Chile’s Appetite for Going Green to Be Revealed in New Constitution Vote

(Bloomberg) -- The world is about to find out just how green Chile's new constitution will be as delegates prepare to vote on a controversial proposal to grant inalienable rights to flora and fauna.

If the plan is approved by two thirds in a vote on the floor of the Constitutional Convention as soon as this week, it will be included in the draft of the new charter, and the Chilean model could swing sharply toward ecological preservation over economic development. 

While that seems in-step with a global trend of heightened scrutiny of environmental, social and governance issues, moving the pendulum too far in a natural resources-dependent country would threaten investments, jobs and even global commodity markets. It's part of a pipeline for plenary votes that also includes nationalizing mining and redesigning private property rights.

The 105-article document made it through the convention's environmental committee last week, with all changes proposed by a minority of conservative members ignored. Articles include granting nature the status of a legal subject with rights, keeping environmental crimes free of any statutes of limitations and guaranteeing the right to “dignified and ecological housing.”

That goes beyond the models of sustainable development laid out in international treaties, according to Felipe Riesco, an environmental law expert at Barros, Silva, Varela & Vigil and a former undersecretary of the environment under outgoing President Sebastian Pinera. 

“People voted for a new constitution because the state provided bad services and rights,” said Riesco. “Nobody voted for a new constitution because they want to grow less.”

Committee members are trying to leave as little as possible for future governments or legislators to modify or decide on their own, said Javier Vergara, partner at Vergara, Galindo & Correa and a professor of environmental law at Universidad de Chile. “The text includes rules on how to dispose of residues. It's good to regulate that, but is the constitution the place for that?” Vergara said.

To be sure, proposals presented in the environmental committee -- which is stacked with young activists -- face a sterner test on the convention floor, where they require two-thirds majority from a more ideologically diverse group of 154 delegates. 

The convention has until July 4 to present a draft of the constitution. A plebiscite to approve or reject the document is programmed for the second half of the year.

Last Week

Left and center-left convention members reached an agreement to maintain some sort of bicameral legislative system but with different attributions for each chamber. The senate would be replaced by a Territorial Council with less ability to review laws. This has caused friction in the incoming government of Gabriel Boric, as his future housing minister and other Socialist Party members criticized the initiative. 

The plenary also voted on the report from the Committee of Knowledge Systems, which covered a wide variety of issues such as rights to communication, free press, cultural rights and digital rights, with some articles of a very specific nature, such as rights for street performers. Nine of its 30 articles were approved, clearing the way for their inclusion in the draft of the constitution.

A separate Human Rights committee was also in the news last week after United Nations representatives criticized an article that would forbid what's known as “negacionismo,” or statements that deny past human rights violations.

A poll by Cadem released Sunday showed that 47% of those surveyed plan to approve the new constitution, unchanged from earlier this month, while those who plan to reject it fell to 32% from 38%. The percentage of undecided voters rose to 21% from 15%. 

The Cadem poll surveyed 712 people Feb. 23-25 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.

Agenda

Feb. 28: Giorgio Jackson, who is a top aide to President-elect Boric, will meet with Convention leaders

©2022 Bloomberg L.P.