{"id":789435,"date":"2022-09-06T14:39:48","date_gmt":"2022-09-06T14:39:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/therealnews.com\/?p=291909"},"modified":"2022-09-06T14:39:48","modified_gmt":"2022-09-06T14:39:48","slug":"chileans-reject-new-constitution-in-plebiscite-president-boric-promises-new-constitutional-process","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2022\/09\/06\/chileans-reject-new-constitution-in-plebiscite-president-boric-promises-new-constitutional-process\/","title":{"rendered":"Chileans reject new constitution in plebiscite, President Boric promises new constitutional process"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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This story originally appeared in Peoples Dispatch<\/a> on Sept. 5, 2022. It is shared here under a Creative Commons license.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

On Sunday, Sept. 4, in the exit plebiscite, Chileans voted against a new progressive constitution, which was set to replace the current neoliberal one adopted in 1980 under the US-backed military dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the results issued by Chile\u2019s Electoral Service (SERVEL), with 100%<\/a> of the votes counted, the \u2018I Reject\u2019 option received 61.9% of votes. Meanwhile, the \u2018I Approve\u2019 option obtained 38.1% of the votes. Voting was mandatory, and 85.8%, over 13 million citizens, exercised their vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The demand to rewrite the country\u2019s dictatorship-era constitution was raised during the social uprising against inequality in October 2019. A year later, in October 2020, Chileans overwhelmingly approved the drafting of a new constitution in the entry plebiscite. In May 2021, they elected a majority of independent and left-wing candidates as members of the Constitutional Convention for this responsibility. Nevertheless, the proposed constitution couldn\u2019t appeal to a large share of voters. This is attributed to a widespread misinformation and divisive campaign led by the conservative sectors in mass media and social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The now-rejected draft would have declared Chile a \u201cplurinational\u201d state, recognizing the rights of Chile\u2019s indigenous populations, which make up almost 13% of the population, to their lands and resources, as well as their right to autonomy and self-determination for the first time in the country\u2019s history.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While opinion polls had anticipated that voters would reject the proposed draft constitution, they failed to predict the landslide result. The last poll ahead of the referendum suggested that 47% of voters intend to reject the proposed constitution compared with 38% for yes and 17% undecided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the trend was irreversible, the representatives of the political parties and social organizations that supported a new constitution recognized defeat and assured that they would continue working for a better and equal country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deputy Karol Cariola of the Communist Party of Chile, spokesperson of the \u2018I Approve\u2019 command, thanked all those who worked for the initiative and called on them to be proud of their efforts. She stressed that the 1980 constitution does not unite or represent the country and reiterated the need to build a path that leads to a new inclusive constitution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe teamwork of the \u2018I Approve\u2019 command was a great experience and learning, which I appreciate and value. Sometimes you win and other times you lose, that\u2019s how democracy is. The road is now longer. But I am sure that sooner rather than later we will have a new constitution,\u201d Cariola later tweeted<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"\ud83d\udd34\" Comunicado p\u00fablico: pic.twitter.com\/cpgXaN1Jwc<\/a><\/p>— ApruebaxChile \"\ud83c\udd70\" (@ApruebaxChile) September 5, 2022<\/a><\/blockquote>