Chileans have voted to reject a new conservative constitution to replace its current text, in a nationwide plebiscite, with the “against” option winning more than 55%.
The 1980 constitution drafted during Gen Augusto Pinochet’s bloody dictatorship will now remain in place, making the result bittersweet for Chile’s progressives and its leftwing government.
Sunday’s vote was the second draft constitution in as many years that voters have rejected.
“The constitutional process will close during our government,” said President Gabriel Boric in an address to the nation late on Sunday evening after a meeting of his inner circle at La Moneda, the presidential palace in Santiago.
“There are other more urgent matters [to deal with].”
“We have listened to the people, and the ‘against’ option has been backed by the citizens, which gives us tremendous responsibility,” said Carolina Leitao, the mayor of a Santiago neighbourhood and one of the figures leading the “against” campaign.
Across town at the headquarters of the rightwing Independent Democratic Union Party, its members gathered in front of a giant national flag to admit defeat – and declare that the 1980 constitution had triumphed.
“In summary, Chile does not want constitutional changes nor refoundation,” said Senator Javier Macaya, the party president.
He called on the country’s left to cease all attempts at constitutional reform.
Chile was shaken by large anti-inequality protests in October 2019 and the political class plotted a change of constitution as a way to quell the unrest.
In September last year, after three years of lengthy and divisive debate, 62% of voters comprehensively rejected a progressive constitution, which guaranteed a long list of rights and freedoms, as well as making sweeping changes to the country’s judicial and political systems.
The electorate swung right for the second draft and voters elected an assembly dominated by the far-right Republican Party who drafted a proposed constitution that contained controversial clauses, which activists said could have led to access to safe abortions being repealed.
It also contained strong measures to tackle the Republicans’ hot button issues, illegal migration and public security, and declared it Chileans’ duty to honour national symbols.
Leading figures in the campaign to reject the document said that it read more like a Republican Party manifesto than a long-term project, and would have made it difficult for any leftwing government to put its agenda into practice.
On the right, many said that the vote was “win-win”, as the free market model imposed during the Pinochet dictatorship would be maintained whatever the result.
Up and down the country, people trudged in and out of polling stations on Sunday in the baking December heat, largely without enthusiasm after four years of political uncertainty and elections related to the constitution.
At the Liceo Javiera Carrera, a high school turned polling station in the centre of the capital, voters cast their ballots swiftly.
“To be honest, I didn’t even want to vote, but it was compulsory,” said Jocelyn Reynoso, 41.
“It’s a choice between the Republicans or Pinochet, I had to vote to make sure we didn’t end up with something worse than we already have.”
This means the constitutional question remains largely unresolved.
President Boric has said that there will be no new constitutional process before his term ends in 2026.
“The results of both processes ended up being more radical than Chile was willing to accept,” said Claudia Heiss, the head of the University of Chile’s political science faculty, after the result was confirmed.
“The political class needs to find a more humble and inclusive way forward which includes everybody.”
Polls showed in the run up to the vote that the ‘against’ option would win, yet the Republican Party’s campaigning in the more conservative south of the country did garner support.
The Republicans launched a campaign to turn the issue into a vote on President Boric’s popularity, using the tagline “if Boric votes against, Chile votes in favour”.
Despite this, Sunday’s vote only gained majority support in three of Chile’s 16 regions.
