Today, Explained - A new constitution

Episode Date: May 14, 2021

This weekend, Chileans head to the polls to decide who will rewrite the country's constitution. CNN's Daniel Matamala explains why it's a historic experiment in democracy not just for the country, but the world. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Support Today, Explained by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Visit connectsontario.ca. It's Today Explained. I'm Sean Ramos from Chile is getting one step closer to making some history this weekend. Chileans are heading to the polls to figure out who's going to rewrite the country's constitution. But there was no violent overthrow, no military coup. This is the people deciding that their government isn't working for them and deciding exactly how they want to fix it and who exactly will fix it too. We reached out to Daniel Matamala in Santiago de Chile to explain. He's a reporter there for CNN. He said it all started with protests. Protests over fare hikes on public transportation, believe it or not.

Yeah, well, one year and a half ago, we have a big uprising called the Estallido Social here in Chile. Every day for the past month, the Plaza Italia has been overrun with hundreds of thousands of demonstrators. That was the biggest demonstration in Chile since the end of the Pinochet dictatorship. That was 30 years ago. The tariffs of the public transportation in Chile were hiked by 30 pesos. And the motto of the protesters was, it was not 30 pesos, it was 30 euros. But most of all, the social explosion, as it's called here,

unmasked a deep-rooted discontent and anger over social inequality, privilege and exclusion. When the transit fair was announced, it was not even big news. It was not a big deal. And that was like the motive of the protest. What do they say? In English, they say that the straw

that broke the camel's back. Yeah, exactly. It's that, exactly. And so it was like this 30 pesos. It's not a big hike. It's like four cents of US dollar. It's not too much, but people feel that it was very unfair. And some students started to mobilize in order to not pay the hike, especially in the subway.

So they were jumping doors of the stations in order to avoid pay. And that was growing and growing day after day. After finally this demonstration got bigger and bigger, and in the night of 18 October 2019, they turned violent. Since the beginning of the protests, 19 people have died. And some people started to set the subway station on fire. And in this moment, with the violence in many places of Santiago, with many subway stations on fire, President Piñera deployed the military in the streets

in order to try to contend the protests. I am convinced that democracy not only has the right, but has the obligation to defend itself using all the instruments that democracy not only has the right, but has the obligation to defend itself using all the instruments that democracy provides, and the rule of law, to combat those who want to destroy it. Many people start to protest in the streets, and especially in Plaza Italia, which is a place that is located strategically in the center of Santiago. And the demonstration grew bigger and bigger and bigger. And after a week, there were more than

one million people there in Plaza Italia demonstrating, most of them very peacefully, some of them with violence. And I imagine part of the reason this protest movement exploded was because the military came out. Help people understand why that might have been triggering for Chileans. Well, you need to understand that we have a very brutal dictatorship in Chile. That was 30 years ago. So the memories of military in the streets are very disturbing for many Chileans because many people were killed, many people were detained or tortured in this dictatorship. So it's not easy for the people to know that the military were in the streets. And also,

even more than the military, we have military police that are the carabineros. And they were very violent in the way they managed the riots. So many people were injured, some people were killed by carabineros, the military police. There were massive violations of human rights. Violence of the state police against the protesters at such a level that the United Nations is raising concern. They fired people in the head. They fired people in the eyes, especially. So many people lost one eye or two eyes.

Some people lost their vision just because they were peacefully demonstrating. It reminds people of what's happened with Pinochet dictatorship. You said these protests, this uprising had a name, right? What was it again? Yeah, it's known in Chile as the Estallido Social, like a social explosion. And I think it's a good name because it was a situation

that apparently was quiet, apparently was calm in the surface. It was not so calm when you dig a little. And in one day, in one night, like Santiago was on fire. Santiago was a city on fire. Very violent, very difficult to understand in the first moment. Many people don't understand what was happening because especially in the elites, the political and economical elites, they were sure that Chile was a model country and that everyone was happy with the system and the society

and they just don't understand what was happening. Even the first lady that night said that it looks like an alien invasion. Because she don't understand what was happening. Why people was so mad? And that, I think, says a lot about the disconnection between these elites and the regular citizens in Chile. So it was not an easy way out of it.

President Sebastián Piñera has offered changes. The hike of the public transportation was terminated. President Piñera also promised many social measures, but none have changed the resolve of the demonstrators. You're saying that this grows to a sort of crescendo. It gets to a point where the president, Sebastian Piñera, comes out and says, OK, forget the transit hike. So in a sense, the people win. Yeah, the people win. But because the transit hike was not really the source of frustration, it was not so important.

It was just the excuse. People will not just say, OK, the transit hike is not a problem anymore, so we go back to our homes. People were still rioting because they want deep changes in Chilean society. So once you got the people in the streets, once you got one million people being together as a community, that is something that has never happened in 30 years in Chile, the situation was not easy to just terminate.

People were looking for more deep reforms in Chile. This situation of inequity, abuse, has led to a genuine and sincere movement on behalf of millions and millions of Chileans. I recognize and demand forgiveness for the lack of vision. So he tried to manage the situation with different messages, threatening people, but also trying to be seen as part of the movement even. And finally, after almost one month of this demonstration and that he was not capable of regaining control,

finally he said that he was okay if there was an agreement to have a new constitution in Chile. So this goes from subway costs too much to let's rewrite the constitution. Yeah. That escalated quickly. Yeah, it's a big leap, yeah. Well, because like the political parties try to find a way out of the crisis.

Because in one moment, it seems that even the democracy in Chile was at risk because you don't know how, if the protests and the riots and the violence continue, you don't know what will happen next. Will maybe like a giant riot go to the Congress and try to close the Congress? Or will the military take control of the situation if they feel that the civil power is not capable of restoring order. It was a very difficult situation. Nobody knows what will happen next. So the political parties

start to try to find a way out and the parties in the opposition that were always in favor of a new constitution proposed that. The political establishment agreed to a key demand, a new constitution, proposed that. The political establishment agreed to a key demand, a new constitution that will presumably guarantee basic social rights

like education, health, and decent pensions. President Piñera also accepted. That feels like a huge moment for the country, the continent, the world. Tell me about that moment. Well, it was like three days of negotiations. And of course, it has different reactions. For many people in the street, it was not sufficient. They said, oh, this is another agreement of the elites

that are trying to, in some way, retain the power. So we are not happy about it. But for many people that were more moderate, that were in the street, they say, OK, it is something real, it is a real agreement, it is a step forward, so we will take it. And the situation started to normalise in the following days. Not completely, of course.

There was always manifestation, there was always riot and there was violence, but you start to feel that, OK, we have a way out of this crisis, and now we will have a referendum in order to decide if we want a new constitution. So it was a huge success because before this crisis, one month before, no one would think that something like that would be possible in Chile. So the agreement is there will be a referendum for a constitutional reform. When does it happen and how does it go?

Well, it should have happened in April 2020, but then the pandemic arrives. And so everything gets more complicated because of the pandemic. It had to be postponed until October 2020, exactly one year after the big gathering of one million people in Plaza Italia. And it was a huge success because 78% voted in favor of writing a new constitution. Conservative President Sebastián Piñera, who'd hoped for a very different outcome,

conceded defeat in a conciliatory message to the country. Until now, the constitution has divided us. From today, we must all work together so that the new constitution is the great framework of unity, stability, and future. And also, it was a participation that was bigger than the participation that was in last presidential elections. And especially many young people of poor neighborhoods

were voting for the first time in their lives. Some people that were out of the system feel for the first time that it was worth to vote. This is the first institutionalized change or election that I have ever been convinced it's going to work. After a year of the social upheaval, I am out in the street because I want changes to our health system. I've never had a historic opportunity like this before and never will again. It's the first time that we get to participate in the creation of a constitution, that we

can have an input in the judicial structure of our country instead of having it imposed. I only hope I live to see the new Chile. In a minute, how this weekend's election on who gets to write this new constitution in Chile was 30 years in the making. Thank you. at the end of every month. And now you can get $250 when you join Ramp. You can go to ramp.com slash explained, ramp.com slash explained, R-A-M-P dot com slash explained. Cards issued by Sutton Bank, member FDIC. Terms and conditions apply. That's a feeling you can only get with BetMGM. And no matter your team, your favorite player, or your style,

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If you have any questions or concerns about your gambling or someone close to you, please contact Connex Ontario at 1-866-531-2600 to speak to an advisor free of charge. BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario. All right, we're back. After lots of protests and violence and political hand-wringing, Chile's going to figure out

who's going to write its new constitution this weekend. But before we talk about the new document and the historic journey the country's going on, let's talk about its old constitution, because it's not that old, but it's got quite a story. Well, in 1970, Salvador Allende was elected president. Allende was the world's first democratically elected Marxist. And after three years, General Pinochet sent in his British-made bombers

against the presidential palace. Allende was overthrown by the Chilean military forces, by the Chilean army, and the Palacio de la Moneda, the palace of government, was attacking with bombs by the Chilean air force. That morning from the Moneda, Allende had broadcast to the nation. Viva Chile, viva el pueblo, viva los trabajadores. And with the building on fire, Allende committed suicide.

Why was it that the military was overthrowing a historic democratic elected leader of Chile? Well, we were in the middle of the Cold War. He was a Marxist in a country that was part of the American influence sphere. So the United States was a factor in trying to destabilize the Allende government. Because if Allende was successful, it could be an example for the rest of South America. And the United States don't want this. And this transition from Allende to Pinochet gets even more violent. Well, Pinochet took killing people that was connected with the

Allende government or with the Socialists or the Communist Party or the parties of the left. Thousands of people were killed. Their bodies were disappeared. Many of them were never recovered until today. More than 3,000 people were kidnapped and killed under Pinochet's rule. The secrets and brutality of the Pinochet regime are laid bare at Santiago's memory museum. Pinochet tried to write a new constitution that will assure that after he abandoned the power,

he still will be a very powerful force because he will be the head of the army and the army will have power in the country. There will be not a full democracy, but a protected democracy to assure that Chile will never again vote for a Marxist or will never again go in a socialist experiment. We will not allow Marxists who do not believe in these rules of the game to play the game, as in any other activity in life. People who do not believe in freedoms,

we're not going to let them play the game of freedom. Pinochet was 17 years in the government, and after he lost a referendum, there was a civil government, but Pinochet was still eight more years the head of the army. So what's the promise of the sort of post-Pinochet life in Chile? Well, there was like a very famous motto in the campaign of the referendum, which finally Pinochet lost. La alegría ya viene. It means joy is coming.

Joy is coming. So the dictatorship is over and joy is coming. Yeah, the dictatorship will be over and joy will finally come. It was a song, an anthem, that everybody now in Chile until today can sing because it's so popular. Joy is coming. And it was very colorful. And people, of course, have hopes. And yeah, of course, democracy comes,

which is much better than what we have with Pinochet. And there were years of economic growth. We were holding regular elections and we have civil governments. So, of course, the situation is much, much better than before in dictatorship. But at the same time, there were some things that will not change, like economic inequality. But while consumption by the higher income groups has risen, the poorest groups are spending less, indicating that the new economic program is simply making the rich richer. The joy will not be equal for everybody, because if you are in the elite, your situation is very good. We're no strangers to economic inequality here in the United States,

but what does it look like in Chile? Well, it's even worse. It's even worse than in the United States. The inequality is large. And we have a small elite, like 0.1% in the country. That's very powerful. And it's not also an inequality of economic incomes, but it's also feel as an inequality of opportunities.

Like if you don't go to this special private high school in Chile, you will not be part of the elite. Like the opportunities are for some of the people in society, not for all of them. It was like this feeling of many people that this promise of joy, of happiness, of a new Chile was not so true. And you can trace this epic inequality back to the Pinochet constitution, the one Chile will now replace? Yeah, I mean, of course, it's not only the constitution. The constitution will not, like, magically solve the problems of Chile. But I think that it's a symbolic way to start.

It's the Pinochet constitution. Our constitution is our original sin. It's a very powerful symbol. You know, the symbol is very violent because you say the legacy of this dictator is still here. We still have the constitution that this man imposed to us. So we are not really so democratic. Our constitution basically recognized private property as the supreme right above all others. The rights of an individual or private interest take predominance over those of society as a whole. With the years, the constitution was reformed many, many times. So it went more democratic with the years.

The constitution now is not the same that Pinochet wrote. It, many times. So it went more democratic with the years. The constitution now is not the same that Pinochet wrote. It has many changes. But even so, with so many changes, there are things that are still there. For example, there is a constitutional court that is very powerful and is able to stop any project that they feel that could hurt the business community or could hurt any powerful elite. And you can do anything about it, because if the constitutional tribunal says it can be done, well, it can be done, because it is against the constitution. So the frustration of the people when this kind of thing happens,

and this happens many times, it's very understandable because they say, OK, we are a democracy. The majority of us agree that this is a good thing to do, but we can't do because of the Constitution. OK, well, let's talk about the promise of this new Constitution, starting with the process. So Chileans go to the polls this weekend to decide who will write it. half men, which is very new, not only for Chile. I think it's the first time in the history of any democracy that a constitution will be drafted by gender equality convention. And also we will have 17 people of indigenous descent. That is also very new because the current constitution not even recognize that indigenous people are different

and have some constitutional recognition or have some special rights. So the current constitution don't say anything special about indigenous people. And for the first time, they will have a special representation in the convention. So it's a first in many aspects for Chile. So how do you figure out who's going to do it? Which Chileans, which men, which women, which indigenous people? Yeah, we have an election that is very similar to the elections of Congress.

So the political parties are having their candidates, but also there are many independent candidates. We have all kinds of people running to be part of the convention. Television personalities, or people that are famous for sports or for actresses or actors or people of the science community. You're a famous Chilean television personality.

Are you going to be part of writing the new constitution? No, no. I am just looking at the process. I am doing interviews with the candidates and writing about the process, which is very exciting. But this is my participation, not being a candidate or not being part of that. What are the candidates saying? What do they want to accomplish? Well, it's very diverse because you have some people that are like law professors that, of course, have a very detailed idea of what a constitution should look like. Or you have people that were demonstrating in the street that have never run for office, but now they say, OK, I want to be part of this.

There are social leaders that are relevant in their communities and they want to participate. So there is a huge diversity. And of course, there are some issues that are important. For example, what will happen with the water in the country? The water is privatized in Chile. Many people think that the constitution could be a way to solve it. The water is privatized in Chile. Yeah, yeah, yeah. This is one of the things that is part of the Pinochet legacy and is part of the constitution also, that water can be used by private.

And that, of course, is a huge problem because you have communities that don't have water right now because there is a mining project that is using all the water that they need. So, this kind of social problems are also part of the conversation right now. Some of them could be solved by the constitution, some of them, of course, not. So, in the campaigns, many people are promising things that don't have much to do with the constitution, of course, because they are saying things like, OK, we are going to very specific things like about crime, for example. We are going to fight crime we will do in the Constitution. How a constitution could fight crime in the cities is not very easy to know. But they're promising

all kinds of things, of course. Okay, so lots to be squared away still, but this weekend the work begins, and it's historic work. A democracy is electing to reframe its democracy and it's choosing exactly who will do it, and this group will be

half women, half men. It'll be indigenous people. It'll be protesters, maybe some actors and athletes thrown in there for good measure. It sounds, I mean, remarkable. Do you think the rest of the continent will notice? Maybe the rest of the world? Yeah, I think so.

I think they can learn about good and bad things in Chile. Like they can learn about what happened when the elite is completely disconnected of the population. Also, I think it's a very unique process because this process will be different, for example, than the constitutional process that they have in Venezuela or Bolivia or Ecuador, in which, like, a popular leader decided to have a new constitution in order to have more power for himself. This is what's happened with Chávez in Venezuela, with Morales in Bolivia, with Correa in Ecuador.

There were, like, from-the-top movements. This is different because, in this case, the president doesn't even want a new constitution. He was forced to accept it. It is a bottom-up movement. So I think it's very interesting to know if you can use this bottom-up movement to write a new constitution and to have a new social pact that is seen as fair by the population.

Daniel Matamala is a Chilean celebrity, but he will not be an author of the country's new constitution. He will be reporting on it for CNN, though. You can find him on twitter.com at DMatamala. I'm Sean Ramos for him. It's Today Explained. You can find me at Ramos for him

and the show at today underscore explained.