Illustration by the artist Violeta Parra on a note from the Chilean Mint.Chilean Mint
Only one of the five types of bills in the Chilean monetary system has a woman's face printed on it: the 5,000-peso ($6.1) bill, which features the 1945 Nobel Prize for Literature, Gabriel Mistral.
Design decisions rest with the Central Bank of Chile.
The Casa de la Moneda, however, the state company responsible for printing the banknotes, has wanted to mark a point on its 280th anniversary and has launched a citizen consultation to choose a woman –from a list of nine– who has his own commemorative ticket.
It will not circulate as money, but will be a collector's item, but it has managed to install the debate.
The candidates range from big names in culture, such as the artist Violeta Parra, to characters who are still active in Chilean life, such as former president Michelle Bachelet.
“What to put on the bills is the task of the Central Bank, it is beyond us.
However, we believe that this sets a precedent so that in the future the Chilean bills that have left so many traces should be considered,” says Díaz, who is pushing so that not only Mistral has its paper money.
Until this Wednesday, some 22,000 people had already voted in the initiative, which was well received, but which generated some criticism for including in the list women who are still alive –some very young–, who could eventually make a serious mistake in their subsequent trajectory. to print the ticket.
Díaz explains that they made the decision to include them because they wanted the commemorative bill to represent all Chilean citizens.
"They are always posthumous recognitions, which have to be done, but we also wanted the girls, from the very youngest, to feel represented," she adds.
Voting will be open until next March 27 and it is not yet defined when the winner will be announced.
From the Casa de Moneda –founded in 1743 and initially located in the current Government Palace, which bears his name– they inform that the count will be manual and supervised by a notary.
Since voting is not done by a single
click
, but also through comments on social networks, a user could mention more than one candidate or leave a letter that is not related to their preference, so a job is expected. of weeks.
Once the winner is known, the design team will shape the banknote that will be sold starting in October on the Mint's website.
There is no price for the product yet, but the latest commemorative note, made last year, is worth 60,000 Chilean pesos ($74).
“The banknote will have the characteristics of the highest technological level of security, comparable to the last commemorative – created for a security fair – and probably more details,” says Díaz, who highlights the international security standard of the banknotes they print.
To account for this, he alludes to the contracts that the state company has with Argentina and Honduras to print their paper money in Chile.