Photo: reproduction
by Moises Mendes
It is finished and the draft of what the new Chilean constitution could look like has been handed over to President Gabriel Boric. The text prepared by the Constituent Assembly will be submitted to a referendum on September 7th.
The voters (77 women and 77 men) eventually ended up with the Carabineros, the supposed national police force uniformed by the dictatorship in its current format.
There will be no more uniformed military police in Chile who used to do all the dirty work, from street repression to smuggling.
The carabineros will be replaced by another police force that works for human rights, as the text says.
The carabineros hunted, pursued, and killed not only during the Pinochet period.
The country ends what is Bolsonaro’s dream here. A violent and political national prime minister under federal command with a chief of general rank. Bolsonaro would love to have his Carabineros.
It is hoped that the new police forces, without military traits, will actually be less violent than Pinochet’s police force.
Regarding the armed forces, it is clear that the army, air force and navy will be dedicated solely to defending the sovereignty, independence and integrity of the national territory in the face of possible external aggression.
There is no line to political duties or functions that arbitrate internal conflicts, as stipulated by the controversial Article 242 of the Brazilian constitution, which keeps coup plotters on standby.
The Chilean constitution is a step forward in the areas of social security, education and health. It observes gender parity in many areas of public service, recognizes full citizenship of indigenous peoples and combats all forms of violence, arbitrariness and discrimination. And of course it increases freedom.
Below are two links. The first with a summary of the proposed constitution. And the second with a total of 178 pages, 388 articles and 57 transitional provisions.
https://guiaconstitucional.cl/wpcontent/uploads/2022/06/GUIA_PRACTICA_BORRADOR_NC.pdf
https://guiaconstitucional.cl/wpcontent/uploads/2022/07/TextoDefinitivoCPR2022Tapas.pdf
(Text originally published on MOISÉS MENDES BLOG)