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Chilean citizens go to the polls this Sunday (25) to decide, in a referendum, whether or not to change the country’s Constitution, inherited from the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990). Changing the Magna Carta was the great demand that united the protesters during the social unrest that began a year ago.
Voters will answer two questions: “Do you want a new constitution?” and “What kind of body should write the new Constitution?” It will be the first time in the history of Chile that citizens are asked whether or not they want a new constitution. Participation is voluntary.
A woman puts her vote in the polls during the vote in the referendum on the change to the Chilean constitution in Santiago, Chile, on October 25. – Photo: Pedro Ugarte / AFP
Regardless of the answer to the first question, the voter must choose, in the second, which type of body would be responsible for drafting a new Constitution.
Almost 15 million people are qualified to answer “approve”, giving the green light to the constituent process, or “rejection”, leaving the institutional framework as is.
The polls give “Aprovo” a comfortable victory, with 60% to 75% of the votes. If approved, the new letter will be drafted and then put to a popular vote in mid-2022.
The three Constitutions that Chile has had since 1833 were drawn up by commissions. If you win the “approval”, It will be the first time in almost two centuries that the country has entrusted this task to a collegiate group elected by popular vote.
In the photo, Chile votes in a referendum to change the country’s constitution this Sunday (25) in Santiago. – Photo: Pedro Ugarte / AFP
The word “plebiscite” has a history in Chile: in 1988, it was a consultation like this that determined the departure of Pinochet.
This Sunday, if you win the “Approve” vote, there will be two possibilities: that the new Charter is drawn up by Constituent Convention, made up exclusively of members elected by popular vote, or by Mixed Convention, made up equally of parliamentarians in office and members specially chosen for the occasion.
- The debate in Chile on whether or not to change the Constitution made under Pinochet
The Constituent Assembly, if it wins, will have the same number of men and women, and it will be the only case in the world in which both sexes, with equal participation, will draft a Constitution. If the Mixed Convention wins, it will also be the same, with half of the parliamentarians and half of the seats in direct elections made up of women.
Those who defend a new Constitution understand that it would remove obstacles to profound social reforms in one of the most unequal countries in Latin America, and that in the last 30 years it has been one of the most stable and economically prosperous in the region.
Proponents of “Reject” believe that it is possible to make changes to the basic text, but not to draft a new constitution. For them, the stability of Chile is at stake.
