Chile: Towards guaranteeing dignity - by Magdalena Sepúlveda Carmona

By Magdalena Sepúlveda Carmona, Executive Director of GI-ESCR and former UN Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights (2008-2014).

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In spite of all the obstacles, including the devastating pandemic, citizens used the democratic process to say loud and clear: the Constitution imposed during the civil-military dictatorship must be replaced and a new social pact built to distribute power, establish fair rules for living together and better protect the rights of all.

However, yesterday's elections are just the beginning. Building an economic and social system capable of processing citizens' demands that for decades have been neglected and denied by the political and economic elites requires profound changes that will not be easy to achieve. One of the critical next steps is to ensure that social rights remain at the centre of the debate.

Social rights include health, housing, education, environment, social security, water and sanitation. In Chile, the demand for greater recognition and guarantee of these rights has been at the heart of citizens' demands, expressed through various social movements, as well as in the self-convened local meetings established during the 2016 constitutional process. This citizen outcry was only intensified by the massive and territorially widespread protests that began in October 2019.

However, the inclusion of social rights in the new constitutional text is not guaranteed. In Chile, for more than 40 years, myths have been built up about the infallibility of the market; about the "trickle down" or economic growth as the only mechanism for lifting the most marginalised out of poverty; and about privatisation as a source of economic efficiency and welfare for all. For decades, the elites have spared no effort in trying to convince people that social rights are not true "entitlements", and that it is neither necessary nor feasible to guarantee them in the Constitution. It is these myths that must now be debunked through evidence, comparative experience and collective organisation.

These are not the only challenges. To enshrine social rights according to international standards requires, on the one hand, fostering a participatory process that reflects the diversity of the country and allows the voices of historically disadvantaged groups to have a direct impact on the constitutional process. On the other hand, achieving the reorganisation of power and its political institutions to serve as guarantors of these rights.

The recognition of social rights in the new Constitution is not a silver bullet. Their inclusion will not solve economic problems, material shortages or social gaps overnight. However, yesterday's election result has put us on the path to building a fairer country. The recognition and constitutional guarantee of social rights empowers, emancipates and dignifies both individuals and communities. It also provides us with the opportunity to establish accountability mechanisms and to develop social policies aimed at realizing rights.

As an example, in order to move forward in a society that provides equal opportunities, the new Constitution should not only enshrine the right to education, but also all its minimum elements such as quality, inclusiveness and cultural adaptation. Public education should also be prioritised over freedom of education. More integrated, sustainable and inclusive cities require a constitutional guarantee of the right to housing. This right should incorporate democratic habitat management, emphasize the general interest and guarantee urban governance that decentralizes and reorganizes power within our cities. Finally, with regard to gender, it is necessary to guarantee gender equality as a fundamental right. This requires designing public policies that take into account the structural obstacles and daily experiences of women and men and the existing diversities across the territory.

With this historic vote, citizens have expressed without hesitation that human rights are indivisible. That a dignified life is not limited to exercising the right to vote, and requires that we can all live a life without fear or uncertainty. Without the paralyzing fear of not having money to pay for a serious illness or a birth; of not having an old-age pension; that you may be arbitrarily dismissed from your job; that your children may not get the education they deserve or the desolating uncertainty of a pot without food and an empty wallet. Today, the first step has been taken to build a constitution that reflects the society we want to live in: without the excessive privileges of a few and in full respect of the dignity of all inhabitants.

This article was also published in:

Chile | El Mostrador

Mexico | Mexico Social

Peru | La Mula

Photo credit: courtesy of @BAVECK.