After analyzing the proposal, the Socialist Party (PS) called for a vote against it in the upcoming plebiscite, to take place next December, and warned that this Constitution will not unite the country.
The PS said that the proposed Constitution, imposed by the right-wing majority, particularly the Republican Party, threatens women’s rights by putting abortion at risk for three reasons: fetal inviability, danger to the mother and in case of rape. It also does not guarantee access to education, health and social security and forces the State to maintain private entities such as pension funds administrators that profit from the savings of retirees and give them poor withdrawals.
The Party for Democracy expressed a similar position, calling on its members to vote against the project, considering it worse than the Constitution imposed by the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990).
In the opinion of the Chilean Human Rights Commission, the project constitutes a serious setback and a serious obstacle to social peace. The Constitution relegates Social and Democratic State to a mere formal enunciation, without content; perpetuates injustice towards indigenous peoples, restricts the right to strike, maintains the concentration of media ownership, institutionalizes xenophobia towards migrants, and favors with impunity those convicted of crimes against humanity, committed during the dictatorship of Pinochet.
The proposal will be presented to President Gabriel Boric in a ceremony on November 7th, who must call a plebiscite with mandatory voting for December 17th.
A recent survey indicates that 51 percent of Chileans would reject the Constitution, 34 out of 100 would approve it and 15 percent were unsure or did not respond.
jrr/llp/jf/car