Vlado Mirosevic of Chile's Liberal Party, who participated in the historic agreement reached between Chile's political parties to hold a referendum on the nation's constitution, welcomed the pact, saying it would be a "triumph" if it led to the formation of a constitutional assembly
SANTIAGO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th November, 2019) Vlado Mirosevic of Chile's Liberal Party, who participated in the historic agreement reached between Chile's political parties to hold a referendum on the nation's constitution, welcomed the pact, saying it would be a "triumph" if it led to the formation of a constitutional assembly.On early Friday, after nearly a month of protests in the South American country, lawmakers from opposing parties in the National Congress agreed to hold a referendum in April to possibly replace the dictatorship-era constitution, which many say is too rigid and light on social welfare programs. The deal envisions two options to rewrite the constitution � either a hybrid assembly, with half of its members chosen by Congress and a half from the public, or a constitutional assembly drawn entirely from the population at large.
"We value that people are choosing directly through a referendum whether or not they want to change the constitution. We think that the possibility that one of the mechanisms to achieve this may be a constitutional assembly is a triumph," Mirosevic said.
The lawmaker added that he believed that pact to be important because it gave Chileans a voice on deciding the future of their country.
The rallies in Chile, which began in October, were caused by a spike in transportation costs. They subsequently led to larger protests against economic and social policies. The situation led to the cancellation of an APEC summit and COP25 climate forum, which were planned to be hosted by Santiago.
