Blow for left in Chile as new laws voted down

Inauguration of Gabriel Boric as President of Chile (Pic: Government of Chile)

The Chilean people have voted to reject a draft of a new constitution, in a vote that ­captures the mood of disaffection with the new left government of president Gabriel Boric.  With almost all of the votes counted, 61.9 percent voted to reject the constitution, with only 38.1 percent voting in favour. 

Chilean news outlets reported a big turnout, with lines of people queuing to vote. The constitution many ordinary people in Chile rejected included plans to set up a national health care system and give Indigenous people greater sovereignty. 

The latest draft also planned to lift the statute of limitations on atrocities committed during the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship and ensure the state has a constitutional duty to fight climate change. 

The prospect of these reforms terrified big business, especially in the mining industry. So they campaigned hard for a rejection of the changes. They were worried that if Indigenous people had greater rights to their land, and if more environmental measures were put in place, their profits could be harmed. 

The referendum defeat will be a massive test for Boric. He came to power in March this year promising to tear up the constitution, which had gone unchanged since the Pinochet years.  This was also a central demand of those that took to the streets as part of the 2019 revolt against inequality and poverty. 

Rewriting the constitution was once overwhelmingly popular among ordinary people, with 80 percent voting to redraft it. But now, six months into Boric’s time in office, the rejection of the new constitution is as much a ­judgement on his government as it is on the contents of the document.

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Prices of everyday items, especially food, have continued to rise. The cost of an average food basket rose by 2.9 percent in July, and by a staggering 20.6 percent in a year. This has led to a sharp rise in poverty.  Yet Boric and his ­government have not offered anything ­substantial. The president’s current approval is just 38 percent. This in part explains why they lost the referendum.  

Boric will now likely write a more right wing and less progressive constitution in the hope it will be accepted.  This shows, in practice, how left-leaning leaders, when they are attacked, choose to accommodate big business and the right once they get into office.

The 2019 revolt showed what was possible in Chile after hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets, built barricades and went on general strike.  But figures such as Boric ­negotiated a ceasefire with right wing forces to end the demonstrations and divert anger into elections. 

What’s needed is a movement on the street and the workplaces that goes beyond parliament and ­constitutions to enact real change.