A second referendum in Chile on a new constitution that would replace the Pinochet-era constitution
Chileans went to the polls again, today, Sunday, for a second referendum on amending the Augusto Pinochet-era constitution, where they will be asked to approve or reject a proposed new version that is considered more conservative than the previous one.
According to Agence France-Presse, the new version was prepared under the supervision of the far-right Republican Party, after Chileans rejected by a large majority in September 2022 a more progressive draft that sought to establish the principles of environmental protection and the right to elective abortion.
Voting began at eight in the morning (11 GMT) and continues until six in the evening (9 GMT), with the results being announced hours after that.
Leftist President Gabriel Boric said last month that Sunday’s referendum would be his last attempt to amend the country’s constitution, before he left to focus on achieving stability and long-term development.
Opinion polls suggest that Chileans will reject the proposed new constitution, noting that the most recent polls date back to two weeks before voting day.
In the 2020 referendum, 80 percent of Chileans voted in favor of adopting a new constitution.
Chile began trying to amend the constitution that was approved in 1980 during the Pinochet era, in an effort to calm the protests that broke out in October 2019 against the lack of social justice.
But four years after the protests, the population’s enthusiasm has declined due to various factors, including the pandemic, inflation, economic stagnation, and increasing feelings of insecurity and voter frustration, according to experts.
“There is an atmosphere of great disappointment, little interest and motivation, and fatigue with the constitutional issue,” said Claudia Hayes, professor of political science at the University of Chile.
She added: “People want more basic issues: they want security, public order, more police on the streets, a return to normal life after a few years of abnormal life.”
Shift to the right
The opposition views the constitutional referendum as a referendum on Boric, who benefited from a massive wave of dissatisfaction in the country and was able, in late 2021, to become the country’s youngest president at the age of 35.
However, his popularity fell to about 30 percent, and he suffered a political setback in May, when the right-wing Republican Party won a nationwide vote that gave it the right to choose the members of the Constitution Redrafting Committee.
The 1980 Constitution is widely held responsible for allowing the enrichment of corporations and elites at the expense of the poor and working classes. The First Amendment proposal, which fell in a referendum last year, included greater protection for indigenous rights, proposals to protect natural resources such as water, and allocating women to hold at least half of the positions in public institutions.
Hayes believed that the currently proposed version “falls between the 1980 Constitution and a more right-leaning constitution,” especially on issues such as abortion and public safety.
The new version aims to establish the right to life from conception, which experts believe may lead to challenging the laws currently in force.
Chile banned abortion until 2017, when it was permitted in cases of rape, a threat to the pregnant woman’s life, or the fetus being declared unviable.
The proposed amendment also allows the expulsion of irregular immigrants “as soon as possible,” noting that the right holds responsibility for the escalation in crime rates on the influx of Venezuelan immigrants fleeing the economic crisis in their country.
However, the constitution recognizes for the first time indigenous groups who constitute 12 percent of the country’s total population, without responding to their demands for greater autonomy.
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2023-12-18 11:58:57
