Chile decides by a large majority that it will have a new constitution | World

With 99.7% of the surveys counted, the results pointed 78.2% of the votes how favorable to a new Constitution. In addition, 79% preferred that the text be debated by a new commission to be elected later.

Right after the polls closed hundreds of protesters returned to Piazza Italiain Santiago. The site became a symbol of the protests that gripped Chile in 2019 and led to the proposal for a new Constitution. (read more about the demonstrations in Chile at the end of the report).

With this Sunday’s decision, Chileans must choose who will make up the constituent commission. After the new text is debated and approved by this group, another referendum, probably in 2022, will decide whether Chile will adopt the new constitution or not.

In a speech, the president of Chile, Sebastián Piñera, praised the electoral process. “Today citizenship, democracy and peace have triumphed over violence,” he said.

“A new constitution never starts from scratch,” added the president.

At the beginning of the scrutiny, the Chilean political class already recognized the victory of the votes in favor of the new constitutional text. Senator Juan Antonio Coloma, who led the campaign against the constitution change, admitted defeat just 50 minutes after the polls closed.

“They are very striking results. We continue with low percentages, but the trend is very clear. Democracy is like that and I believe that the process must continue, “said Coloma.

The current Constitution dates from the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990), but it has undergone amendments and modifications that make it very different from the text formatted by the military decades ago.

The proposal for a new constitution came after protests swept through Chile in October 2019. Demonstrations that began as discontent over the increase in the price of a metro ticket soon turned into a general revolt with the Chilean political class .

With protests and police violence, Piñera’s popularity plummeted. The president then proposed palliative measures to deal with the protesters, until calls for a new constitution took shape. Thus, with the support of Parliament, Chile decided to hold a referendum to decide whether to change the Magna Carta.

The vote was scheduled for the first half, but the new coronavirus pandemic caused the postponement of the elections. Voters were required to wear masks and bring their own pens to vote, as preventive measures.

Despite the pandemic and the decision to hold a plebiscite, social movements in Chile have not withdrawn, including scenes of violence and predation. Last week, the burning of a church in Santiago sparked riots across the country, including among supporters of protests and a new constitution. See the VIDEO below.