The constitutional proposal that proponents say promised a modern and progressive Chile was rejected in a referendum on Sunday. More than sixty percent of those entitled to vote voted against the proposal, something polls have predicted in recent weeks. For President Gabriel Boric, who regularly spoke out in favor of a new constitution in his election campaign, the result will feel like a defeat.
Within hours it was already clear that the Rechazo camp would win against a new constitution. The Chilean electoral system is internationally known for its speed and reliability, and the polls went virtually without incident on Sunday. The turnout was high because voting was compulsory. Thirteen million of the fifteen million eligible voters went to the polls. The losing camp, whose representatives emerged partly in the mass protests that paralyzed the country in October 2019, had to accept in disbelief that their progressive document did not match the wishes and reality of most Chileans.
The current constitution, written in the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet and rewritten several times under the democratically elected presidents that followed, remains in force in the South American country for the time being. With the emphasis on “provisional”: the left-wing president Boric already said a few weeks ago that a new constitution will come anyway. Whether this document will be written in parliament or again by a committee of directly elected representatives is unclear.
“Nobody expected this result. This is truly an insane defeat.”
Because there is a broad consensus in the country that things have to be different in Chile. The campaign against the proposed constitution also stated that social services, such as the currently very expensive care and education, had to be overhauled. They too demanded a country with less inequality. But the reforms proposed in this constitutional proposal went too far for many Chileans. Who was going to pay for that free care? What does gender equality in public authorities look like in practice? And own courts for the indigenous peoples, that would create more division in the country.
Also read: New constitution aims to make Chile a ‘plurinational’ state
Fake news campaigns
The higher income classes, and especially the very rich Chileans, supported the opponents of this constitution in the run-up to the referendum. The Rechazo camp had a budget 40 times larger than the camp before a new constitution and put part of this budget into large-scale fake news campaigns via social media. Traditional media, owned by the same richest Chileans, also sometimes struggled with neutral reporting in the run-up to the vote. But also the fact that Chileans have other priorities and do not want uncertainty during a severe pandemic and subsequent difficult economic times.
According to political expert Javi Arce, what the result shows is that the moderate political forces that made Chile such a beacon of stability and economic prosperity in the 1990s provided the decisive force in this vote. “The young, progressive left of Boric, which was also very present in the Constituent Assembly, did not want any political agreements. Their proposals were radical. And because of that, the political center and right voted against the constitution,” she says. “But nobody expected this result. This is truly an insane defeat.”
For President Boric, who refused to comment on a specific preference during the campaign, the result is a major setback. His presidential campaign was closely tied to what the new constitution proposed. In addition, the results show that the progressive wind that seemed to be blowing through Chile has abated somewhat. In times of crisis, Chileans returned to the political center. For Boric a sign that he will have to do the same for the rest of his reign. According to analyst Arce, there is otherwise a threat of political instability. Boric now has to look for political agreements. He has to replace ministers. Otherwise, he threatens to become a lame duck for the rest of his reign.”