctant to accept it as announced, will try to take advantage of the last chance to correct the most controversial aspects of the text during its processing in Congress.

The agreement is now about to become a constitutional reform project which will have to be approved by 4/7 of the parliamentarians in record time because, as agreed, in January a committee of 24 experts has to start writing a text which will serve as a basis for drafting the articles to be elaborated by an elected Constitutional Council.

“The grassroots of the left-wing parties believe that this agreement was signed by their leaders without fully listening to the demands of a 100% elected convention and without any kind of guardianship,” said the Talca University political scientist. Maurice Morales.

The common partymember of the Broad Front conglomerate, to which President Gabriel Boric’s party belongs and which is part of the governing coalition, regretted in a statement on Wednesday that in the pact “There are excessive protective elements that restrict democratic debate.”

The reduction of members of the editorial body compared to the initial aspirations (there will be 50 members), an electoral system that reproduces that of the Senate and the low participation of citizens complicate the minor forces of the pro-government alliance.

“The Senate’s electoral system discourages their voting as larger regions such as Metropolitan and Valparaíso, where the left is strong, elect the same number of councilors as much smaller ones,” which may leave some forces without the ability to present their candidacies, Morales explained.

For the PCI foreman the deputy Boris Barrara“the main knot” is that the experts “will have the possibility to veto” the text drawn up by the Council and, according to what he said, it is an attribution that “they shouldn’t have because they are not elected by the citizens.”

One of the most famous communist deputies, Karol Cariolahe said Thursday in an interview with the local press “I don’t agree with the deal at all.”

​For his part, the deputy Gonzalo Winter, leader of the Frente Amplio group, commented that, despite the deficits, “that does not mean that it is not a positive agreement” and underlined that “its transversality means that We should all have accepted the things we don’t like”.

For centre-left parties, the degree of satisfaction is a little more evident, even if it remains to be seen how much the agreement can benefit their electoral interests. “We are not 100% satisfied or satisfied.but given the harshness of some sectors, it must be managed in the best possible way,” said Cristian Tapia, group leader of the Party for Democracy.

Its counterpart from Socialist Party, Marcos Ilabacahe underlined that his party thinks “of the greater good of the country” and is “optimistic” to obtain the support of parliamentarians.

The Chile Vamos right-wing coalition, which from the outset dictated the pace of the negotiations, strengthened by the overwhelming triumph of the rejection in the September 4 plebiscite, was satisfied with having obtained several of the points in its favor.

“It is a good agreement and makes the institutional crisis we are experiencing viable“, he indicated Francesco UndurragaEvópoli group leader, who has assured that his sector will approve the “originally announced” text, without indications.

The extreme right and the populist right of the People’s Party, which are opposed to amending the current constitution, have been excluded from the pact.

According to the projections of some legislators, the parliamentary discussion could last at least until mid-January.

But experts warn that if the discussion were to be delayed, there would be a domino effect that would first postpone the constituent elections, scheduled for April, and then the plebiscite to ratify the constitutional proposal, which could jump from November 2023 to January 2024.

Source: EFE

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