The Chileans voted, Sunday, October 25, by a very strong majority in favor of a new Constitution to replace that inherited from the Pinochet era, in a referendum organized a year after a massive popular uprising against social inequalities.
According to almost final results covering more than 99% of the polling stations, the votes in favor of a new Constitution largely won, with 78.28% of the votes, against 21.72% for the vote rejecting this option. Turnout is around 50%, according to the electoral authority.
Reacting to these results, Conservative President Sebastian Piñera called for “The unit” country to write the “New Constitution”. In a televised address, the head of state said:
“Until now, the Constitution has divided us. From today, we must all work together so that the new Constitution is a space of unity, stability and a future. “
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Popular celebration in Santiago
Tens of thousands of euphoric demonstrators gathered in several squares in the capital Santiago, including Plaza Italia, epicenter of the protest, to celebrate the victory, noted journalists from Agence France-Presse (AFP). “We are celebrating a victory in this place more worthy than ever! “, enthuses Graciela Gonzalez, a 35-year-old saleswoman, amid songs, firecrackers and honking. A year ago to the day, the protest against inequalities had taken a turn when 1.2 million people gathered in this emblematic square, renamed “Place of Dignity”.
“I never imagined that we Chileans would be able to unite for such a change! “, ignited Maria Isabel Nuñez, 46, who came to the square hand in hand with her 20-year-old daughter. Due to the coronavirus pandemic that hit Chile hard (500,000 declared contaminations, 14,000 deaths recorded), voters, duly masked, formed long queues all day in front of the polling centers, applying the physical distancing measures, AFP found. Many voters spoke of a poll “Historical”. “Chile deserves a national catharsis and I think this is the start”35-year-old engineer Felipe told AFP.
Two questions put to the vote
Replacing the Constitution inherited from the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990) was one of the demands of the demonstrations launched from October 18, 2019 in order to demand a more just society. The current Basic Law severely limits state action and promotes private activity in all sectors, including education, health and pensions.
The 14.7 million voters were asked to answer two questions: “Do you want a new Constitution? “ and “Which body will have to draft the new Constitution? “ According to results covering almost all polling stations, the option of a “Constituent agreement” only made up of citizens won by 79% of the votes, against 21% for a “Mixed agreement” composed of citizens and parliamentarians.
For supporters ofapruebo (“I approve”), essentially in the opposition of the center and the left, a new constitution will remove an essential obstacle to deep social reforms in a country among the most unequal in Latin America. “Since the start of the protest, this is the first real opportunity we have for there to be changes in health, education”Pilar Matus, a 47-year-old teacher, told AFP before voting.
Defenders of rechazo (“I reject”), which bring together the most conservative parties, believed that it was possible to introduce changes in the Basic Law, which they believed had guaranteed Chile’s stability in recent decades, without needing to replace it.
A new referendum scheduled for 2022
To date, no attempt to replace the Basic Law has been successful. Constitutionalists agree that the text was drafted so that the conservative fringes of society could remain in power, even after the end of the dictatorship.
The victory ofapruebo means “The abandonment once and for all of the shadow of dictatorship in the institutional domain”, Marcelo Mella, a political scientist from the University of Santiago told AFP. For him, the choice of the Chileans to rely on a Citizen Constituent Convention to draft the future Constitution represents “The triumph of the people for the people in a democracy (…) which, for three decades, has been built on a discourse of stability at the cost of a withdrawal of sovereignty from the people ”. The draft Constitution will be submitted to a referendum in 2022.
Until the outbreak of the crisis, Chile was considered one of the most stable countries in Latin America, praised for its macroeconomic performance. Triggered by an increase in the price of the metro ticket in Santiago, the protest was fueled by the anger of the population, denouncing the disconnection of the elites in the face of the difficult daily life of the greatest number, and caught the whole class by surprise. Politics.