There were 104 votes in favor, 42 against and 6 abstentions.
The Constituent Assembly of Chile in a marathon session voted to close the country’s Senate, which had been in operation for 200 years, to replace it with a new “Chamber of Regions” that would be an alternative “joint and multinational body of regional representation, in charge of attending the formation of regional agreement laws”, according to the text.
This idea, one of the most controversial in the current Assembly and which passed with 104 votes in favor, 42 against and 6 abstentions, is one of the key proposals of the Chilean left, of majorities in the Constituent Assembly, which brand bicameralism and the current Senate from stalling and stopping progress and laws.
This new agreement came after the publication of polls that show that people have lost faith in the process of creating the new Magna Carta, due to infighting and extreme proposals from constituents.
“This is a very complex issue, very technical,” said Rosa Catrileo, a constituent and coordinator of the commission. “It is a challenge, we have little time, but we are still on time,” she concluded.
The opponents came forward, saying that the proposal gives too much power to the Chamber of Deputies, it would excessively centralize decision-making and that “the regions would not have a voice in matters of health, pensions, transportation or education,” he said. in the Assembly in full the conservative deputy, Hernán Larraín.
Despite obtaining the majority, the article that defines its powers failed and will now return to the commission for a new debate and another vote. In addition, the functions of the new entity and the scope of the laws it promulgates are yet to be defined.
The commission’s coordinating constituent, Ricardo Montero, said that the commission will rework the agreement to get more support, and assured that they are “concerned about some of the articles that failed.”
One proposal that did not pass the plenary session was to change the current Chamber of Deputies into a “Deliberative and Plurinational Congress of Deputies” that would have the power to legislate, in addition to supervising the President of the Republic.
The Assembly has until May 17 to approve the articles that will later be delivered to a commission in charge of reviewing and polishing the document. After this process, the final text of the new Chilean Constitution will be submitted to a referendum on September 4.
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