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Chilean voters overwhelmingly rejected proposals to overhaul the 41-year-old charter, one of the world’s most progressive constitutions.
Sunday’s referendum tallied 96% of the vote, and in what appeared to be a large turnout of voters with long lines in the voting states, the opposition had more than 38% support, compared to a was close to 62%. Voting was mandatory.
The vote was a painful setback for Gabriel Boric, the youngest president in Chile’s history at 36. Boric had tied his fortune so closely to the new document that some voters were calling for a referendum against his government at a time when Boric’s approval ratings had plummeted since he took office in March. He said it was likely that he considered it a vote.
The proposed charter was the first in the world to be drawn up by a convention with an equal division of male and female delegates, but critics said it was too long, lacked clarity and some measures went too far. said there is.
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The proposed Article 388 charter would focus on social issues and gender equality, allow for parallel justice systems for indigenous territories, and promote environmental and health issues in a country that is one of the world’s top copper and top lithium producers. We aimed to make climate change the leading role. Producer. It also introduced the right to free education, health care and housing.
In contrast, the current constitution is a market-friendly document that favors the private sector over the state in areas such as education, pensions and health care. Nor does it mention indigenous peoples, who make up about 13% of the population.
In the country of 19 million people, the rejection of the progressive chart was widely anticipated as opinion polls in the months leading up to the election showed Chileans becoming more cautious. Still, many analysts and pollsters were put off by the wide margin of rejection.
“We are aware of this outcome and humbly listen to what the Chilean people have expressed,” spokesman Vlad Milosevic said.
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Carlos Salinas, spokesman for the House of Citizens Seeking Denial, said, “Today we are uniting the majority of Chileans who saw denial as a way of hope.”We are President Gabriel Boric. I want to tell the government of… ‘Today you must be the president of all the Chilean people and we must move forward together.
What is happening now remains uncertain. Chilean society at large, and political leaders of all stripes, agreed that from 1973 he must change the current constitution, which stemmed from the dictatorship of Augusto his General Pinochet in 1990.
The process by which the new proposals will be selected to produce them still needs to be decided and is likely to be subject to intense negotiations between the country’s political leaders. will meet with leaders of all political parties this week.
Once seen as a paragon of stability in Latin America, the region exploded in 2019 with student-led street protests. This anxiety was sparked by public transport fare increases, but it soon expanded into broader demands for greater equality and more social protection.
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The following year, just under 80% of Chileans voted in favor of amending the constitution. He then elected delegates to the Constituent Assembly in 2021.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.