In Chile, the far right won the largest share of seats in the new assembly tasked with reviewing the constitution
The President of Chile, Gabriel Boric, called this Tuesday (7) a referendum on December 17 to vote on the country’s new draft constitution, drawn up by a council dominated by rightwing forces. The text was intended to replace the Magna Carta imposed by the Pinochet dictatorship.
“The referendum for December 17 has been officially scheduled and I invite all our compatriots to inform themselves and participate, thus fulfilling the inevitable civic duty of voting,” Boric said at a ceremony in Santiago.
The President fulfills the schedule set in the second process of constitutional amendment in Chile.
And all this after 78% of voters voted to amend Magna Carta in October 2020, hoping to lay the foundation for a stronger state on social issues following the protests that rocked the country in 2019.
“The final time for citizens begins. Now it depends on your vote and decision,” explained Boric on Tuesday.
The governing coalition spoke out against the new text because it considered it regressive in terms of civil and social rights and advocated clearly establishing private health and social facilities.
The first constitutional amendment process failed in the September 2022 elections: 61% of voters rejected the text, mainly because they considered it radically leftwing.
The current proposal, which will be voted on in December, has even been criticized by the Christian Democrats (centre) as being a conservative and “ideological” text from the radical right.
The text essentially maintains the conservative tone of the constitution imposed in 1980 by the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (19731990) and which, although amended several times during the course of democracy, established a model that allowed for the privatization of health, education and social security.
Although polls suggest that the new text will also be rejected, Boric stated that his government would work on its implementation if passed.
In case of rejection, the president assured that his team would concentrate on its tasks. Boric has quietly ruled out a new constitutional attempt during his term, which ends in March 2026.
If the majority opposes it, the constitution written during Chile’s military dictatorship will remain in force.
Left and right miss opportunity Independent MP Roberto Arroyo told RFI that the Chilean left and right had the opportunity to advance a new constitution but were “not able to propose something that would truly defend the people.”
Rightwing MP Diego Schalper estimated that the new draft constitution “significantly improves the country’s constitutional situation in terms of public security, environmental management, protection of women’s rights, social rights and reform of the political system.”
According to him, “it might have been difficult to get these advances passed in Congress.”
Now we just have to wait for “the consultation of the citizens, who will have the final say on December 17th. We expect this text to be adopted, which would undoubtedly bring stability back to the country,” says the MP.
Despite Shalper’s optimism, polls indicate widespread rejection of the new constitutional amendment, as in 2022.
Distancing yourself from the population
For the independent MP Roberto Arroyo, the reasons for this very likely renewed failure are not so much legal and political, but rather a distancing from the citizens in the drafting of the new constitutional proposal.
“Both policy areas had a chance because they had a majority in each of the processes,” assesses Arroyo.
Regarding the state of mind of Chilean society, which faces the challenge of creating a new constitution, Arroyo judges that “the people are tired of this second process and there is no courage, strength or money to carry out a third process “.
“We have gone through so many votes in such a short period of time that people no longer want to pursue this purpose. At the same time, they need and want the social demands that they have always demanded to be resolved, be it in health or housing and education as well as in the fight against violence and ensuring safety on the streets,” he says.