Attempt to Amend Constitution Enacted During Military Rule... Chile Rejects in Referendum

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Chile's constitutional amendment, which was praised as the "most progressive constitution in the world," failed to pass the national referendum. Since the current constitution was established during the military dictatorship era, there was an attempt to completely overhaul it, but some national division occurred during the three years of discussions, and it appears to have ultimately been rejected.

According to Bloomberg and others on the 4th (local time), the Chilean Electoral Service announced that the results of the constitutional amendment referendum, with 99% of votes counted, showed 38% in favor and 62% against. Accordingly, the amendment, which required a majority of valid votes in favor, was rejected.

The current Chilean constitution was enacted in 1980 during the military regime of Augusto Pinochet (1973?1990). Although it has been amended several times since, its core has been maintained. There had been social demands to amend the constitution several times, but the call for constitutional reform grew decisively starting with protests in October 2019 demanding inequality improvements. In the 2020 referendum asking whether to initiate constitutional reform, 78% overwhelmingly supported drafting a new constitution.

This constitutional amendment was regarded as the most progressive constitution in the world. The amendment begins with the phrase, "Chile is a social and democratic state under the rule of law. Chile is a plurinational, intercultural, regional, and ecological state." It also included provisions to expand indigenous self-determination and mandate gender equality.

The shift in voters' attitudes, who had shown overwhelming support for constitutional reform until 2020, seems to be due to some provisions that entailed rapid changes. Citing critics, the Associated Press reported that the amendment was considered too lengthy, unclear, and some provisions were excessive. In fact, this constitution consists of 11 chapters and 388 articles, making it one of the longest constitutions worldwide in terms of the number of articles.

Foreign media reported that the referendum results reflected recent public opinion polls. As the constitutional amendment discussions revealed national division, voters' attitudes had already shifted months ago, with polls repeatedly showing opposition surpassing support.

The rejection of the amendment is expected to have a negative impact on the governance of President Gabriel Boric, who took office in March. President Boric had strongly pushed for reforms across society starting with constitutional reform, but this result is expected to force him to slow down the pace.

However, foreign media analysis suggests that the effort to pursue constitutional reform will not be completely abandoned. After the results were announced, President Boric expressed his determination for constitutional reform again in a TV speech and emphasized that the legislature will play a key role. Bloomberg reported that on the 5th, the president plans to meet with the heads of both chambers of the Chilean Congress and leaders of other parties to continue discussions on this matter.

Before the referendum, when asked how he would respond if the amendment was rejected, President Boric replied, "We could start a new constitutional process from the beginning."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.