Thousands of citizens in Chile have voted overwhelmingly in favor of rewriting the country’s dictatorship-era constitution that many people see as the root cause of the South American country’s economic and social inequalities. Last year, the mass protests, which often turned violent, sparked the demand for a new charter for the country.
With nearly 90 percent of the vote counted in Sunday’s referendum, as many as 78 percent of people have voted in favor of changing the constitution. Meanwhile, Sebastian Piñera, the President of Chile, welcomed the result and praised the peaceful vote across the country. He further added that this is the beginning of a new path for Chile in which “all of us must talk together.”
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The referendum asked the voters only two questions – firstly if they wanted a new constitution for Chile, and secondly, what kind of body should be given powers to draw it up. A large majority of them voted in favor of elected citizens to draft the constitution, as opposed to the one that would also include lawmakers in the process.
Though the vote was originally scheduled for April, it was postponed as the country went into a lockdown during the peak of the pandemic outbreak. Now, a 155-member constitutional conventional will have to be voted by April next year. The elected convention will have a year to agree on a draft that will then be put to the vote again.
A year ago, mass anti-government demonstrations began in the country, and their main demand was a new constitution for Chile to fix the inequalities. As people took to the streets to celebrate the historic referendum, President Pinera said that until now, Chileans were divided because of the constitution. But he urged the voters to work together to make sure that the new charter is a symbol of unity, stability, and a bright future.
Over the last two decades, poverty in Chile has dropped dramatically, and it is now included as the richest country in Latin America based on per capita. However, it remains one of the unequal nations in the world. Chileans blame a system that has privatized utilities and services.
In the 1980s, the current constitution was drawn up under the rule of Gen Pinochet following a referendum. Pinochet’s 17-years of rule was mostly characterized by enforced disappearances, torture, repression, and inequality.
