“The right-wing constitution that was proposed to the Chilean people was rejected by the same people”, was the reaction expressed by the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, through social media, after the publication of Chile’s rejection of the “more conservative” constitutional project put forward voted on last Sunday (12/17).
The right-wing constitution that was proposed to the Chilean people has been rejected by the same people. https://t.co/uXDqL2qnVI
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) December 18, 2023
The fate of the second constitutional proposal was in the hands of the Chilean population: whether or not it would abandon the Magna Carta imposed during Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship, which was harshly criticized during the 2019 demonstrations known as the “social outburst”.
With more than 99% of the tables counted, the vote count was completed with 62% of voters against the text, while 38% were in favor.
The plebiscite not only focused the attention of Chilean citizens, but also generated great international expectations.
Repercussion of newspapers
After the triumph of “El contra”, several media outlets around the world reacted to the result.
Under the title “Chile rejects the right-wing proposal and maintains the Constitution born during the Pinochet dictatorship”, the article in the Spanish newspaper The country highlighted that the Andean State broke a “record” by “rejecting two proposed Constitutions in 15 months”.
“This is not a victory for Gabriel Boric’s left-wing government, which was about to reject the proposal. The opposite option was the party in power, but also sectors of the center-left that are not part of the government and even ultra groups, which they surpass the Republican Party on the right. But this plebiscite gave La Moneda pause, because a contrary result would have been a disaster. The Executive and its parties do not celebrate, but recognize themselves as relieved”, added the media.
The newspaper The world, also from Spain, stated that the result “reveals an accumulation of failures”. He mentioned, on the one hand, the defeat of the Republican Party and its inability to successfully draft a Magna Carta. On the other hand, he stated that the left “is also a loser, because what it celebrates this Sunday is the survival of Pinochet’s Constitution.”
A BBC Mundoa British broadcaster, indicated that independent and left-wing voters “punished the right”.
The newspaper The Guardianalso British, said that “Chile voted to reject a new conservative constitution that threatened women’s rights.”
But there are those who have directed the result to criticism. In Argentina, the newspaper The nation questioned the competence of the Chilean leader, saying that the decision “buried one of Gabriel Boric’s promises”. Still regarding the president, he guaranteed that “he will not go down in history as the leader he wanted to be”.
Another Argentine newspaper, the Clarionin turn, highlighted that the rejected text was “more conservative” because it would worsen “the principles of the free market, reduce state intervention and could limit some rights, such as reproductive rights”.
And now, Chile?
With Sunday’s decision (17/12), Pinochet’s constitutional document will remain in force at least until 2026, when the term of current Chilean president Gabriel Boric will end:
“I clarify that, during our mandate, the constitutional process ends. The emergencies are different”, declared the Chilean leader, in a public speech shortly after the poll results.
Unlike the previous year, when the first proposal for a constitutional change in the country had also been rejected, the president did not make any statements other than those made on the decisive night.
Source: www.brasildefato.com.br
