Former president Michelle Bachelet is the first former president of Chile to publicly call for approval of the newly-proposed constitution. She said the draft might not be perfect but that it is close to what she has always dreamed of. As for the three remaining living former presidents, one has rejected it, while two others have not said.
Former president of Chile and current United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet expressed her thoughts on the proposed new constitution: “I have a very clear opinion of what the decision of September 4 should be, I have said it before, I am for the Approval.”
Bachelet added that the proposed constitution is by no means perfect but it is close to what she has always dreamed of. She is the only living former president of Chile who has publicly expressed approval for the document ahead of the Sept. 4 plebiscite.
Other presidents
As for the other three, Sebastián Piñera has stayed silent, Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle has publicly rejected it, and Ricardo Lagos has issued a letter in which he has not stated his position and instead only suggested that there will not be a consensus.
Lagos wrote, “Chile needs and deserves a Constitution that arouses consensus and that, sooner rather than later, allows us to stop debating about it in order to coexist within it.”
“President Lagos has every right to submit the position he deems appropriate,” responded President Gabriel Boric, as further reported by LA News. Boric added that if the constitution is rejected, he is open to making improvements and taking advantage of the criticism in order to reach a consensus.
Ishaan Cheema is an undergraduate student at the University of Calgary, studying Kinesiology, with a focus on Exercise and Health Physiology. He always had a passion for globalism and political journalism, which he explored through Model UN conferences, debate teams, and several other extracurriculars.