: Why Chileans Rejected a New, Progressive Constitution #WorldNEWS After a year-long drafting and negotiation process, Chilean voters on Sunday rejected a new constitution that was hailed as one of the

Why Chileans Rejected a New, Progressive Constitution #WorldNEWS
After a year-long drafting and negotiation process, Chilean voters on Sunday rejected a new constitution that was hailed as one of the most democratic and leftist documents in the world. The defeat—which saw nearly 62% of voters reject the document, compared to 38% who backed it—was a political blow to the country’s 36-year-old President Gabriel Boric.
Boric, who had thrown considerable weight behind the new constitution, said the results showed that Chileans “were not satisfied with the constitutional proposal that the convention presented. ” He has vowed to draft another text and draw on lessons learned following its failure.
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While polling had long suggested Chileans would reject the new constitution, most want to replace the current constitution—which former dictator Augusto Pinochet introduced in 1980. Critics say the Pinochet-era constitution has entrenched a neoliberal economic model—which promotes free market capitalism and deregulation—that has led to major inequality.
In 2019, public frustration over inequality bubbled over following a proposed subway fare hike, with 3 million people taking to the streets in mass protests. To quell what became known as the “social explosion,” the government initiated the process of replacing Pinochet’s constitution with a new text.
The proposed draft—a result of more than a year of negotiations and drafting by 154 elected delegates—was intended to scrap a constitution many saw as a roadblock to reform the political and economic systems put in place by Pinochet. But critics argued that the draft document—comprising 388 articles—went too far, enshrining a long list of unworkable rights and equalities in law that would scare off investors and lead to chaos.
Read More: Gabriel Boric on Leading Chile and Updating Its Constitution
These included rights to free speech, abortion, clean air and water, a publicly-funded national health service, and equitable political and professional representation for minorities. These protections were backed by many voters, says Gabriel Negretto, a politics professor at Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (PUC). “Chileans have long criticized the lack of access to housing, good healthcare, education, and pensions,” he says. “That has been a constant for many years, and the social explosion of 2019 simply made it visible. ”
The problem with the draft was less the content, explains Kenneth Bunker, a political analyst and head of polling consultancy Politico Tech Global, and more the drafting process itself. Some Chileans argue that the delegates were not representative of Chilean society—the majority came from left-wing political blocs or independents with a similar political bend.

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