Chileans reject two proposed constitutions in two years

On Sunday, 17 December 2023, Chileans voted against the proposal of the new conservative constitution led by the far-right opposition Republican Party. This was the second attempt to reform the constitution. With a 99% voting turnout, 55.7% of Chileans rejected the proposed constitution, while 44.2% voted in favour.  

Within two years, Chileans have rejected two proposed constitutions to replace the 1980 constitution, which was drafted during General Augusto Pinochet’s military dictatorship. Measures to draft a new constitution were taken in response to anti-government demonstrations in Chile, which started in October 2019. The protests were triggered by an increase in subway prices by 4%, frustrated with the increase in inequality, rising living costs, low wages, lack of education rights, and poor public health system. The protest continued for five months. Rewriting the country’s constitution was one of the protesters’ main demands. 

In October 2020, Chileans selected delegates to write a new constitution. Most had no political background, such as doctors, engineers, lawyers, farmers, and social workers. 

In 2022, a new constitution was proposed by the left-leaning assembly. The proposed progressive constitution focused on social and economic rights, gender equality, environment, indigenous rights, pension funds, access to water, education, and universal healthcare. With a 99% voter turnout, the proposed constitution was rejected by 61.9% of voters. Misinformation by far-right politicians, allegedly through social media platforms, was one of the main reasons why a large number of voters rejected the constitution.  This resulted in fear about people’s property rights and abortion rights. People were also sceptical about the guarantees for Indigenous people’s rights as they thought this would divide Chile, and is trying hard to characterise Chile as a “plurinational state, establishing autonomous Indigenous territories, and prioritising the environment and gender parity”. Another reason was that the committee that drafted the constitution did not represent the whole Chilean society, as the majority were from the left and thus did not represent the conservative side. Critics also argued that the proposed constitution was long and lacked clarity. The constitution proposed was too radical for many.  

In 2023, a second attempt was made by the committee of the conservative party to propose a new constitution. The new constitution council was selected, consisting of 24 individuals designated by Congress and 51 representatives elected by the Chilean people to reform the constitution for the second time. The new draft was more conservative and focused on deepening the free market principle and reducing state intervention. It allowed private sector participation in the provision of basic services such as health, education, or pension. Small changes in the wording of the articles in the constitution made them controversial. One such article was related to abortion rights, which said that “the law protects the life of the unborn”, potentially making abortion fully illegal. 

People have criticised how the new draft did not address the demands of social equality and economic opportunity which was the reason for rewriting the constitution. The new constitution also failed to protect environmental rights and had strict measures, such as establishing new law enforcement institutions to expel irregular immigrants. The new proposed constitution also did not focus on women’s and LGBTQ rights. 

After this proposal was rejected, the country’s leftist President, Gabriel Boric, said that the results highlight how the country has become “polarised and divided”. There would be no third attempt at rewriting the Constitution during President Boric’s term, as he will be focusing on long-term goals such as pension and tax reforms. 

The current constitution will remain in place but reforms can be proposed in the future. A professor at Universidad San Sebastian in Santiago, Kenneth Bunker, said, “For anyone who thinks the country’s stability and guarantees are going to return, I don’t believe this will happen,” highlighting voter fatigue after the events of the last four years. A 41-year-old social worker, Rodrigo Oyarzun, said, “ Neither of the two political sides showed the unity needed to move the country forward; That’s how we get nowhere” after voting in Sunday’s referendum.

Image Credits: Victor Figueroa Clark | Edited by GorStra Team