Chile wants plurinational judiciary with gender parity

Chile’s Constitutional Convention held its first plenary votes last week, declaring the judicial system independent, with gender and intercultural parity, and rejecting, for now, the coexistence of an indigenous legal system.

A commission began debating proposals on the central bank. Some point to expanding its functions to take into account employment, the economy and the environment. The convention’s conservative minority complained of being sidelined, while promising renewed commitment.

The convention, 155 elected delegates with a mainly leftist and ecological tendency, is also scheduled to vote on resolutions on the nationalization of minerals and abortion. All articles require two-thirds of the entire convention to pass, and analysts believe the most radical proposals will fall by the wayside.

Furthermore, the full implications of some provisions – for example, gender parity and intercultural courts – may only be known once they have been approved at the end of the process. The document must be approved through a national referendum to then become the basis for legislation and litigation.

Delegates also endorsed articles declaring Chile a regional and multinational nation and supporting both indigenous cultures and local autonomy. However, they rejected an article that would have established legislative assemblies throughout the country.

A Cadem poll released late on Sunday showed that 52% of respondents trust the convention, up from 50% the previous week. 46% do not trust the institution, compared to 48% previously. The survey interviewed 708 people on February 16 and 17.

“Not an alternative”

Some on the right complained that their views are being squelched. The Conservatives only hold around a quarter of the seats.

Carol Bown of the Independent Democratic Union party wrote on Twitter that a group of Conservative constituents were in a period of “reflection” about the direction the institution would take.

He later issued a statement saying: “Abandoning our positions is not within our alternatives. We were chosen and we have a responsibility.”

Bown was far from the only right-wing member to speak out. Cristian Monckeberg, from the National Renovation party, to which the outgoing president, Sebastián Piñera, belongs, told Radio Cooperativa that he hopes the left understands that “we can contribute and that we have proposals and we have ideas, because until now the truth is that we have not been very listened to”.

The newspaper La Tercera reported that former Piñera minister Marcela Cubillos said that “there is no interest in making a Constitution that is more transversal”.

Central bank

A commission began to debate six proposals on the central bank. While most explicitly call for the institution to remain autonomous, there are differences in the details of the bank’s mandate and leadership.

Some argue that the scope of monetary authority should go beyond controlling inflation to consider factors such as climate change, unemployment, and the nation’s long-term economic development. Some proposals suggest that the current board size of five members be expanded to seven.

What investors say

“Chile’s current constitutional process remains a major risk factor, considering the left-leaning composition of the assembly.

–Olga Yangol, head of Emerging Markets Research and Strategy for the Americas at Crédit Agricole, wrote on February 15

“News from the Constitutional Convention remains a risk, but we think this will only matter later, as the referendum vote gets closer.”

–Citi Research, February 16 report

Both the bank’s newly appointed president, Rosanna Costa, and the previous incumbent, Mario Marcel, have backed autonomy, while signaling that the convention will have the last word. Chile’s consumer prices are currently at a 14-year high due to strong consumption and rising commodity costs.

Key dates

• April 22: Plenary of the Constitutional Convention will conclude the voting on the articles
• April 27: Constitutional Convention Committee will begin reviewing the draft charter for potential conflicts or inconsistencies in the text
• July 5: Deadline for the Constitutional Convention to conclude its work; the convention will be closed
• August or September: National referendum on the draft Constitution