The country is, in terms of economic growth and GDP (Gross Domestic Product), an exception in Latin America, but it doesn’t see fair distribution of its wealth. Instead, Chile is the seventh most unequal country in the world according to its Gini Index, an often-used parameter to measure income distribution. The country knows an extremely regressive tax system. Health, education and water are privatised and most of the lower- and middle classes are in debt. Pensions are meagre, forcing many citizens to work their entire life. Moreover, there is a huge gap between the citizens and the political class. “While parliamentarians receive payments that amount to thirty times the minimum wage, a large part of the Chilean population is only able to make a living on the basis of consumer loans” explains Ingrid Wehr, head of the Cono Sur office from the German Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung in Chile. People seem to be fed up with the stark contradiction between economic growth and precariousness and demand their share of the cake.

In this environment of public discontent, the price hike for metro tickets seemed to be the straw that broke the camel’s back. Mostly peaceful protest quickly turned grim by a tremendous repressive crack-down by Piñera’s armed forces and the police apparatus, leaving dozens dead and hundreds injured. The aggressive reaction of the state quickly was followed by measures to calm the waters. Among other things, Piñera shuffled his cabinet, guaranteed better pensions and promised to trigger a plebiscite on whether and how to rewrite the constitution. This plebiscite will be held April, 26 2020.

Why are the protesters demanding a new constitution?

Much of the protesters ́ anger has focused on Chile ́s 1980 constitution. The reasons for that are manifold. In 1980, the regime of Pinochet wrote the document and put it up for a plebiscite, where it got approved. The document marked the end of Pinochet’s rule. However, his spirit remained alive in the content of the constitution, as it privileged the conservative, Pinochetean parts of society. According to Sergio Verdugo, constitutional expert and associate professor of Law at the Universidad del Desarrollo in Chile, the constitution even included authoritarian enclaves that granted the military formal political powers.

Some changes have been made until now, as the constitution was amended several times and the majority of the articles were modified. In 2005 the authoritarian enclaves were removed. Furthermore, Michelle Bachelet, Piñera’s predecessor, listened to popular demand for change and proposed to replace the entire constitution by letting citizens decide on the content of the new constitution. She was successful in her attempt to include citizens in the constitution building process, but she failed to generate support from political parties in the process. This led eventually to the fall of the project.

In spite of changes, many still see the document as a remnant of an authoritarian past. An embodiment of Augusto Pinochet’s neoliberal model, prioritizing a market-driven economy but failing to sufficiently guarantee healthcare, education and pensions.

Verdugo also talks about unpopular rulings of the constitutional courts that helped create a belief that the constitution prevents the realization of a social-democrat agenda. For example, one of the rulings of the courts prevented the implementation of Bachelet’s labour program reforms aimed at enhancing the power of the unions. According to the interpretation of the constitutional courts, these reforms were incompatible with the freedom of association.

In light of recent protests, which were fuelled by public discontent about social and political rights, and mostly material conditions, a new constitution is seen as a vehicle that is broad enough to unify all these different demands. As such, it does not come as a surprise that the protesters believe that a new constitution can help realize the goals of the movement on the streets.

Back to the future: What will the new constitution building process look like?

After the past months of unrest, Gonzalo Blumel, Piñera’s new interior minister after the cabinet shuffle, negotiated a national accord, published on November, 15, for a plebiscite in April, the Acuerdo por la Justicia Social y un Acuerdo por una Nueva Constitución. April ́s ballot will ask two things: do Chilean citizens want a new constitution? And, if they do, which body should write this constitution: a constituent assembly of only citizens or a mixed constituent assembly with citizens and legislators alike? All parties except some on the far left and the far right have signed the agreement.

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