Chilean President Gabriel Boric said yesterday that the proposed new constitution, which will be put to a referendum in September, is “not perfect”, but there is “agreement” to “improve” the text after it has been approved by the governing coalition.
“We agree that improvement is possible (among all) who support the government,” the representative said in a statement to the media after a formal action.
Boric, one of the main supporters of the current founding process when he was a member of parliament in 2019, repeated a verse that singer Pablo Milanés used to reaffirm his position in favor of the new text by former president Michelle Bachelet last week.
“As the former president said, ‘it’s not perfect (the draft Constitution), but it’s close to what I’ve always dreamed of.’
Chileans go to the polls on September 4 to decide whether they want to ratify the new Constitution or preserve the existing constitution, inherited from the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship (1973-1990) and partially reformed in the democratic process.
Some of the right and center left will vote against, considering the new text “radical”, while the left will campaign in favor of “I approve”, but different voices are calling for a big deal to reform the most controversial aspects.
The new law proclaims Chile a multinational, regional and ecological welfare state and enshrines rights such as universal public health, free education, better pensions and access to housing and water.
The right to voluntary termination of pregnancy, the multinational nature of the State, and the abolition of the Senate are some of the most controversial issues in the text.
For months, major polls have shown the option to pass the new text as the winner, but now they point to a greater public preference to uphold existing law.
Boric also denied the accusations made against him by the right for allegedly interfering with the campaign, stating that “the fundamental value and role that the government must fulfill is that everyone has access to the proposed new Constitution”.
The government has come under fire for launching an information campaign on the constitutional process and distributing copies of the proposal to the public last week.
Since the campaign was launched, the government has been reported to the Comptroller twice for alleged interventionism, first by lawmakers from the right-wing National Renewal party and last week by the far-right Republican Party.
“Anyone concerned about people’s access to the new Constitution should be afraid of something in the text,” Boric said. said.
source: Noticias
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