Chile’s Government Is Proposing Steps to Draw Up a New Constitution
- Government wants Congress to lead writing new charter
- Move may serve to quell some unrest amid ongoing protests
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Chile’s peso fell to a record low after the administration of President Sebastian Pinera said it would overhaul the constitution drawn up during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet in an attempt to calm three weeks of mass protests.
Interior Minister Gonzalo Blumel made the announcement on Sunday speaking after a meeting of the ruling coalition. The constitution would be drafted by “a constituent congress” and then ratified through a plebiscite, he said, adding that more detailed proposals would be presented in the next few days.