Chileans choose assembly to draft a new constitution

<p>SANTIAGO, Chile &mdash; The face of a new Chile begins taking shape this weekend as the South American country elects 155 people to draft a constitution to replace one that has governed it since being imposed during a military dictatorship.</p>
<p>Nearly 80% of voters in a plebiscite last year chose to draft a new charter for the nation following a year of protests, though there is much less consistent agreement over what it should contain.</p>
<p>Activist groups have mobilized in hopes of enshrining equality for women, protections for the environment, for Indigenous people, for or against the right to abortion. Conservatives hope to maintain a dominant private sector and rules making it hard to pass major reforms in the legislature.</p>
<p>Their ability to get any strong clauses may be limited, though: Two-thirds agreement is required, so any bloc that can muster a third of the votes in the constitutional convention can block any clause.</p>
<p>The governing center-right coalition and other conservative parties are running a single slate in the two-day voting, while the left and center-left are divided.</p>
<p>The document that emerges from the wrangling will go to a public vote in mid-2022. If rejected, the current constitution will remain in force.</p>
<p>The makeup of the body reflects a wave of revulsion against the current political system that was obvious during unrest that spread across the nation in late 2019, with a grab-bag of protests against increased taxi fares, inadequate pensions and health care, poor schools and general inequality in one of Latin America’s richest nations.</p>
<p>Members of congress are barred from the convention and by law half of the body must consist of women — the first time any constitution has been drafted in conditions of gender parity, according to the United Nations.</p>
<p>“I don’t believe in the current politicians. …It’s the hour for us, for all who have been fighting for a most just country, to be part of the change,” said candidate Natalia Aravena, a 26-year-old nurse who lost an eye during the the recent wave of protests.</p>
<p>Seventeen seats are reserved for Indigenous peoples, who are not mentioned in the existing constitution.</p>
<p>The left, especially, has long detested Chile’s current constitution, which was written and imposed under the 1973-1990 military dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet.</p>
<p>That document, which created a strong presidency and guarantees protections for private property, has guided the nation through a period of overall prosperity but also of intense inequality. It also gives broad powers to security forces that civil libertarians see as excessive.</p>
<p>The old constitution was amended over the years, notably with the 2005 repeal of an article that had allowed appointed senators and senators for life in Congress.</p>
<p>The vote originally was scheduled for April, but was delayed by an upsurge of COVID-19 cases. Overall, Chile has been among the countries most successful at vaccinating its population, with nearly 60% of Chileans getting at least one dose, though most of the country’s districts remain under some sort of pandemic restrictions.</p>