[Politics] Doubts from the Socialist Collective and other critics foresee an uncertain scenario for a 2/3 quorum in constitutional reforms

[FNX Magokiler]

Only with the vote of 103 deputies and 33 senators could the modifications to the new Constitution be made, in case the indications proposed by left-wing conventions in the Transitional Norms Commission prosper, and if it wins the Approval in September. That is because from the PC to the Socialist Collective they devised a quorum of 2/3 for the reforms to the new text until 2026, which is higher than the rule that will govern for the next legislature.

And although the indications had the necessary signatures to enter the discussion and vote of the commission, it is not guaranteed that this point will be approved in that instance or in plenary in the coming weeks, since it does not have the support of the center-right, nor the Collective of Approval, and from the Socialist Collective -which signed the proposal- transmitted that "there are some doubts". Regarding the commission's definition, Fuad Chahin (Col. del Approvebo) declared that the rule "made Jaime Guzmán very small (...) It is simply absurd, it is blocking the path of those who wanted to opt for approval to reform, they are leaving him those who are not happy with the text as the only alternative, the Rejection, simply because this text will be intangible for the next 4 years". "This inconsistency occurs on the part of the left, which for decades spoke of padlocks, bolts, and now they choose the highest quorum for reform so that it becomes very difficult to reform the product of this Convention," added the conventional Constanza Hube ( IDU). Those who are in doubt are the representatives of the Socialist Collective, who signed the proposal but had transmitted in recent weeks the need for the Constitution to have a certain degree of "flexibility." "There are some doubts that we have to clarify, such as, for example, that there are matters that today are going to be more rigid. There are several of us who believe that the Constitution has to try to make its reforms more flexible and in a transitory way we have to see how talk more with that main idea", explained Ricardo Montero, of that group. The defense of the 2/3 But the central criticism of the decision to define that quorum is that it is precisely this rule that had so much resistance during the work of the Convention, and also to which the difficulties in reforming the Convention have been attributed. current Magna Carta.

 

 

In this framework, the constituent Alondra Carrillo (MSC) affirmed that "extending the validity of a quorum that today is constitutionally determined for the activity of a Congress that is the result of a Constitution, which is not the new Constitution, is entirely compatible with the democratizing proposal that has been given since the Convention".

Meanwhile, Bárbara Sepúlveda (PC) points out that the quorum is "exceptional" and reflects the moment that the process is going through, "therefore I understand perfectly if some conventionalists here may distrust certain attitudes of the constituted powers to make reforms that do not have that democratic weight that the Constitutional Convention does have". For Amaya Alvez (FA), the reason is that it is necessary to allow time for the implementation of the main points of the Magna Carta, which must be "gradual", according to what she said on EmolTV, and that "this graduality makes it necessary for the The Constitution cannot be dismantled without having been implemented. We cannot begin to change parts of the constitutional normative system if we have not made the effort to implement it." In fact, Alvez rejects that there is talk of a "lock", because "it is not saying that it cannot be reformed, it is saying that a transversal agreement is required to reform. And the truth is, within the Convention at the only time in which there was a strong debate about the quorum was at the beginning, in the regulations". For this proposal to be approved in committee, it needs 19 votes. Without the support of the Collective of Approve, Socialist Collective and Let's Go for Chile, the other groups would have 22. Later they must reach the plenary session, where the situation becomes more complex, because without the socialists, center-right and Collective of Approve, they only add 94 votes .

 

https://www.emol.com/noticias/Nacional/2022/05/25/1062092/dudas-socialista-quorum-dos-tercios.html