The Constitutional Convention has fulfilled its task. It opened the doors of democracy, allowing women and men in parity, native peoples, young people, representatives of the regions and those who had never participated in the country’s decisions, to deliberate in the halls of Congress, to write the Fundamental Charter that will govern Chile’s destiny in the coming decades.
At last, the common people have replaced the elite. This is a major change for our society. It is what will dismantle the wall that has divided the Chilean family between a minority that has seized political power and wealth and a vast majority without access to fundamental decisions and with the daily burden of low wages, useless education, hospital queues, a pension system for the benefit of business and without water for their basic needs.
The new constitution offers substantive answers to the demands, which were present in the 18-O protests. The Social and Democratic Rule of Law will guarantee the Chilean family and workers the protection of their fundamental rights and the end of social discrimination.
The constituents have created the conditions to dismantle the wall that divides Chileans, with rules that favour social integration. This will put an end to the uncertain fate of young people who neither study nor work, or those who study in unusable schools. This will help to close the doors to crime and drug addiction, which is spreading in marginalised populations.
Moreover, the new constitution heralds the end of the subsidiary state and makes way for a state that is active in the economy. This is what will make it possible to discipline market collusion, support small entrepreneurs, promote greater investment in science and technology, and also set up public enterprises when necessary.
A new economy is one that will put an end to the overexploitation of natural resources, favor productive diversification, and restore growth. The constituents understood that only an active state is in a position to promote new productive sectors that add value to goods in order to generate quality employment. This is not to the liking of rentiers and predators.
The new Constitution will leave behind half-baked democracy and the neoliberal economic order, which have served to enrich the 1% of the powerful and the suffering of the national majority. This is what today displeases big business, the right-wing and certain politicians of the “centre-left”, turned yellow, who were captured by the regime of injustice and, even more serious, who joined the boards of directors of the economic groups.
The “Party of Order”, worried about the loss of its positions of power, has deployed a relentless campaign in favor of the Rejection. It is an uncontrollable fear of losing its control over politics and the economy. Economic groups are pained by the eventual loss of their excessive profits and the political class, right and “centre-left”, is uncomfortable with parity of rights for women, young people and the marginalised taking control of the country.
It is commendable that young people have paved the way for the construction of a fairer and more decent country. Women, environmentalists, defenders of regionalisation, settlers, indigenous people and fighters against the PFAs have joined this path. The constituents have faithfully represented them; but those who promote the Rejection question what they call “identity” defence.
The new Constitution has a legitimate origin, guaranteeing social rights and an active state. Its norms give guarantees to society as a whole; however, they effectively highlight and protect sectors that have been historically marginalised from economic and political life. All of them, the “identitarios”, have been the strongest fighters against the regime of injustices and deserve to be an active part of our democracy.
