The proposed Political Constitution of the Republic of Chile was a Constitutional draft written by the Constitutional Convention of Chile between 4 July 2021 and 4 July 2022. An early draft was made available on 14 May 2022. The final proposal was made available on 4 July 2022.
A national plebiscite was held on 4 September 2022 to determine whether the public agreed with the proposed Constitution. It was rejected by a margin of 62% to 38%.
The proposal was the first written by a democratically-elected organ, and it sought to replace the 1980 Chilean Constitution, whose original text was ratified by plebiscite during the military dictatorship of Chile, with a dubious legitimacy.
Content
The text of the proposed Political Constitution of the Republic begins with the preamble approved by the Constitutional Convention:
The content is distributed in eleven chapters and a final section of transitory regulations.
General principles and provisions
Chapter I (articles 1 to 16), called General Principles and Provisions, contains the fundamental principles of the formation of the State of Chile, its role, its relationship with people, its territory distribution among others. It establishes the welfare state, its plurinational and ecological character, the form of exercise of sovereignty, the basis of human rights as all State action, the unity of the national territory (but keeping its internal autonomy of the territories), the freedom and equality of people and their relationship with nature, the recognition of participation and equitable representation of women, men, diversities and sexual and gender dissidence in positions of power, the secularism of the state, the recognition of all forms of family, the official Chilean language, its emblems, the way of relating to other nations and the range of international treaties. It also points out the legal value of the Constitution being regulated by itself: it is a rule, therefore its observance is mandatory for any person, institution or group, and all State bodies.
Bill of Rights
Chapter II (articles 17 to 126) is the longest chapter of the constitutional proposal, stating that the end of rights is a dignified life, democracy, peace and the balance of nature, endowing people, indigenous nations and nature as holders of individual and collective rights, committing the action of the State to eliminate access barriers to these rights.
Right to life. Right to personal integrity (physical, psychosocial, sexual and affective) Prohibition of the death penalty, torture, enforced disappearance, slavery, human trafficking and exile Right to truth, justice, memory and reparation in case of human rights violations Right to equality before the law Right to non-discrimination Right to progressive autonomy of children and adolescents Right to the full development of the personality and the use of one's own language Right to child protection Right to life and environment free of violence (especially for girls, adolescents and people of sexual and gender diversity and dissidence) Right to universal accessibility Respect for neurodiversity Right on request Right to dignified treatment, social reintegration and communication (in case of imprisonment) Right to a decent old age Right to education (including sex education) Right to care for the environment Right to freedom of education Right to health Right to social security Right to work and free choice, to equitable remuneration, freedom of association, labor participation and strike Recognition of domestic work Right to care Right to decent housing Collective right to the city and territory Right to food sovereignty Right to water and sanitation Right to energy Right to sport Sexual and reproductive rights Right to own worldview Right to indigenous consent Right to freedom of worship Right to a dignified death Right to freedom of movement Right to privacy Right to asylum and refuge Right to freedom of association Right to public demonstration Right to access information from the State Right to private property Right to indigenous property Right to freedom to undertake Right to consumption and respect for it Right to freedom of expression Right to create social media Right to digital connectivity, computer security, a digital space free of violence and education in the digital space Right to personal data protection Right to leisure Right to cultural and artistic participation Right to read Right to intellectual property Right to research Right to cultural heritage Right to regeneration of nature Right to a healthy and balanced environment Right to clean air Universal access to mountains, beaches, lakes, lagoons and wetlands Access to justice and due process