Almost three years after the serious unrest of 2019, the Chileans have clearly rejected the text for a new constitution. The country is therefore continuing to search for a social reorganization that can bring back the usual stability.
Opponents of the draft constitution are happy after the rejection at the polls became clear.
Just over a third of Chileans approved the draft of a new constitution on Sunday. The text, which commentators previously described as the world’s most progressive basic law, is definitely off the table with 62 percent of voters rejecting it.
The strong rejection comes as a surprise at first glance, given that the people have spoken out in favor of a fundamental reorganization of society several times over the past two years. After severe social unrest, almost 80 percent of voters wanted a new constitution in October 2020. In April 2021 they elected a Constituent Assembly with a clear left majority. Eight months later, they elected Gabriel Boric, one of the leaders of the student movement that launched the reform process ten years earlier, as president.
Draft constitution was too radical for many Chileans
The apparent contradiction can probably be resolved by the fact that Chilean society wants a fundamental social reorganization, but the draft constitution was clearly too radical. Already the extremist speeches and proposals in the Constituent Assembly and several scandals have deterred the Chileans. The reputation of the Constituent Assembly had thus plummeted before the text was even published.
A basic tenor of the protests in recent years was that important services for society, which had been largely outsourced to the private sector by General Augusto Pinochet’s constitution, were not satisfactory for the majority of the population. The criticism particularly concerned education, old-age provision and the healthcare system. These central services are perceived as being of insufficient quality and too expensive. They cement social inequality. The draft constitution has taken this into account and strengthened the role of the state in the economy.
But the Constituent Assembly went much further than that and envisaged radical reforms that did not find a majority in the still generally conservative Chilean society. This included, for example, equal representation of women and men in the cabinet, in Congress and in other governing bodies of the state. In addition, the extensive autonomy that was intended for the approximately 13 percent indigenous people. This raised fears that the state would fall apart. Finally, the massive strengthening of environmental protection, which could have harmed the economically important mining sector – Chile is the world’s most important copper and the second most important lithium producer – was also irritating.
Uncertainty hurts the economy
The economic situation may have been a weighty argument against the draft constitution for many Chileans. In view of the current 11 percent inflation and a recession expected for next year, many eligible voters probably shied away from the additional uncertainty caused by a new radical basic law.
Chile is now back on square one. Without reforms, the country will not regain stability. Disapproval of the status quo has been expressed too clearly by a majority of the population in recent years. The country now needs a swift agreement among the moderate forces on reforms in those areas where the shoe pinches the most. This can be done through a new Constituent Assembly or through constitutional changes in Parliament, where the moderates are in the majority. If such an agreement is not reached quickly, the country and its economy are likely to suffer further damage from the ongoing uncertainty. The uncertainty of investors has already contributed to the weakening of the economy.