The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, showed its support for the Constituent Convention, the body in charge of drafting the new constitution in Chile. The ex-president was invited to participate in a session of the Political System Commission where affirmed that his country awaits the new Magna Carta “with great anxiety and great hope”.
“Social and democratic state”
“Not everything is resolved with the Constitution, but there are many things that are essential to define”said the former Chilean president who participated as a guest in a session of the Political System Commission of the Constitutional Convention. For Bachelet the Magna Carta must establish “a social and democratic State that can guarantee the rights of all people”.
“The covid has shown that it is the State that has managed to solve people’s problems. Private parties can participate, but it is the State that has to ensure the rights“Bachelet added.” It would be a serious mistake to stop listening to the wishes of the population. A good Constitution is one that helps the country run smoothly. “
“I believe a lot in these constituents”
During her participation, the former president received a large number of inquiries from the constituents who They asked him for his opinion on a variety of issues such as multinationality, political system, electoral system, extension of the presidential term and on the Armed Forces as indicated The counter. According to the Chilean media, there were 20 conventional interventions and each one asked two to three questions. “If I could answer all the questions, they would give me a Nobel Prize” Bachelet joked, who in turn recognized the important work that the constituents have been doing.
“I believe a lot in these constituents, their role is fundamental because they also have a plural look and an atmosphere of conversation and respect that allows them to face questions that are difficult to answer”Bachelet said.
Plurinationality
The UN High Commissioner was President of Chile in the periods 2006-2010 and 2014-2018 and towards the end of his second government he sought to promote a constituent process, although the project ended up failing. In his participation this Thursday, Bachelet stressed the importance of including multinationality in the new constitution. “There is no need to fear plurinationality, it is what can allow the State and the communities to have relationships in which the particularities of native and indigenous peoples and their demands are recognized”, stated quoted by The Clinic.
The constituents also consulted him on the State decentralization and Bachelet stated that “It is time to open up to seriously grant competences to the regions”. “This will require that the new Constitution allow the creation of public services that depend on the regionsand the enactment of laws that allow effective regulatory authority, ”he was quoted as saying by the Chilean news portal.
Bachelet ended her participation with a message of encouragement for the constituents. “I know that they have been the victims of much criticism, they have the problem that there are so many expectations in the Constitution, and one can never meet all expectations. You are brave“, appointment The counter.
The 155 members of the Constituent Convention were elected in the May elections and met for the first time in July. They are in charge of drafting a new Constitution to replace the one inherited by Augusto Pinochet’s civic-military dictatorship. For the new constitution to come into force, it must be approved in an exit plebiscite that will be held at the end of 2022 and that will be convened by the president-elect, Gabriel Boric.
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