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Chilean television advertising slots close ahead of the plebiscite

Photo: EFE

December 15 |

On Thursday ended in Chile the period conceived to display electoral propaganda regarding the constitutional proposal that will be submitted to plebiscite next Sunday, December 17, when Chileans will decide the future of the text drafted by the Constitutional Council.

On December 17, voters will receive a ballot with the following question: Are you for or against the text of the New Constitution? Two options will then appear, in favor of the proposal or against it, for voters to choose the one they prefer.

If the constitutional project is not accepted, the Law of Laws that came into force in 1980, conceived under the military dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990), will remain in force.

In October 2022, a plebiscite was held on the proposed Magna Carta prepared by the Constitutional Convention, at which time the “Rejection” option won.

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The process is organized by the Electoral Service of Chile (Servel). According to a pre-electoral report made public by the entity, the electoral roll is made up of 15,262,012 people at national level and 127,546 residents abroad.

The agency also detailed that 676,028 foreigners residing in Chile (with at least five years of residence, 18 years of age and without crimes) registered to participate.

On Saturday, December 16, the polling stations will be constituted and their spokespersons will be trained. The following day, the polling stations will open from 08H00 to 18H00 local time. These may be constituted with at least three members and, if they are to remain open beyond 18H00, they will do so until there are no voters left in line who wish to vote.

Voters only need their identity card to vote. This document must be valid, although ID cards that have expired after January 1, 2020 will be accepted. Voters with any type of disability will be able to access the assisted voting option.

According to the current law, voting is mandatory for those who are registered in the electoral roll and reside in Chile. For those who vote from abroad, it is voluntary.

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Chileans who are more than 200 km away from their electoral domicile, are absent from the country or suffer from an illness are excluded from the obligation to vote. Those who are far from their electoral district must -among other requirements- go to the nearest Carabineros Police Station, obtain a certificate and then submit it to a judge when summoned.

Any other impediment for not voting can also be certified, but the seriousness of this cause will be certified by a judge according to the evidence presented by the citizen.

Those who do not vote may be fined from 0.5 to 3 monthly tax units (UTM), that is, from 32,108 pesos to 192,648 pesos (US$36-215).

Chile applies a dry law period. This will start on December 17 at 05H00 and will last until 20H00 local time (two hours after the electoral closing time).

In addition, those commercial establishments that are not attended by their owners will be closed, since election days are declared holidays for workers in this sector. Those who work providing essential services and do not have time off, will receive a two-hour leave to vote.

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International

Trump criticizes Panama Canal fees and demands U.S. control over strategic waterway

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump criticized what he described as unfair fees imposed on American ships passing through the Panama Canal and threatened to demand that Washington take back control of the strategic waterway.

“Our Navy and commerce have been threatened in a very unjust and reckless way. The rates that Panama charges are ridiculous,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

The president-elect also denounced the growing influence of China in the canal, a situation he called concerning as U.S. businesses depend on the waterway to transport goods between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

“This complete scam against our country will end immediately,” he stated.

The Panama Canal, completed by the United States in 1914, was handed over to Panama under the 1977 treaty signed by Democratic President Jimmy Carter. Panama took full control of the commercial passage in 1999.

“It was exclusively for Panama to manage, not China or anyone else,” Trump said. “We would never allow it to fall into the wrong hands!”

“If Panama cannot guarantee a ‘safe, efficient, and reliable’ operation of the canal, we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us in its entirety, without a doubt,” the Republican added.

Panamanian authorities did not immediately respond to Trump’s statements. While he will assume office on January 20, Trump has been exerting his political influence in the final days of President Joe Biden’s administration.

Five percent of global maritime trade passes through the Panama Canal, which allows vessels traveling from Asia to the U.S. East Coast to avoid the long and dangerous route around the southern tip of South America.

The countries that use the Panama Canal the most are the United States, China, Japan, and South Korea.

In October, the Panama Canal Authority reported earnings of nearly $5 billion in the last fiscal year.

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International

Putin vows retaliation following drone attack on luxury building in Kazan

Russian President Vladimir Putin promised more “destruction” in Ukraine on Sunday, in response to a drone strike that hit a residential building in the city of Kazan, located in central Russia, on Saturday.

Russia accused Ukraine of launching a “massive” drone attack, which struck a luxury apartment block in Kazan, about 1,000 kilometers from the border.

Videos shared on Russian social media show drones hitting a high-rise glass building. No casualties have been reported as a result of the attack.

In his statements, Putin addressed the local leader of Tatarstan, the region where Kazan is located, during a virtual ceremony marking the opening of a road.

The attack in Kazan is the latest in a series of increasingly frequent bombings in this nearly three-year-old conflict. Ukraine has not commented on the attack.

Putin had previously threatened to strike the center of Kyiv with a hypersonic ballistic missile in response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory.

The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the recent Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities were retaliation for Ukraine’s use of Western-supplied missiles to target Russian territory.

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International

Small plane crashes in Gramado, Brazil, killing nine people

At least nine people were killed on Sunday after a small aircraft crashed in a commercial area of the tourist city of Gramado, in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, authorities confirmed.

“There are nine confirmed deaths according to Civil Defense services, and there are no survivors from the plane,” said Cléber dos Santos Lima, director of the Interior Police Department of the Civil Police of the state, in a statement to AFP.

Authorities have not yet confirmed the exact number of passengers and crew aboard the aircraft, a turbo-prop Piper Cheyenne 400. However, Civil Defense had previously stated that “preliminarily, the plane was carrying ten people.”

The plane crashed on Sunday morning “into the chimney of a building, then onto the second floor of a house, and finally fell onto a furniture store,” according to a statement from the Rio Grande do Sul Public Security Secretariat.

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