Chile: Law to convert the country into a regional state is approved in the first debate

This proposal must still pass another voting process, but it would be a historic event that would decentralize Chile.

The commission in charge of drafting the new Chilean constitution approved in the early hours of this Thursday the proposal to convert the country into a Regional State.

The Constitutional Convention published on its Twitter account that, after a meeting of more than ten hours, the general vote for the report of the State Form Commission had ended.

Of 36 articles that were being debated, 28 were approved by the plenary. Among them is the law that would establish Chile as a regional and multinational state "made up of autonomous territorial entities."

The law was approved for debate in the second instance with 112 votes in favor, 32 against and 8 abstentions. On Friday it will be submitted again to debate and vote to later officially incorporate it into the text of the new law.

Jaime Bassa, former vice president of the convention, pointed out that this law is a great advance to redistribute political power in the national territory, being one of the great wishes of the constitutional process.

However, the proposal that the regions of Chile have their own legislative power was rejected.

Decentralization in Chile

Decentralization is one of the issues that has gained the most strength in the last decade in Chile.

Currently, Santiago de Chile has almost 50% of the country's 19 million inhabitants, all public institutions and a large part of the economic capital is concentrated in the capital.

Chileans see in the new constitution a great opportunity to break the centralized scheme and to give recognition to the original cultures and peoples that live in Chile and that until now have not been included in the constitution.

This convention, with a progressive left majority and with a high presence of independent Chileans, has the job of writing the first Constitution created from a democratic process.

Furthermore, it is the first constitution to be drafted by equal numbers of men and women.

This process emerged as a political option to reduce the massive protests that began in 2019, these demonstrations left more than 30 dead and thousands injured, unbalancing one of the most stable countries in America.