On Tuesday 30 August, Left MEPs Miguel Urban Crespo (Spain), Maria Eugenia Rodríguez Palop (Spain) and Niyazi Kizilyürek (Cyprus) will travel to Chile on the occasion of the September 4 referendum to determine the adoption of a new constitution. 

During the mission, MEPs will meet with members of  local government, deputies, and senators from the Chilean left as well as European authorities and members of the  former Constituent Assembly from the left and the social movements bloc, the primary drafters of the new constitution. Left MEPs will also visit sites of historical memory and meet with human rights organisations to hear about their work and expectations for the upcoming vote and the future of Chile. 

This historic vote is the result of Chilean civil society’s tireless fight for truth, social justice and non-repetition of the atrocities that took place during the Pinochet dictatorship. The new constitution focuses on social rights and the environment and is a sharp shift from the market-oriented constitution first promulgated in 1980. As the Left, we stand with civil society and human rights organisations and strongly support the approval of the new constitution.