(EFE) a new Magna Carta proposal.
In the Plaza de Armas, the heart of the capital, it doesn’t look like the country has a choice and the propaganda is almost non-existent.
As every day, street painters stand with their easels in front of the cathedral to sell a souvenir from Chile to tourists, but one of them turns to EFE: “Enough of politics, they lied to us all!”
All polls agree that the majority of Chileans have withdrawn from the constitutional process: the Pulso Ciudadano poll of late April showed that 51.1% of the population had little or no interest in it, while 61.3% said they did , having little or no faith in these the future text.
“Elections are important because any constitution will be in force for several decades, but those who draft them are the same politicians who have always led us to the current crisis,” José Sepúlveda told EFE near the square.
Chile has faced the complex task of replacing its current constitution, in place since the dictatorship (1973-1990), in favor of more social rights following the 2019 outbreak
Eight kilometers to the east, in the Las Condes district, a business center dotted with glass skyscrapers, Ximena Serón believes “there are fewer and fewer people who believe that it will work”. “You pick the candidates who are going to do well, and they end up not fitting. People are disappointed and the majority will vote out of a sense of duty,” he lamented to EFE.
Chile began the complex task of replacing its current constitution, in force since the dictatorship (1973-1990), after the 2019 outbreak in favor of more social rights, with some thirty protests considered the most massive and serious protests since the return of the Democracy meant dead and thousands wounded.
But a lot has happened since then: the pandemic forced the world into lockdown, inflation soared to levels not seen in decades, the first proposed constitution was firmly rejected in a September referendum, and violent crime rose in alarm at an unprecedented rate in several regions .
On the street, they agree: “People are more worried about crime and theft than about the new constitution,” another citizen, Pamela Erizos, told EFE.
“The social crisis hasn’t gone away, but when there’s a chance of being robbed at your doorstep, it’s a matter of survival. The fear of insecurity is greater than before, the feeling of unleashed violence is new,” he explained. to EFE Emmanuelle Barozet from the Center for the Study of Conflict and Social Cohesion (COES).
For Mauro Basaure, sociologist at Andrés Bello University, Chile is “more conservative” today than it was in 2019, but not because it has turned to the right, but because it puts stability and more security for its citizens above “the promises of the future”. .
“Three years ago it was decided to draw up a new constitution due to the great demands of the social outbreak, which were the social and democratic rule of law, health care, pensions and education, but the current constitutional process has not met these demands.” , held.
On the street, they agree: “People are more worried about crime and theft than about the new constitution,” another citizen, Pamela Erizos, told EFE.
Despite the prevailing dissatisfaction, there are Chileans who are voting out of conviction, defending the opportunities that a new Magna Carta opens up in one of Latin America’s most unequal societies.
There are Chileans who vote out of conviction, defending the opportunities that a new Magna Carta opens up in one of Latin America’s most unequal societies.
This is the case of Rafaela Livante, who stressed to EFE that “many continue with the current constitution and do not want to change anything”: “If we want changes, we must start with them,” he added.
Between Plaza de Armas and Las Condes is Plaza Italia, the invisible border between the rich and poor neighborhoods of Santiago and the epicenter of the outbreak.
During the protests, bloody clashes broke out between demonstrators and Carabineros agents accused of human rights abuses at the roundabout, and the area remained devastated for years.
As more than three years have passed since then, the plaza looks different, as a metaphor for Chile turning the page: the plinth, which held a controversial statue of a general, is painted a glossy white paint and grass and grass are growing on the floor .flowers.
“If the process fails, there will be little room for solidarity politics. It will be the model of dictatorship where everything is paid for with individual resources. If economic growth does not return – Basaure warned – Chile will be very unstable.” .
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