The streets of Chiro were flooded on Sunday after the first coronavirus outbreak, as millions of people turned out to vote in favor of a new charter drafted by citizens to get rid of the country’s Pinochet-era constitution.
The new constitution was the main demand of the anti-government protests that erupted last year over inequality and electoralism in one of Latin America’s most advanced economies, and have remained the same ever since.
Voting began at 8 a.m. and by noon there were long queues outside polling stations. Soldiers controlled the entry and enforced strict sanitary measures.
Expectations for the vote are high. Former government worker Maria Luz Navarretti (.1) is now struggling to pay off Chile’s privately run and much-criticized pension system. The capital traveled by metro to the central station of Santiago to vote.
“I’m getting ready to go out to celebrate this evening. I think a lot of people will vote for change, “he said. “Everything must change. Social security, culture, citizen participation, health … is another way to live a more communal life. ”
Alejandra, a 31-year-old retail businesswoman, voted to reject the new charter in Santiago’s Vitakura upmarket neighborhood.
He said last year’s social unrest and epidemic had already hit his company. “The truth is that I think the second blow could bury the business,” he added.
“I want change but I will gradually. Want to do. Chile is a small country, we cannot make such dramatic changes without affecting the economy. “
More than 14.8 million people are eligible to vote despite being told to stay away from the threat of arrest of individuals with Covid-19.
The people of Chile can decide whether to approve or reject the new constitution and whether it is prepared by a specially elected body of citizens or a combination of citizens and legislators.
The winning camp needs a simple majority. Opinion polls suggest the new charter will be ratified by a significant margin.
Voting early in the morning, Chile’s center-right president, Sebastian Pinera, appealed to all persuaders to come out.
Government spokesman Jaime Bellolio said at noon that polling stations had registered a “high level of interest”.
“Progress is looking good,” he said. “This is being done peacefully and safely across the country in accordance with our democratic tradition.”
Chileans are required by law to wear masks outside their homes, and voters are asked to bring their own pens. Polling stations have been sprayed with cleaning solutions containing nano-copper particles, which scientists say are especially hospitable to coronaviruses.
The current constitution was pointed out by Jem Guzman, a close adviser to dictator Augusto Pinochet, in 1980, and was only tweeted by successive governments to reduce military and executive power.
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