Santiago, Chile – Gaspar Dominguez briskly walked down the steps of Santiago’s majestic former Congress constructing into the cruel brightness of the winter solar in downtown Santiago. The 33-year-old medic has spent the previous 12 months within the constructing – now a nationwide monument – writing Chile’s new structure as a part of a 154-strong meeting.

He hugged and congratulated his colleagues who gathered outdoors; they’d simply completed drafting the textual content that would change the course of the nation’s historical past and set precedents for equal rights worldwide.

“On prime of social rights, housing rights and schooling rights, the structure innovates on issues of equality,” Dominguez instructed Al Jazeera.

He mentions equal participation quotas for ladies in public establishments and guaranteeing LGBTQ+ inclusion in political areas.

“It’s not sufficient to only say we’re all equal, we have now to take affirmative motion,” he added.

On Monday, the meeting will hand over the completed draft textual content to President Gabriel Boric earlier than it’s made out there to the general public. Chileans could have two months to evaluate the doc and resolve its destiny in an compulsory referendum on September 4.

Dominguez, who’s the meeting’s vice chairman, hailed the structure as a democratic victory and is assured with the ultimate outcome: “We’re very enthusiastic about it,” he stated.

Requires a brand new structure arose following protests through the Chilean spring of 2019 when hundreds of thousands took to the streets demanding social reform despite heavy-handed repression from state forces.

Hundreds had been injured and dozens had been killed, fuelling discontent and exacerbating mistrust of political actors, particularly in the direction of the conservative Pinera authorities which held energy on the time.

‘Chained to Pinochet’

The nation’s present structure was singled out as the foundation explanation for staggering inequality and excessive prices of dwelling as a result of it advocated unregulated privatisation and favoured neoliberal insurance policies.

Protesters deemed the doc illegitimate because it was written in 1980 through the Pinochet dictatorship. In October 2020, an amazing majority of 79 % of Chileans voted to draft a brand new constitution.

“We’ll nonetheless be chained to Pinochet so long as we’re dominated below his structure,” stated Erika Gonzalez, voluntarily handing out summarised, illustrated editions of the brand new textual content in downtown Santiago.

Gonzalez was an energetic member of the socialist get together through the 17-year-long Pinochet dictatorship, which resulted in 1990. Beneath Pinochet’s army rule, socialists had been pressured to flee the nation or function underground. Many had been tortured and murdered.

“It’s time to be accomplished with Pinochet for as soon as and for all,” she stated, with tears in her eyes.

She believes the brand new structure will help remodel Chile by making certain equal entry to schooling, specifically. “A rustic that’s educated is a very powerful for me.”

However not everybody shares her enthusiasm for the textual content. “It’s only a e-book with foolish illustrations,” stated one passer-by, aggressively flicking by the pages. One other shouted, “Reject it!” One rushed by muttering the phrase, “Lies!”

Conservative response

Chile’s proper wing staunchly opposed the thought of the brand new structure and solely gained a minority of seats within the writing meeting, whose members had been chosen by election in Could 2021.

Conservative constituent Ruggero Cozzi, a 35-year-old lawyer, stated he believed the meeting failed in its goal.

“I assumed we’d obtain a textual content that may give us unity and social cohesion, however we didn’t,” he instructed Al Jazeera. “It’s been a worthwhile 12 months, exhausting, however above all, disappointing.”

Cozzi defended the free market system that the structure is undoing, and believed privatisation is the rationale for Chile’s comparatively sturdy infrastructure in contrast with different Latin American nations.

“Getting the state to organise all the pieces gained’t outcome within the modifications which might be wanted, and has not ended nicely for different Latin American nations” he warned.

Cozzi is lobbying for Chileans to reject the structure within the September referendum – and polls are tipped in his favour. The most recent knowledge from pollster Cadem reveals that 51 % of Chileans would reject it.

Nonetheless, latest election outcomes have been troublesome to foretell. In 2021’s presidential election, far-right candidate Jose Antonio Kast claimed the lead within the primaries, solely to be comfortably crushed by left-wing former pupil chief, Gabriel Boric, within the ultimate vote.

It was the primary time in Chile’s democratic historical past {that a} candidate who didn’t lead in primaries went on to win the presidency.

Boric’s victory additional affirmed Chile’s want to interrupt from its conservative previous and embrace drastic social change. Incumbent since March, Boric has been supportive of the constitutional course of and is rallying for the brand new constitution to cross.

‘Lot of aggression’

Claudia Heiss, head of political science of the Institute of Public Affairs, Universidad de Chile, equally defends the textual content and high quality of its content material.

“It could have been higher if the left- and the right-wing constituents discovered extra factors to agree on. The tone was not optimum and there was numerous aggression,” she instructed Al Jazeera.

”However in case you take a step again and take a look at it from the rebellion and the choice to put in writing a brand new structure, it has typically been a great course of.”

If the brand new textual content is rejected, the present structure will stay in place. Nonetheless, Heiss believed there was no turning again, no matter September’s consequence.

“One might be much less dramatic in regards to the virulence of the general public debate we see as we speak. Whether or not accredited or rejected, the Eighties structure is not viable,” she affirmed.

“Chile has to advance in a extra social-democratic course, with better equality, with higher distribution, and that’s inevitable.”