A group of 200 international leaders and figures, including the American intellectual Noam Chomsky and the British parliamentarian Jeremy Corbyn, asked the Chileans in a letter to approve the new constitution which will be submitted to a plebiscite in less than two weeks.
The letter, coordinated by the Progressive International, is also signed by former French presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon, US Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, Italian-American writer Silvia Federici and various leaders of the Spanish left, such as Lilith Verstrynge, Secretary of State for the 2030 Agenda.
“This Constitution evidences the solutions to the crises that afflict societies around the world”, indicated the signatories, from more than 25 countries.
In case of approval in the plebiscite of September 4They added that the new text “will establish the country on a solid foundation of egalitarian democracy and will inspire the peoples of the entire world.”
In the letter they reviewed the aspects included in the constitutional proposal that in their opinion are the most significant and highlighted that the text “recognizes that nature has rights”, “acts against inequality”, “responds to indigenous dispossession” and “opposes gender oppression.”
“We recognize the decades of struggle that made this Constitutionfrom the courageous resistance to the Pinochet dictatorship and his military junta to the uprising against President Sebastián Piñera and his neoliberal orthodoxy,” they pointed out, referring to the 2019 wave of protests.
Plebiscite: September 4
Chileans are called to the polls on September 4 to decide if they want to approve the new constitution or maintain the current one, inherited from the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990) and partially reformed in democracy.
The right and part of the center left will vote against finding the new text “radical”, while the left will campaign in favor of “Approbation”, although it promised to reach a great pact to reform the most conflictive aspects.
The new norm declares Chile a social state of law and enshrines rights such as universal public health, free education, better pensions and access to housing and water.
The right to voluntary interruption of pregnancy, the multinational nature of the State and the elimination of the Senate are some of the issues included in the text that generate the most controversy.
For months, the polls gave the option of approving the new text as the winner, but the main polls indicate a greater citizen preference towards maintaining the current law.
(EFE)