Venezuela Negotiations Set to Resume

Photo: María Elisa Quinteros, president of Chile's Constitutional Convention, delivers a speech in Santiago on January 6, 2022.
Source: Javier Torres/AFP/Getty Images.

After ten months of negotiations, Chile has finalized a draft of the constitution that, if approved in a referendum, will replace the current charter established under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. The Constitutional Assembly finished approving new articles over the weekend, with a total of 499 given the green light since the debate began last October. The draft constitution, which delegates crafted over the past year, promises to enshrine a wide range of rights, including universal access to public healthcare, education, and pensions. The document would replace the Chilean Senate with a Chamber of Regions and allow presidential reelection only once. It also promises stronger environmental safeguards, reparations for Indigenous groups, and policies to promote gender and racial equity. The Indigenous Constitutional Platform, a group representing multiple Chilean tribes, shared its support for the proposed constitution and has been involved throughout the negotiations. On September 4, Chileans will vote on the draft, which requires majority approval to replace the current constitution. A recent poll by Plaza Pública estimates that only 38 percent of Chileans plan to vote in favor of the draft.

Under new measures approved by the Biden administration on Monday, the previous quota on family remittances, or funds sent by migrants to their family members, between the U.S. and Cuba will be removed. Additionally, travel to the island will be eased and Cubans will have greater access to U.S. visas with the revival of the Cuban Family Reunification Parole Program, which previously allowed up to 20,000 Cuban immigration visas to the U.S. each year. According to the State Department, the changes aim to “support the Cuban people, providing them additional tools to pursue a life free from Cuban government oppression and to seek greater economic opportunities.” The measures come a day after Cuba approved a new penal code, which human rights groups have criticized for further restricting free speech and dissent. As part of the new code, independent media groups are prohibited from receiving foreign funding, and those who provide information to international organizations can be punished for 10 to 30 years in jail and even death. The new code will take effect after being sent to a drafting commission and published in the official gazette.