Chilean voters went to the polls on Sunday and rejected a conservative-drafted constitution to replace the country’s current Pinochet-era laws, created when dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet ruled the country.
The Associated Press reported that 96 per cent of votes had been counted by late Sunday, with 55.8 per cent against the new charter and about 44.2 per cent in favour.
The results come more than a year after the country’s citizens rejected a proposed constitution written by left-wing lawmakers that was hailed as one of the world’s most progressive charters.
But even the new charter, largely drafted by conservatives, has been criticised for being more conservative than the one it sought to replace – it sought to deepen free-market principles, may have restricted some women’s rights and reduced state intervention.
From the point of view of coherence and respect for democracy, we accept the results,” said Javier Macaya, leader of the conservative Independent Democratic Union party, as he acknowledged the charter’s defeat.
The defeat means that the Pinochet-era constitution will remain in force. The constitution has been amended several times over the years.
Ex-president Michelle Bachelet had hoped it would be defeated and the current constitution would remain in place.
“I prefer something bad to something worse,” the AP reported Bachelet as saying.
The proposed constitution contained articles that some found controversial.
For example, it stated that ‘the law protects the life of the unborn’, which some feared would have made abortion completely illegal in Chile.
The country currently allows abortion in cases of rape, when the mother’s life is in danger and when the fetus is not viable.
Another article in the proposed constitution would allow prisoners with terminal illnesses who are not considered a danger to society to be granted house arrest.
But some of the left-wing opposition argued that the measure could benefit people convicted of crimes against humanity during the Pinochet era, when the dictator ruled between 1973 and 1990.
Lawmakers began writing a new constitution after protests in 2019, when thousands complained about inequality in one of South America’s strongest and most politically stable countries.
In 2022, voters rejected a proposed constitution that would have characterised the country as a plurinational state, prioritised the environment and gender equality, and established autonomous indigenous territories.
The reported that one of the most recent polls, conducted by the local firm Cadem, showed that 46% of respondents would vote against the new constitution, while 38% would vote in favour.