Chile: First draft text of new constitution presented for review

Commissions in charge of fine-tuning a draft of Chile's new constitution and mapping out the transition from a free-market doctrine to a focus on rights and social programs take over on Monday before it is put to a vote in September.

The constitutional assembly finished approving new articles over the weekend, with a total of 499 given the green light since the debate began last October.

The harmonisation commission will be in charge of consolidating and fine-tuning the text, another will be in charge of writing an introductory text and a third will establish a framework to transition from one constitution to the next.

"We haven't been exempt from mistakes, of course, but today we can say we fulfilled the mandate Chile gave us on time and in substance," said Maria Elisa Quinteros, president of the constitutional assembly.

"We've handed in this draft of a constitution that was drafted completely democratically for the first time in our history."

Speaking from the Huanchaca ruins in the northern city of Antofagasta on Monday evening, Quinteros emphasised the draft's focus on decentralising power and a new phase where the assembly will work from different regions around the country.

In late 2020, citizens overwhelmingly voted to draft the new constitution after violent protests against inequality erupted across the country.