Chile prepares for a historic plebiscite: what are you voting for?

The countdown has begun. This Sunday at 8 in the morning, Chilean time -9 in Argentina-, the polling stations will open. And when night falls on this side of the mountain range, the country will have the result of an election that divides society and which in recent days has generated clashes that in some cases have reached physical violence.

The text of the new Constitution, which must be approved or rejected in this “exit plebiscite”, has its following of detractors and many other defenders. But what’s at stake?

The text of 11 chapters divided into a total of 388 articles seeks to respond to the main demands that Chileans made in the unprecedented uprising of October 2019, when a protest over the increase in metro tickets became a powerful reaction against a society anchored to the laws of dictatorship, with profound social inequalities and a democratic system that is deficient or obsolete for many.

In November of the same year, then center-right president Sebastián Piñera announced a historic agreement between different political sectors, government supporters and opponents – including the then young deputy Gabriel Boric – to draft a new Constitution that could channel those demands and unzip the tension.

If the new Constitution is adopted, it will replace the one in force today, drawn up in 1980 under the regime of Augusto Pinochet, and with a strong neoliberal profile.

Despite the text reforms in democratic governments over the past two decades, the articles that still keep the rights to health, education and retirement in the hands of the market, with little state interference, have not been eliminated. And if for many this has been the model that has allowed decades of stability and economic growth in the country, for others it is the basis huge inequalities in accessing these fundamental rights they remain deeply rooted in the country.

“We Chilean people, made up of different nations, grant ourselves this Constitution free of charge, agreed in a participatory, equal and democratic process”, reads the preamble of a book distributed free of charge in a strong official campaign to ensure that the country “votes informed”.

Pole

But in the final stretch, what seems clear is that this “participatory and democratic” process. did not have the expected result. The polls of various consultants, therefore, predict a possible triumph of the “refusal”, even if in recent days the “approval” has gathered adherents and has narrowed the differences, according to the polls that have aired “off”, because the Electoral laws do not allow them to be published here for two weeks before the election.

More than 15 million Chileans are called to the polls this Sunday. Y for the first time since 2012 this election will be mandatoryafter a series of elections – including presidential ones – optional.

A record turnout is therefore expected, one of the reasons analysts and politicians speak here of historic elections.

pioneering process

On 25 October 2020, in the midst of a pandemic, Chileans were summoned to the polls for the first time by the Piñera government to decide whether they wanted to change the current Constitution.

78% of voters said “yes” in a consultation in which, however, only 50% of the population participated. There it was decided at the same time that the new text would be drawn up by a convention elected at the polls.

In May 2021, Chileans elected the 155 members of the convention, who were to show gender equality and reserve 17 seats for indigenous peoples, who represent about 13% of the Chilean population.

Those elections marked a turning point in the country, as they have been traditional displaced partiesin particular those allies of the Piñera government, and independent candidates or members of social organizations hitherto marginalized by politics have made room.

Convention

Work on the new Convention began on 4 July 2021. In a controversial process, with delays at the beginning, with some scandals and quarrels among the members – which in some cases were broadcast live and live on TV and caused a strong discredit – with strong criticism especially from the right, the Assembly Constituent worked just for a year.

On July 4 this year, the draft was handed over to President Gabriel Boric, who immediately called a plebiscite.

Ecological, social and gender equality status

the new text buries the neoliberal system ruling in Chile since the dictatorship and advancing towards a state of social law with a greater public presence. The Constitution is considered more feminist of the world and declares the “ecological state” as a pillar, a firm commitment to the defense of the environment and the vocation to fight the climate crisis.

At the same time, it is moving towards a universal primary health system, a strengthening of public education and a state pension system.

It also opens the door to reverse the privatization of essential resources such as water and facilitate access to housing and other achievements of equal rights and social justice.

One of the most controversial points – which provokes strong resistance especially in the most conservative sectors – is that which includes the definition of Chile as a pluri-national state, recognizes the rights of indigenous peoples and indigenous justice.

Another element that causes a strong rejection is that it proposes the elimination of the Senate and proposes the creation of a Chamber of Regions, which would aim at decentralization.

In any case, both the supporters of the Rejection and those of the Approval are clear that this text does not convince a large part of Chilean society. And both roads are already thinking of reforms and new pacts for another Constitution.

Santiago, special correspondent