Gatherings in Santiago, Chile, October 26, 2020. -

Luis Hidalgo / AP / SIPA

The vote in favor of a constitutional change in Chile came out ahead on Sunday.

According to partial results covering two thirds of the polling stations, the favorable votes represent 78.01% of the votes.

Conservative President Sebastian Piñera immediately reacted to the results, calling in a televised address for the “unity” of the country to draft the “new Constitution”.

“Until now, the Constitution has divided us.

From today, we must all collaborate so that the new Constitution is a space of unity, stability and the future ”, declared the Head of State.

Strong participation despite the epidemic

As the vote count continued, thousands of euphoric demonstrators gathered in downtown Santiago, in Plaza Italia, the epicenter of the protest, to celebrate the “victory”.

A year ago to the day, the protest against inequalities had taken a turn when 1.2 million people gathered in this emblematic square, renamed “Place de la dignité”.

Despite the coronavirus pandemic that hit Chile hard (500,000 contaminations, 14,000 deaths), voters turned out en masse, forming long queues at the polls.

The official turnout was not yet known, but Election Authority Director Patricio Santamaria predicted a high figure.

In the morning, Sebastian Piñera called on the Chileans to go to the polls "because every vote counts".

An assembly made up of citizens

Replacing the Constitution inherited from the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990) was one of the demands of the demonstrations launched from October 18, 2019 in order to demand a more just society.

The current fundamental law severely limits the action of the State and promotes private activity in all sectors, including education, health and pensions.

The 14.7 million voters were called to answer two questions: “Do you want a new Constitution?

"And" Which body will have to draft the new Constitution?

According to partial results covering more than half of the polling stations, the option of a “Constituent Convention” made up entirely of citizens wins by 79% of the votes, against 21% for a “Mixed Convention” made up of citizens and parliamentarians.

"Coming out of Pinochet's shadow"

For supporters of the "Apruebo" ("I approve"), mainly in the opposition of the center and the left, a new constitution will remove an essential obstacle to profound social reforms in one of the most unequal countries in America. Latin.

The defenders of the “Rechazo” (“I reject”), who bring together the most conservative parties, considered that it was possible to introduce changes in the fundamental law, which they believed had guaranteed the stability of Chile in recent decades, without need to replace it.

To date, no attempt to replace the Basic Law has been successful.

Everyone today agrees that the Constitution was drafted so that the conservative fringes of society could stay in power, even after the end of the dictatorship.

The objective of "this constitutional process is to emerge from the shadow of the Pinochet dictatorship," Marcelo Mella, a political scientist from the University of Santiago, told AFP.

It is also about "being able to solve by political and peaceful means the problems which have become structural", such as inequality and exclusion.

Until the outbreak of the crisis, Chile was considered one of the most stable countries in Latin America, praised for its macroeconomic performance.

Triggered by an increase in the price of the metro ticket in Santiago, the protest was fueled by the anger of the population denouncing the disconnection of the elites in the face of the difficult daily life of the greatest number and caught the entire political class by surprise.

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