Consensus in dissense: Decentralization Iin chilean constitutional proposals (2022-2023)

Abstract

In Chile, a country characterized by its centralism, support for decentralization shows high citizen support in opinion studies. The above contrasts with the predominant polarization in Chilean society, a situation that was accentuated after the “estallido social” of 2019. It was in this context that the two constitutional proposals emerged, which were characterized by their ideological differences, with a progressive proposal of the year 2022, and a conservative proposal in 2023, both widely rejected by the electorate. However, when analyzing the matters related to decentralization in both proposals, it is concluded that despite the great ideological differences showed by these two constitutional proposals, it was possible to identify great coincidences at decentralization principles.