Bloomberg — As members of the Constitution Council in Chile vote on the final articles and amendments of a new draft charter, it is increasingly looking like a waste of time.
A poll released late Sunday by Cadem showed that while 64% of Chileans want a new constitution, only 21% back the latest draft, while 59% plan to vote against it in a plebiscite on Dec. 17.
The support level is the lowest since at least March, Cadem said.
A right-wing dominated council of 50 members is voting on amendments to a draft presented by a council of experts earlier this year. Among some of the most contentious articles are ones that could lead to a ban on abortion rights, the expulsion of illegal migrants “as soon as possible” and an end to property taxes on people’s primary residency.
Even Evelyn Matthei, a mayor in the Santiago municipality of Providencia and a member of the right-wing UDI party, said that the council is overstepping the mark and heading for failure.
In an interview Sunday with El Mercurio, Matthei, who has been mentioned as a possible presidential candidate, said that the draft “looks like a government program and not a constitution.”
A year ago, Chileans voted overwhelmingly against a first draft of a constitution that was deemed too radical and anti-free market.
President Gabriel Boric has said that the government won’t insist on a third attempt at a constitution if this one is rejected, leaving Chile with the charter drawn up during the former military regime of Augusto Pinochet.
