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The Political Constitution of the Republic of Chile of 1980 () is the fundamental law in force in
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
. It was approved and promulgated under the military dictatorship headed by
Augusto Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (, , , ; 25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean general who ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990, first as the leader of the Military Junta of Chile from 1973 to 1981, being declared President of ...
, being ratified by the Chilean citizenry through a referendum on September 11, 1980, although being held under restrictions and without electoral registers. The constitutional text took effect, in a transitory regime, on March 11, 1981, and then entered into full force on March 11, 1990, with the return to electoral democracy. It was amended for the first time in 1989 (through a referendum), and afterward in 1991, 1994, 1997, each year from 1999 to 2001, 2003, each year from 2007 to 2015, and each year from 2017 to 2021, with the last three amendments concerning the constituent process of 2020 - 2022. In September 2005, under
Ricardo Lagos Ricardo Froilán Lagos Escobar (; born 2 March 1938) is a Chilean lawyer, economist and social-democratic politician who served as president of Chile from 2000 to 2006. During the 1980s he was a well-known opponent of the Chilean military dic ...
's presidency, a large amendment of the Constitution was approved by parliamentarians, removing from the text some of the less democratic dispositions coming from Pinochet's regime, such as senators-for-life and appointed senators, as well as the
armed forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
' warranty of the democratic regime. On November 15, 2019, following a series of popular protests in October 2019, a political agreement between parties with parliamentary representation called for a national referendum on the proposal of writing a new Constitution and on the mechanism to draft it. A plebiscite held on October 25, 2020, approved drafting a new fundamental charter, as well as choosing by popular vote delegates to a Constitutional Convention which was to fulfill this objective. The members of the convention were elected in May, 2021, and first convened on July 4, 2021.


Legitimacy

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 A political spectrum is a system to characterize and classify different political positions in relation to one another. These positions sit upon one or more geometric axes that represent independent political dimensions. The expressions politi ...
of Chile: its members had been handpicked by the
Pinochet dictatorship Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (, , , ; 25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean general who ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990, first as the leader of the Military Junta of Chile from 1973 to 1981, being declared President of ...
, and opponents of the regime had been deliberately excluded. Secondly, the constitution's approval was achieved by the government in a controversial and tightly controlled referendum in 1980. 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, as the register had been burned during the dictatorship. There were multiple cases of double voting, with at least 3000 CNI agents doing so. Since the return to democracy, the constitution has been amended nearly 20 times. A document from September 13, 1973, shows that Jaime Guzmán had by then already been tasked by the Junta to study the creation of a new constitution. It has been argued the 1980 Constitution was designed to favor the election of right-wing legislative majorities. Several rounds of constitutional amendments have been enacted since 1989 to address this concern.


Timeline of Constitutions

* ''Reglamento para el arreglo de la Autoridad Ejecutiva Provisoria de Chile 1811'' * ''Reglamento Constitucional 1812'' * ''Reglamento para el gobierno Provisorio 1814'' * ''Constitución de 1818'' * ''Constitución de 1822'' * ''Constitución de 1823'' * ''Ensayo Federal de 1826'' * ''Constitución de 1828'' * '' Constitución de 1833'': Written among others by
Mariano Egaña Mariano Egaña Fabres (Santiago, 1793 – Santiago, 1846) was a Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, ...
and
Manuel José Gandarillas Manuel may refer to: People * Manuel (name) * Manuel (Fawlty Towers), a fictional character from the sitcom ''Fawlty Towers'' * Charlie Manuel, manager of the Philadelphia Phillies * Manuel I Komnenos, emperor of the Byzantine Empire * Manu ...
** Reinterpreted after the
1891 Chilean Civil War The Chilean Civil War of 1891 (also known as Revolution of 1891) was a civil war in Chile fought between forces supporting Congress and forces supporting the President, José Manuel Balmaceda from 16 January 1891 to 18 September 1891. The war ...
augmenting the power of the National Congress of Chile * '' Constitución de 1925'': Written among others by
Arturo Alessandri Palma Arturo Fortunato Alessandri Palma (; December 20, 1868 – August 24, 1950) was a Chilean political figure and reformer who served thrice as president of Chile, first from 1920 to 1924, then from March to October 1925, and finally from 1932 to 1 ...
and
José Maza José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacu ...
* ''Constitución de 1980'': Written among others by Jaime Guzmán **Has been amended in 1989, 1991, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021. In the summer of 2022, a proposed replacement constitution was submitted for national debate and general referendum, but it was rejected on September 5 despite having had the support of left-leaning President Gabriel Boric. If accepted, it would have significantly extended social rights to most groups, including full gender equality, designated legislative seats for indigenous representatives, given the government wider responsibility for social welfare programs, and added significant environmental supervision and control.CNN: Chilean voters overwhelmingly reject proposed leftist constitution
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See also

*
Chilean transition to democracy The Chilean transition to democracy is the name given to the process of restoration of democracy carried out in Chile after the end of the military dictatorship of Pinochet, in 1990, and particularly to the first two democratic terms that suc ...
*
2021 Chilean Constitutional Convention election An election for the members of the Constitutional Convention was held in Chile between 15 and 16 May 2021. This election was called after 78% of voters in the 2020 national plebiscite voted to write a new Constitution through this method. Aft ...
* Constitutionalism


References


General references

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External links

* * *
''Untying the knot''
( The Economist, Oct 21st 2004)
www.constitutionnet.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Constitution Of Chile + 1980 in Chilean law Government of Chile