Constitution of Chile

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The current Constitution of Chile was approved by Chilean voters in a controversial plebiscite on September 11, 1980, under the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. It was partially enacted on March 11, 1981 and has been fully effective since March 11, 1990. It was amended considerably on August 17, 1989 (via referendum) and on 22 September 2005 (legislatively), and also in 1991, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010. It is Chile's eighth constitution, replacing the constitution of 1925.[1]

Political Constitution of the Republic of Chile of 1980

Legitimacy[edit]

See also: 1980 Chilean constitutional referendum

According to the law professor Camel Cazor Aliste, the Constitution of 1980 has problems of legitimacy stemming from two facts. First, the constitutional commission was not representative of the political spectrum of Chile since its members had been handpicked by the Pinochet dictatorship, and opponents of the regime had been deliberately excluded. Also, the constitution's approval was achieved by the government in a controversial and tightly controlled referendum in 1980.[2] Campaigning for the referendum was irregular, with the government calling people to vote positively on the reform, and also using radio and television commercial spots, while the opposition urging people to vote negatively were only able of doing small public demonstrations, without access to television time and limited radio access. There was no electoral roll for this vote, given that the register had been burned during the dictatorship. There were multiple cases of double voting, with at least 3000 CNI agents doing so.[3]

Despite controversy about its conception, it has been frequently modified (nearly 20 times) since democracy was reinstated, with corresponding Parliamentary approval.

Timeline of Constitutions[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Chronology". Constitute. Retrieved April 22, 2015.
  2. ^ Cazor Aliste, Camel (2000). "Democracia y constitucion en Chile". Revista de Derecho. Austral University of Chile. IX: 25–34. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  3. ^ "Revelan fraude en plebiscito de constitución de 1980". La Nación (Chile). 2012. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

External links[edit]

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