Additional help from the government will receive the reform that lowers the quorum to modify the current Constitution.
The goal of most benches of the Chamber of Deputies and Deputies is to approve this initiative next Wednesday in the room, to return to the Senate at the end of August and be dispatched by Congress before the plebiscite on September 4.
However, the bench Republican Party had become the last fence for this project that would leave in 4/7 of the legislators in office (29 senators and 89 deputies) the floor to make changes to the current Fundamental Charter.
This reform – authored by DC senators Matias Walker, Ximena Rincon and Ivan Floresin addition to its independent pair PPD, Peter Araya-, in practice, enable a Plan B in case he wins Rejection to the proposal for a new Constitution.
Although the initiative already has the support of the UDI, RN, Evópoli, the DC, the People’s Party (PDG), the PS, the PPD, liberals, radicals, the Broad Front and the PCas well as independent Pamela Jiles and Carlos Bianchithe Republicans still had some letters to delay the process.
Given that the table of projects to be discussed in the room is based on the agreement of all the benches, there was a risk that the community that leads Jose Antonio Kastthe senator Red Edwards and the deputy Christopher Urruticoechea did not give unanimity to vote on the reform of the 4/7 next Wednesday.
For avoid that pitfallRepresentatives of government benches asked the minister Secretary General of the Presidency, George Jacksonand the undersecretary Macarena Lobosthat The government made it extremely urgent.
As confirmed by at least three parliamentary authorities, this measure -which should materialize in next Monday’s session of the Chamber- would allow this initiative to be discussed, despite the possible opposition of the Republicans.
Initially the government and the Broad Front and the PC had resisted this reform to avoid making a lucky concession to the Rejection campaign.
However, after the strategic shift made by President Gabriel Boric, by pointing out that a new constitutional process would have to be opened if the proposal of the Constitutional Convention is rejected, the ruling party agreed to support this motion.
This project has already been endorsed by the Senate and last Wednesday, with 11 votes in favor and one against, it was approved in general in the Constitution Commission of the Chamber.
The motion was supported by MPs. Karol Cariola (PC); Jorge Alessandri (UDI); Joanna Perez (DC); Camila Flores (RN); Marcos Ilabaca (PS); Pamela Jiles (Ind); Raúl Leiva (PS); Andres Longton (RN); Leonardo Soto (PS) and Gonzalo Winter (CS) and Catalina Pérez (RD). While the Republican Luis Sanchez nay.
With that vote, a period of indications was opened until noon on Monday. One of the modifications that will be proposed – by the PS, the PC and the Broad Front – is to further lower the quorum of constitutional organic laws and interpretative laws.
However, after Wednesday’s session, the leader of the Broad Front caucus, Gonzalo Winterannounced a high-risk move: he said he would seek an agreement to further lower the quorum to leave it with the majority of incumbent parliamentarians.
Although the original motion (of 4/7) leaves a reform approval floor of 29 senators and 89 deputies, with the absolute majority of the legislators would remain in 26 votes in the Senate and 78 in the House.
“Personally, I am in favor of lowering the quorums of the Constitution of 80 as much as possible”, said Winter, arguing that the idea of a high quorum is to protect norms beyond circumstantial majorities, but, in his opinion, today that has no justification in the current Fundamental Charter.
Along these lines, he anticipated that would like “a simple majority of the deputies (and senators) in office, but they are indications that they are going to work in the heat of their capacity for agreements and majorities. I don’t want to just salute the flag”.
Winter’s move, which deep down ups the ante on the initial proposal put forward by senatorsalso constitutes a double edged sword
Although a low quorum makes it easier for the forces related to the government to propose a newconstituent assembly if the Rejection winsas President Boric put it, It would also give him a margin for the same right to take control of the constitutional changes with a circumstantial majority.