Esteban Szmulewicz on political fragmentation and governance deficit in Chile
Esteban Szmulewicz, PhD candidate at the Department of Constitutional and Administrative Law of Leiden University and expert on decentralisation issues, gave an online presentation of his research before the subcommittee on Political System, Constitutional Reform and Form of State in Chile and reported that 'centralism is a very serious problem for human rights in Chile, especially at the territorial level, including the differences within the Metropolitan Region, which are very large'
However, the proposal, in its general rules, presented positive aspects of recognition of principles of decentralisation. 'That doesn't exist in the 1980 Constitution, and few constitutions do so clearly. Here there are, in two or three articles, several important principles in matters of solidarity, coordination, preferential establishment of competences, which give guidelines both for the interpretation of the legislator and for the Constitutional Court.'