9 days before the deadline, businessmen make a final call for Chileans to sponsor their initiatives at the Convention: only one has achieved 15,000 supports

“The whole country believes that the new Constitution must effectively be everyone’s home.” This is part of a letter sent to the newspaper El Mercurio signed by 7 of Chile’s main economic leaders, led by the president of the Confederation of Production and Commerce (CPC), Juan Sutil.
In the letter, they ask citizens to sponsor the seven initiatives that the business world supports in the Constitutional Convention, which “has the mission of drafting the Constitution, and the task of the citizens who elected its members is to do so with responsibility and balance so that it is legitimate, lasting and stable.” “Today each of us has the duty to contribute urgently, concretely and constructively,” they add.
“To be considered by the Convention, each popular initiative must have 15,000 signatures from citizens. There are already more than 400,000 Chileans who have joined the process with patriotism, signing for some of them. But there are still many missing and the deadline is shortened. Only until February 1 can those who are over 16 years old give their support to seven of these initiatives and proudly say that they are being part of the history of Chile,” they add in the letter. That is, they have a period of 9 days to get the supports.
Subsequently, they review each of the seven proposals promoted by the sector. “The business associations are working at full speed in the dissemination and collection of signatures of the initiatives that we have proposed as a contribution to the development of the country and of all those that we believe point in that direction,” they say. However, of the seven initiatives they support, only one exceeded, at the close of this note, the threshold of 15,000 sponsorships: “Victims First”, which reaches 21,640 supports, and which seeks that the Constitution guarantees the “right to truth, justice, comprehensive reparation for the victims, their families and society as a whole.”
The other six supported by the sector do not exceed the threshold of 15 thousand. This is “Emprende Libre”, presented by the Sociedad de Fomento Fabril (Sofofa), which has 5,597 supports and seeks to “ensure every person the right to start and develop any economic activity, in addition to respect for the fruits of what each one obtains as a result of their work”; and “Por una minería sustentable para Chile”, by Compromiso Minero, which has 6,232.
Two others, which seek to “guarantee everyone access to food, hand in hand with free access to international markets; allow a greater availability of water in the national territory: and ensure the development of the rural world”, nor do they reach the ceiling: “Food security to cultivate the future”, of the National Society of Agriculture, with 592; and “Water: a basic element for human, animal, plant and ecosystem life”, by Francisco Contardo, with 2,217.
In banking matters, and with the focus “on expanding access and safe use of different financial products”, two proposals were presented, both by the Association of Banks and Financial Institutions of Chile: “Financial education to make better decisions”, which has 410 supports, and “Protection of private savings”, with 837.
Finally, the initiative “Together we add more”, which “is born from the conviction that, to solve the needs of the people, the State must have the active collaboration of private initiative, civil society organizations and communities”, has 2,545 sponsorships.
“In the new Constitution we have the historic opportunity to be all participants in a balanced and lasting content, which guarantees the conditions for an integral development. The constitutional process now underway gives us hope that the result will reflect the desire of the majority to have a Constitution that unites and does not divide society. A Constitution with everyone, for everyone and everyone”, closes the letter signed by Juan Sutil, Richard Von Appen (President Sofofa), Cristián Allendes (President SNA), Antonio Errázuriz (President CChC), Ricardo Mewes (President CNC), Jossé Manuel Mena (President Abif) and Diego Hernández (President Sonami).

Original source in Spanish