The “rejection” won in Chile: what will happen to the Constitution of Chile and the Boric government after the overwhelming result
SANTIAGO, Chile.- The “rejection” of the new constitution of Chile achieved a landslide trump with 62% of the votes in the constitutional plebiscite, according to the count of the Electoral Service of Chile (Servel) that already reached 88% of the total votes. In this way, Magna Carta remains in force imposed by the military dictatorship 41 years ago.The new constitutional text emphasized social issues and gender equality, consecrated rights to the 11 original Chilean peoples, prioritized the protection of the environment and introduced the rights to housing, health and free education. With the triumph of the “rejection”Chapter 15 of the current Magna Carta will be applied -which was created from the agreement of November 15, 2019 post social outbreak- and which indicates that the 1980 Constitution will remain in force and there will be no legal or constitutional provision that makes any modification.The followers of the “rejection” celebrated the result in the streetsMARTIN BERNETTI – AFPThe president Gabriel Boric had announced that it would call to start from “zero”, with the election of a new convention and the complete drafting of a new text. According to him, the plebiscite that enabled this first constitutional process, in which 78% of Chileans approved reforming the Magna Carta, ended up definitively burying the Pinochet Constitution.Tonight, in his speech after the results were known, Boric confirmed his intentions: “I promise to do everything on my part to build a new constituent itinerary.”An eventual proposal for a new Constitution must go through Congress, currently tied in political forces, where there is no agreement on the terms of another constitutional process or conditions that were very popular among citizens, such as the inclusion of gender parity and indigenous seats, something that more conservative leaders are not willing to consider .The vote count of the historic referendumJAVIER TORRES – AFPUnder the motto “reject to reform”, supporters of this option committed themselves to advancing in amendments to the current Magna Carta. To do this, they promoted a law in Congress that lower the quorum to be able to modify it.“They took up many issues that the draft constitution reveals, but what they have proposed is like a list of intentions that it is not clear how they are going to articulate it. In addition, in its historical trajectory, the Chilean right has not been available to reform the Constitution,” said Cecilia Osorio, an academic at the Faculty of Government at the University of Chile. Priscila González, a professor at the School of Social Sciences at the State University O’Higgins also evaluated the impact that the result could have on Boric’s government, which militated in favor of “approval”. “It would be a serious blow to President Gabriel Boric and his government. The success or failure of the ‘approval’ in the plebiscite is associated with his image and yes or yes there should be adjustments in his cabinet. The changes would be precipitated in portfolios such as the Ministry of the Interior or Health”, he commented.
The president of Chile, Gabriel Boric, during the national broadcast after the triumph of the “rejection” CapturaEsta noche, Boric announced -as expected in the event of a defeat- that will make changes within your cabinet. “Meeting these challenges will require prompt adjustments in our government teams to face this new period with renewed vigor”.AFP Agency