Michelle Bachelet: “If the proposal for a new Constitution goes back on women’s rights, I could not vote in favour”

Michelle Bachelet, former president of Chile, in a file image. Cristian Soto Quiroz

The socialist Michelle Bachelet, who governed Chile in two periods, between 2006 and 2010 and between 2014 and 2018, has granted an interview this Wednesday to ADN Radio of Prisa Media Chile, publishing company of EL PAÍS, where she has referred to the main issues of the Chilean conjuncture, such as the 50th anniversary of the coup d’état and the new constitutional attempt. The doctor who led the High Commissioner for Human Rights and was the first Executive Director of UN Women placed special emphasis on the need to reach agreements in all areas, especially in the Constitutional Council that is drafting a new proposal for a Fundamental Charter. Before a body with a right-wing majority – only the Republican Party has 22 of the 50 members of the council – Bachelet referred to the position that she would take in the exit plebiscite on December 17, in the event that the conservative amendments win. : “If the proposal for a new Constitution goes back on women’s rights, I cannot vote in favour.”

Bachelet clarified that in December she would “love” to vote in favor, but that she would not be able to do so if amendments such as those proposed by the Republican Party are approved, to give prison benefits to those over 75 years of age. “If it is declared that those over 75 years of age can go to house arrest, when the majority are people who committed crimes against humanity, I could not vote in favor. And so, many elements, ”added the socialist this morning.

The former president pointed to the 22 advisers of the Republican Party, led by José Antonio Kast, and the need for them to understand that the new Constitution must be interpreted by all citizens or, on the contrary, “if they want to impose their values, principles, ideas” . For Bachelet, this second option would be “a tremendous mistake”, because he finds it difficult for there to be a third opportunity to change the current Magna Carta, which has governed Chile since 1980, although it has been reformed in democracy on dozens of occasions.

The socialist, the first woman to arrive at La Moneda, who was a victim of human rights violations – she was imprisoned in Villa Grimaldi with her mother and her father, General Alberto Bachelet, died in 1974 after being tortured by her comrades in arms of the Air Force – referred to the 50th anniversary of the coup that will be commemorated next September. She spoke of thinking about the future, of the need to ensure the value of democracy and human rights, but based on the truth and the facts of history. In her opinion, she could push the statement that President Gabriel Boric was seeking to condemn September 11, 1973, even if not all parties participate. In this way, she said, it could be revealed “who is who.”

“Anyone would like all Democratic sectors to have a statement, however, one sees characters who justify what happened and that is difficult,” he added. Bachelet, in turn, did not rule out participating as a leader in a National Search Plan for disappeared detainees carried out by the Ministry of Justice. “I am willing to collaborate in a more united country, which is based on the truth, not on concealment,” said Bachelet, who addressed the lack of information that the majority of the Chilean population has, which in its vast majority -70% – I was not born for the blow. “When you see polls where many people do not value democracy, you worry. Because the 50 years are commemorated by not denying what happened”, reiterated the socialist.

At different times during the interview, Bachelet expressed her concern about the Chilean political environment: “I am concerned about the polarization and the belligerent tone in politics, in Parliament. You have to take care of coexistence, ”said the former president, who addressed the main challenges of the Boric government. She pushed the political class to seek agreements and made two appeals. He asked the center-left for unity. On the right, he assured: “If the opposition wants to govern in the future, it should have a State perspective”, for which he called for an understanding on pensions, which he hopes will be achieved before the end of the mandate in March 2026.

Bachelet addressed the departure from the Cabinet of Giorgio Jackson, Boric’s main political ally, which occurred on Friday: “It is always a possibility that fresh air enters the political moment, but it will depend on the opposition, because if they want to annihilate, they may not give that space,” said the former president, who recalled that the moments of greatest difficulty in her efforts were the changes of Cabinet, precisely when President Boric is preparing a ministerial adjustment, which would take place this day.

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