Page 11 - MONTT LATIN AMERICAN MAGAZINE, SEPTEMBER 2021 (English)

Regulations to Change the Constitution Approved
The first shock in the body occurred when the right-wing block Vamos por Chile presented an indication that said the two-thirds voting rules had to be approved by two-thirds. The origin of this presentation was in Article 133 of the Constitution itself, which in its third paragraph says: “The Convention must approve the rules and voting regulations for them by a quorum of two-thirds of its members in office.” The observation of Vamos por Chile had the support of its 29 conventioneers, but there were 115 rejections and seven abstention; approval was decided by a simple majority.
Ratify Quorum
Later, in another session, the Convention finally ended up ratifying the quorum of two thirds with 96 votes in favour, 54 against and one abstention. It was supported from the Frente Amplio, (extreme left) to Chile Vamos, while the Communist Party and the representatives of the Indigenous Peoples and the former People’s List were against it. Although two-thirds were not reached, the 96 votes in support far exceeded the 78 that were needed to obtain a majority of the 155 conventional. They even exceeded 3/5, the other quorum that was sought to be installed.
The majority of the constituents ended up accepting two-thirds because not doing so was putting the Convention outside the institutional framework, and that meant a very high risk. Not only because of the possibility that this could be prosecuted through an appeal from Chile Vamos, but also because the Convention would remain, before public opinion, as a body that does not respect the rulesofthegame.Byrejectingthe2/3, thelegitimacyoftheprocess was at risk.
The great defeated was the Communist Party because the idea the resolution installed was that even with a simple majority the rules of the game can not be modified and that leaves the PC isolated, as well as the sectors of the original peoples and the former People’s List, which were advocating the simple majority criterion.
It is possible that what the Communist Party will suffer the most in the short and medium term is the relationship with the Frente Amplio in the sense that this may have an effect on the relationship of Gabriel Boric the presidential candidate and deteriorate the relations between the two organizations.
For the professor at the Universidad de los Andes and associate researcher at the Institute for Society Studies, IES; Doctor in Political Science graduated from the University of Rennes, France, and columnist for the newspaper El Mercurio as well as one of the prominent intellectuals of the right Daniel Mansuy : “The difficulty is related to a fact of the case: in the Convention there are not two thirds to approve two thirds. This is problematic, because the constitutional reform that made the process possible indicates that the voting regulations must be approved by two thirds. If we are to be rigorous, the Convention was at risk of breaking the rule that gives it life. In any case, the problem does not end there, because the mess starts from a previous omission. In effect, the agreement of November 15th does not provide for the constituent body to rule on the two-thirds, since it does not have any power to modify them ”.
The Budget and Royalty
In the midst of everything, President Piñera announced that the 2022 Budget amounts to USD $ 82,135 million, and also anticipated a belt adjustment, since it represents a decrease of 22,5 percent compared to the execution projected for this year and freely available resources for the next government for an amount close to USD $700 million. The president of the Senate, Ximena Rincon who will preside over the Mixed Committee on Budgets, has already anticipated that “a 2,8 percent increase in current spending means that there will be many things that will not be able to be financed” and “we need a reactivation with dignity.”
Thus, experts argue that the country’s economy is more forced than ever by social demands. The candidate who wins the presidential electons will face a poorer country, with a fiscal deficit, rising inflation, and extreme debt. This without discounting that the Constitutional Convention could add several social rights that will have to be financed.
Likewise, almost four months after being dispatched from the Chamber of Deputies, the Senate Mining and Energy commission approved the idea of legislating the controversial mining royalty project by three votes in favour and two against, achieving a pass to the Chamber of the Upper House where the articles must be voted on in the coming weeks.
The Commission approved that the compensation be made to all concessional mineral substances, where 25 percent should be allocated to a Regional Convergence Fund to finance regional and community development projects. The remaining 75 percent will be used directly to finance projects that include measures to repair, mitigate or offset the environmental impacts caused by mining activity in the communes where the respective deposits are located. Likewise, to critical and digital infrastructure development works in the regions where mining is carried out or to investment in infrastructure or research programs in state universities whose headquarters and rectory are located in those regions.
The text also determines that, without prejudice to the foregoing, of the total amount collected by royalty, up to three percent will be used to contribute to the financing of projects that the Ministry of Sciences, Technology, Knowledge and innovation executes in relation to development applied research scientist and advanced human resource training; giving priority to research and training that aims to contribute to the knowledge and treatment of covid-19.
In the event that the monthly annual average of the price of copper, registered according to the London Metal Exchange, exceeds two dollars per pound, an additional compensation is set for that part that exceeds said price. The amount of this compensation, which exceeds three percent, will be used to finance a basic and universal emergency income in the context of the constitutional State of Exception of Catastrophe by covid 19 decreed and its successive extensions. Once the aforementioned state is finished, it will be used for general income of the nation.
The additional compensation may have a reduction to the marginal rates in each price bracket of the pound of copper, which are above two dollars, for those mining operators who prove a level of processing of the extracted minerals.
Montt Latin American Magazine p11