A year after the outbreak of a protest of unprecedented magnitude against inequalities, the Chileans are called upon to vote on Sunday, October 25 by referendum on a change of the Constitution, considered by many as a brake on more social justice.
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This demand figured prominently in the demands of the demonstrations that erupted from October 18, 2019 to turn into a wave of social protest unprecedented since the return of democracy in 1990.
For supporters of "
Apruebo
" (I agree), mainly in the left opposition, a new Constitution would remove an essential obstacle to deep social reforms, in one of the most unequal countries in Latin America.
The defenders of the “
Rechazo
” (I reject), who bring together the most conservative parties, believe for their part that it is possible to introduce changes in the fundamental text, which they believe guarantee the stability of Chile in recent decades, without needing to replace it.
"
I don't want my country to fall into the same hands as in Argentina or Venezuela and all those countries that are a disaster,
" said Hernan Allende, a 63-year-old real estate agent.
A text inherited from the Pinochet dictatorship
During the vote, the voters will have to answer two questions: one on the replacement or not of the Constitution and the other, if necessary, on the method to draft it, namely the establishment of a “
Mixed Convention
” made up of equal parts of elected citizens and sitting parliamentarians, or a “
Constituent Convention
” made up entirely of elected citizens.
According to a latest survey from the National Cadem Institute, the "
Apruebo
" would win at 74%.
For his supporters, it would also be a question of getting rid of the last scars of the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990), the fundamental text in force having been approved on September 11, 1980 in a controversial referendum.
Initially scheduled for April 26, the ballot was finally postponed to the end of October due to the epidemic which hit the country of 18 million inhabitants hard, but which is now stabilizing.
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