Chileans will vote on Sunday for the second time in just over a year for a new constitution that will replace the one in place since the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. But this time they are opting for a more conservative text than the current constitution.
The text put to the vote was written by those who defend General Pinochet's legacy after the rejection in September 2022 of a first progressive proposal supported by the young left-wing President Gabriel Boric.
The latter, 37, recently assured that this new consultation will be the last attempt at constitutional reform.
The polls, which have been banned for two weeks, assume that the new text will be rejected by a large majority, despite a large number of undecided people.
The revision of the Pinochet-era constitution (1973-1990), considered a brake on any fundamental social reform, was enacted to satisfy the 2019 social movement against inequalities, which caused about thirty deaths. A year later, Chileans approved 80% of the draft new constitution.
After rejecting the first proposal, Mr. Boric suffered another setback in May when the ultra-conservative right came first in the election of the members who would form the Constitutional Council responsible for drafting the new Basic Law.
The Republican Party has seduced voters with its uncompromising discourse against the insecurity that it associates primarily with Venezuelan immigration.
The opposition is portraying Sunday's vote as a consultation on President Boric, who was elected in late 2021 at the age of 35 on a wave of discontent as the youngest leader in Chile's history but whose popularity is now declining.
The proposed new constitution reinforces the conservative nature of the current 1980 text, particularly on issues such as abortion and public safety.
“Dangerous”
The issue of abortion is controversial, “even dangerous,” says Catalina Lufin, 22, president of the student association at the University of Chile, because it “makes us backwards in terms of fundamental rights.”
Abortions were completely banned in Chile until 2017, when they were permitted by law, but only in cases where the mother's life was endangered, raped or the fetus was declared unviable.
The current constitution “protects the life of the unborn,” but the new text goes further and makes the embryo a person, making it harder to justify abortion.
The new text, on the other hand, recognizes indigenous peoples for the first time, a long-standing concern of indigenous peoples, especially the Mapuche, who make up about 12% of the population, but does not address their demand for more autonomy.
Andrès Calfuqueo, a political science student of Mapuche origin, assures that the new text does not “represent” him. It “emerged from a process that promised to unite Chileans but ultimately divided them.”
Enthusiasm for a new constitution has been dampened by the pandemic, inflation and a growing sense of insecurity and fatigue among the population.
“There is an atmosphere of disillusionment, low interest, low motivation and fatigue regarding the constitutional question,” emphasizes Claudia Heiss, a political scientist at the University of Chile. “People want more basic things: they want security, public order, more police on the streets…” she emphasizes.
Voting begins at 8:00 a.m. local time (11:00 a.m. GMT) and ends at 6:00 p.m. (9:00 p.m. GMT). The results will be announced in the evening.