More than 15.4 million Chileans are returning to the polls this Sunday approve or reject a second proposed constitution to replace the vote left by the military dictatorship (1973-1990) in an environment of uncertainty, great disinterest and electoral fatigue, as it is the fifth constitutional vote since 2020.
The vote takes place shortly before Christmas, in the middle of Christmas shopping and with Many Chileans start their vacation Summer.
Although voting is mandatory and voters face a fine if they don't vote, experts say They predict a lower turnout than the 85.7% registered in the September 2022 referendumwhen citizens firmly rejected the first proposal of Magna Carta.
“I will vote because my wallet cannot bear punishment, but this constitution will not solve Chile's problems,” Pascual Castellano, a pensioner from the capital, told Efe.
A few meters later, university student Javiera Palacios recognized this The text was not read and that he will spontaneously decide whether to vote or not.
“Nothing will change in Chile because those in power, those in charge, have no interest in the lower and middle classes of this country moving forward,” she added, visibly annoyed.
A total of 3,237 polling stations in Chile and abroad have already opened their doors – at 8 a.m. and until 6 p.m. Chilean time – and the result is expected to be available later tonight.
No consensus
The text that will be put to the referendum 17 chapters and 216 articlesNo political consensus could be reached in the Constitutional Council, a body made up of 50 council members elected last May in which the far right and the traditional right held a majority with 22 and 11 seats respectively.
The right defends that the new constitutional proposal is better than the current Magna Carta because “collects” current concerns of citizensB. security or migration, and ensures that its approval puts an end to the four years of institutional uncertainty that caused the social outbreak of 2019.
He The social democratic constitutional state is the great novelty regarding the current Constitution, although the Left is not satisfied with how one of its historical aspirations has been reflected, assuring that there are articles that “empty” the concept and constitutionalize the neoliberal model installed in the regime.
The text contains articles that have caused great controversy, such as: Consecration of the “Right to Life of the Unborn” – a regulation that the ruling party fears could conflict with the application of the law that allows abortion on three grounds – the immediate expulsion of irregular migrants or the tax exemption for primary residence that benefits people with higher incomes.
“It is a very long constitutional proposal full of programmatic elements that only appeal to one sector of the country deepens the neoliberal character of the currentand that has internal contradictions,” said Javier Couso, a constitutional lawyer at the University of Diego Portales (Chile) and the University of Utrecht (Netherlands).
If approved, explains Claudia Heiss, head of the political science program at the University of Chile, “that would be it second longest constitution in Latin America“.
“This is because norms that are now contained in organic laws were constitutionalized. It is a very programmatic text,” he added.
Although experts say the scenario is more open-ended than it seems, recent polls published more than two weeks ago suggest that citizens will vote against the text.
The unknown is how much it will influence the option presented by the leftthe rejection of the proposal, a case of corruption affecting one of the parties in the governing coalition and which has gained momentum in recent days with the arrest of two people.
In the event of a final rejection, the current constitution will remain in force and the constitutional debate will be closed, at least for this legislative period, as the government has already stated that it will not support a third attempt.
Follow the topics that interest you