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María Elisa Quinteros for a possible meeting with Piñera: “We do not have a formal invitation”
This Sunday, in a new chapter of the National State, the president of the Constitutional Convention was present María Elisa Quinteros and Vice President Gaspar Domínguez, with whom they discussed the challenges, agreements and deadlines of the Convention, facing the final part of their work.
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FOLLOWING
What will be the seal of the second part of the Convention?
When asked about the stamp that this second part of the constituent process will have, Vice President Gaspar Domínguez declared that “with this infrastructure installed and working, we have the task of enabling the conditions so that democratic, transversal dialogue can take place, and begin to to be able, in some way, to channel this into articles, or to be able to transform the proposed text of the Constitution. So this second stage is very complex, it is very difficult, and I believe that our main challenge is to promote this environment for dialogue, which allows us to build these broad consensuses”.
Regarding the performance of the previous Board of Directors, headed by Elisa Loncon and Jaime Bassa, he added that “the tasks were different, and in that sense, I believe that the nature of the challenge is very different. And the nature of us is to deliberate on substantive norms, on substance”.
For her part, President Quinteros affirmed that the main label must be communication. “If you talk to people on the street, there is a loss of connection with the constituent process, in the sense that it belonged to the people, it became institutionalized, and there has not been a very adequate communication (….) The seal, which is what we want to give, are the communications, and also promote environments, a pleasant work environment”.
???? #ENational
President of the Convention @MEQChile for challenges of the board of directors: “The main hallmark is communication. Tell people what we are doing”
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– 24 Hours (@24HorasTVN) January 17, 2022
Organizational climate of the body
Regarding the time to sit down to vote on the constitutional norms and reach consensus, and regarding the organizational climate of the Convention, Quinteros stated that “we still have several conversations to see how to support the organizational climate, but we are human beings and we need these meeting spaces, to talk, to look each other in the eye and decide what we want, what our differences are and how we agree to advance for the peoples of Chile”.
Domínguez, meanwhile, maintained that “I think we have to get used to knowing that we are going to have differences, and it’s okay that we have differences. The important thing is to be able to resolve these differences by talking in good faith.”
Senators to the Venice Commission
Regarding the group of 22 senators who consulted the Venice Commission on matters such as unicameralism and the 2/3 quorum, and if that is considered as interventionism, Domínguez affirmed that “it is good that they are committed and interested in the process.”
“The truth is that I am pleased that they are interested. In fact, we had people from the Senate, such as the president, presenting in the Political System commission. But it must be said that the Convention is an autonomous body. And the definition of unicameralism, of the TC and other matters depends on the Convention. If they want to ask, we applaud them, but the decision is made within the body, which is the Constitutional Convention.”
In this regard, Quinteros said he agreed.
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Vice President of the Convention @gdominguez_ by consultations of the Senate to the Venice commission: “I am glad that they are interested (…) but it must be said that the Convention is an autonomous body”
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– 24 Hours (@24HorasTVN) January 17, 2022
Main constitutional definitions
The leaders of the Board of Directors were consulted about their preferences regarding unicameralism and bicameralism. Domínguez mentioned in this regard that “we believe that we have to have the discussion, listen to the arguments, which I have not yet heard, and after that discussion define them (…) I know that as it is today, my personal definition is that it cannot continue So”.
Quinteros, for his part, agreed with the vice president, adding that they still lack information to see the proposed definitions.
Regarding the proposal for four-year presidential terms with reelection, the vice president stated that “it seems that this is the position that has been gaining strength.”
The terms of the Convention
As for whether the body will be able to finish its work within the established period, Quinteros maintained that “the legal responsibility is ours, to push so that we finish within the established deadlines. The agreement for Peace is clear, and that is the legal framework that gives life to this Convention. Our deadline has a limit, and we have to reach that limit with the proposal”.
Dominguez added that “we have a schedule, and for the moment we have fully complied with it. All the deadlines have been met as the schedule dictates (…) and with that schedule we are going to reach May-June with the harmonization proposal, and in July we will be ready. That is the task, and for that we are working and we are going to achieve it.”
???? #ENational
President of the Convention @MEQChile and work deadlines: “The peace agreement is clear and that is the legal framework that gives life to this Convention (…) We have to come up with the proposal within that limit”
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– 24 Hours (@24HorasTVN) January 17, 2022
Standard Initiatives
Regarding the popular initiatives for regulations, Domínguez declared that “it will happen that several regulations will achieve more than 15,000 signatures (…) by the way, there is a risk that some of these proposals will go in different directions. That is why , when the popular initiatives of the norm gather the sponsorships, they go directly to the commission, and it is discussed the same as if it were a conventional initiative. It is not that it will go directly to the Constitution.”
Regarding the norm that seeks to regulate cannabis within the new Magna Carta, Quinteros added that “the position from public health is that cannabis is the gateway for hard drugs. So discussing it, talking about it can also come to resolve the decrease in drug use. There are studies that go in that line “
Domínguez, meanwhile, commented that “I would say that there are no vetoed issues. It is an issue that we can certainly discuss. Perhaps the reasonable discussion would be whether the mechanism to legalize cannabis in the Constitution, or rather delegate it to the legislator.”
“I believe that we must move forward to discuss this in good faith, and by the way, the fact that it has damage to health, which I do not put into discussion, is not necessarily related to whether it is illegal or not (…) I believe that the discussion it should rather go in the direction of the autonomy of people to decide on their bodies”, said the vice president.
Invitation from President Sebastián Piñera
After being asked if an invitation came from President Sebastián Piñera, María Elisa Quinteros stated that “we do not have a formal invitation, only what we saw on Twitter”.
He added that the fact of meeting with the president “it is a collective decision. We have a form of leadership that also invites reflection and conversation”.
“It is complex for the President to go (to the Convention). It does not serve us for the organizational climate, unfortunately“, he pointed.
Domínguez, meanwhile, affirmed that “the president’s visit to Congress could generate difficulties. I believe that to have this discussion seriously we must receive an invitation, a table with objectives, what would be the objective of this meeting, where is the invitation. A protocol visit, we don’t have time for that. We are working against the clock. We have to establish objectives, missions of what would be the task of that meeting and then we could evaluate it”.
???? #ENational
President of the Convention @MEQChile for meeting with President Piñera: “We do not have a formal invitation, only what we saw on Twitter”
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– 24 Hours (@24HorasTVN) January 17, 2022