It was an unprecedented ballot in the history of Chile. Voters had two days, Saturday May 15 and Sunday May 16, to choose the 155 people responsible for writing the foundational text that should guide the life of the country for decades to come. While more than 90% of the ballots had been counted Sunday evening, the vote marks the defeat of the right (about 20% of the vote), the traditional parties and the victory of the independent candidates. Spread over forty-eight hours, in order to smooth out travel due to the pandemic due to the coronavirus, the election of the Constituent Assembly, initially scheduled for April, had been postponed in the face of the sharp upsurge in contamination.
“The right in power is punished. The government is weak, damaged and this is reflected in these results, analysis Paulina Astroza, political scientist and teacher at the University of Concepcion (center of the country). The right has allied itself with the extreme right and it does not even achieve the third of the votes for which it claimed at least. “ A low water level all the more meaning that two thirds of the votes are necessary to approve the articles of the Constitution.
Independent candidates register “A triumph”, according to Mme Astroza: “These are the actors of social movements, who campaign for the defense of the environment or the right to decent housing, for example, they are those who took to the streets in 2019 to demonstrate, outside of political parties. . “ The results of independent applications are “A big surprise”, adds Julieta Suarez-Cao, political scientist and professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. “This is a profound renovation of the political system. Chile has changed ”, she insists.
Welfare state and environmental protection
Historically, the constitutional ballot is one of the great achievements of the social movement against inequalities of 2019, during which the wish to draw a line on a “Carta Magna” drafted during the dictatorship (1973-1990) was affirmed as a both symbolic and legal necessity, the text laying down the liberal bases of the country, decried by the street. A year after the unprecedented social uprising of 2019, Chileans overwhelmingly approved in a referendum in October 2020 the writing of a new Constitution.
New rule: the Constituent Assembly is made up of half of women, a first in the world. This is a requirement of the feminist movements which have largely united with the social revolt and which, since major mobilizations in 2018, have taken deep root in Chile. In addition, 17 of the 155 seats are occupied by representatives of the indigenous populations, the question of their place and their rights having become firmly established during the social mobilization.
You have 48.33% of this article to read. The rest is for subscribers only.
