Chileans are set to vote Sept. 4 on the document, which would enshrine many of the priorities of the social movements led by the younger generations: Gender equality, environmental protections, Indigenous rights, and guaranteed access to education. The constitution is one of the first in the world to be drafted in the context of a climate crisis, and to be written by a convention with gender parity. It recognizes the sentience of animals, and their “right to live a life free from abuse.”
It’s a woke constitution propelled by left-leaning millennials and built for a modern nation led by one. The question is whether Chileans are ready for it.
“What Chile decided … was to become part of the new demands raised by a specific generation,” said Sergio Toro, a political scientist at Chile’s University Mayor. Their success, he said, depends on whether they can achieve this new social pact. “If they succeed, it will mean the beginning of a different country.”
The experiment could serve as a case study in writing a progressive constitution in the 21st century — and the challenges in getting a divided nation to agree to it.
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