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In the midst of a year of contagion and turmoil, Chileans overwhelmingly voted in favor of a constitutional convention drafting a new charter to replace the guiding principles imposed four decades ago under the military dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet.
The country’s conservative government had agreed with the center-left opposition to allow the referendum after the outbreak of large street protests that erupted a year ago in frustration over inequality in pensions, education and health care in what has long been one of the most developed South American nations.
Luis Hidalgo / AP
People gather in Santiago’s Plaza Italia on the day Chileans voted in a referendum to decide whether the country should replace its 40-year-old constitution.
The Electoral Service said on Sunday night (local time) that almost all polling stations that reported, about 78 percent of the 7.4 million votes counted were in favor of drafting a new constitution, while just under the 22 percent objected. About 79 percent supported the charter being drafted by a convention of 155 elected citizens rather than a convention with half its citizen-elected members and half members of congress.
In a speech to the country, center-right president Sebastián Piñera acknowledged the victory of those seeking a new charter, but warned that it is only the beginning of a long process.
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“It is the beginning of a path, which together we will have to traverse to agree on a new constitution for Chile,” said the president, who had opposed having a new constitution, although he had admitted earlier in the day that he probably would. be supported by voters.
The special convention would begin drafting a new constitution that would be presented to voters in mid-2022.
Dragomir Yankovic / AP
Chilean President Sebastián Piñera, in the center, speaks at the La Moneda presidential palace. Although he had opposed having a new constitution, he admitted Sunday that it would likely be supported by voters.
As Piñera spoke, thousands of people celebrated in a central square in the capital used for celebrations and protests. Similar meetings were held on the outskirts of Santiago.
“What happened in the social outbreak is now reflected in the result of the plebiscite,” said a celebrant, Paulina León. “I was part of the marches a year ago and I have to take care of my decision and help build a dignified constitution. . “
Felipe Caviedes also joined in saying that “I am part of the social diversity that was marginalized for 30 years in this country and now, finally, we can create it ourselves. Now real changes are coming. “
Chile’s current constitution was drafted by the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet and was sent to voters at a time when political parties were banned and the country was subject to heavy censorship.
It was approved by a 66% to 30% margin in a 1980 referendum, but critics say many voters were intimidated by a regime that had arrested, tortured and murdered thousands of suspected leftist opponents following the overthrow of a socialist government. elect. .
“I think a lot of people went to vote out of fear,” said political scientist Claudio Fuentes, who wrote a book about that referendum titled, The fraud.
“The current constitution has an original defect, which is that it was created during the military dictatorship in an undemocratic process,” said Mónica Salinero, a 40-year-old sociologist who supports the writing of a new letter.
The free market principles embodied in that document led to a booming economy that continued after the return to democracy in 1990, but not all Chileans shared.
A minority was able to take advantage of good privatized education, health and social security services, while others were forced to rely on sometimes scarce public alternatives. Public pensions for the poorest are below NZ $ 300 a month, about half the minimum wage.
Esteban Félix / AP
Chile has voted to replace its 40-year-old constitution, drawn up during the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet.
Luisa Fuentes Rivera, 59-year-old food vendor, said she hopes that “with a new constitution we will have better jobs, health, pensions and a better quality of life for the elderly and a better education.”
But historian Felipe Navarrete warned: “It is important to say that the constitution will not solve concrete problems. It will determine in what state we want to solve the problems. “
Claudia Heiss, head of the Department of Political Science at the University of Chile, said that she would send a signal about people’s wishes for change and for a policy that “allows greater inclusion of sectors that have been marginalized from politics.”
Conservative groups fear the reform could go too far and jeopardize parts of the constitution that have helped the country prosper.
“People have expressed themselves saying that they want better pensions, better health, better education and the response of the political class is a process that will not solve the problems and will open a period of uncertainty,” said Felipe Lyon, 8-year-old 2nd. -Old lawyer and spokesman for the group “No, thanks” that opposes the change.
The decision to allow the vote came after hundreds of thousands of Chileans took to the streets repeatedly in protests that often turned violent.
The vote was initially scheduled for April, but was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic that has killed some 13,800 Chileans, with more than 500,000 people infected by the new coronavirus.
Officials trying to make sure voters felt safe excluded infected people or those close to them from the polls, and long lines formed at polling places. Voters had to wear masks, dipping them only briefly for identification purposes, and they brought their own pencils.
