Chile chooses between two models

This Sunday, December 19, Chile will decide who will govern for the next four years: Gabriel Boric, candidate of the "Approve Dignity" coalition, which includes the Broad Front and the Communist Party, and José Antonio Kast, of the Republican Party. To analyze the current situation and the future, participants took part in the InfoCLACSO meeting on December 15. Miguel Urrutia, an academic at the Department of Sociology of the University of Chile and a member of the Libertarian Left, and Isabel Piper, member of the CD of CLACSO Region Chile and Peru, who emphasized preserving and deepening the ongoing Constitutional Convention.

Interviewed by Gustavo Lema

Isabel Piper believes that on Sunday the 19th, “a lot is at stake, and when I say a lot, I mean, fundamentally, the development and success of the Constitutional Convention. Personally, and along with other colleagues, we think that one of the fundamental elements that must be defended at this moment is the development of the Constitutional Convention. From that perspective, there is no doubt that the candidate who can bring the Constitutional Convention to a successful conclusion is Gabriel Boric. José Antonio Kast cannot shut it down by decree, but he can stifle the Constitutional Convention and hinder its functioning to such an extent that it ends up dying a natural death. This is something he has already indicated, not publicly, but in various communications. Remember that he is a candidate who voted against constitutional change and who has always stated that he does not see constitutional reform as appropriate. I don't think that this election will bring about a structural change in the country's model. That possibility could come from the Constitutional Convention.”

The Constitutional Convention, Miguel Urrutia argued, “is a procedurally complex debate, given the challenge the delegates set for themselves: to transform it into a participatory process. There is a popular initiative for constitutional norms that must be processed by this Constitutional Convention. In this sense, there is a challenge in which we must be mutually understanding. The situation is urgent; this Constitutional Convention must promptly draft this new Constitution. From my point of view, it cannot be a minimal Constitution; there are sufficient elements for it to be a robust Constitution, one that defines a framework upon which we, the forces, can operate democratically, without imposing anything on ourselves but also without hiding the major conflicts and deep wounds that Chilean society has. We will all face the threat together, that much is certain, because it is real, and it will not cease if Gabriel Boric wins. Obviously, he will be an ally; he will promote the constitutional process, but we know that the right wing, and the far right, also have other mechanisms to work against it.” a threat as severe as this Constitutional Convention.”