Why Chileans rejected new constitution proposals

The "no" didn't come as a surprise. Many Chileans had voiced disillusion about the outcome of the constitutional process in the weeks and months before the referendum. On Sunday, a majority of voters rejected a proposal for a new constitution for the second time in 15 months.

2020: Overwhelming 'yes' to a new constitution

In the wake of protests that started in late 2019 and took place for months all over Chile –– at least 30 people died and hundreds were injured in violent riots, looting and arson, which the police cracked down upon heavily  –– the Chilean government decided to hold a national referendum asking citizens if they wanted a new constitution. Roughly 78% voted "yes" in October 2020.

A constituent body, called the Constitutional Convention, was established to draft a new constitution to replace the current charter, which was written in 1980 during the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet, who ruled the South American country from 1973 when he took power in a military coup until he stepped down in 1990, paving the way for democratization. 

The constitution has since been modified several times, but many Chileans criticize the fact that it is still anchored in the era of dictatorship, a time of massive human rights violations.

Though some argue that Chile became one of the region's most stable and prosperous countries under the current constitution, others emphasize economic inequalities were cemented.

On September 4, 2022, Chilean voters rejected the first draft of a new constitution with a majority of 62%, and on Sunday, 56% voted against another new proposal.

Lack of political center in Chile

Mariana Llanos, the co-director of the GIGA Institute of Latin American Studies in Hamburg, told DW that "the electorate acted like the adult in the room," sensing that neither proposal was adequate and that both would have caused damage to Chile's democracy.

Both times, the reasons for the rejection were similar, she explained: "The first proposal was regarded by the normal, centrist electorate [as being] too left-wing, while this proposal went the other way, too much to the right," She and other experts agree that there is currently no liberal centrist party that could realistically govern the country. 

The 2019/2020 protests broke out after a slight rise in public transit fares in the Chilean capital Santiago. But deep discontent over the neo-liberal model that Pinochet established had been simmering for decades. The political momentum from the protests boosted left parties in the country and led to a  win for Gabriel Boric.

'Populist traits'

However, after the first proposal for a new constitution was rejected, the political pendulum swung. The following proposed constitution was even more right-wing than its current iteration, said Llanos.

A first draft, elaborated by experts in the first half of 2023, had been more "balanced," Claudia Heiss, the head of political science at the University of Chile in Santiago, said in November in the Americas Quarterly podcast: "[It] was, of course, not what the left likes, it was also not what the right would prefer, and I think that's how it should be. It was a text with minimal agreement among groups that don't agree," she said.  

But, Heiss said that other issues, such as tax rules and migration that do not belong in a constitution, then found their way into the text. "I think this constitution has a lot of populist traits."

Günther Maihold, the deputy director of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, or SWP, agreed. The Latin America expert told DW that it was not "unusual" for Latin American politicians to interpret a constitution as a Christmas "wish list," to which everybody wants to add something from their own political agenda.

Old constitution set to stay

Analyzing the rejection of the proposals for a new constitution, some experts have pointed out that the electorate doesn't want polarization, despite the continued belief of many Chilean politicians that it is a recipe for success. "Many social scientists have argued that really the polarization is more prevalent among elites than among citizens," said Heiss.

"I think it's a moment of discouragement. It's a sad moment because we have been unable to agree on basic rules that allow every political sector to feel that they have an even field to do regular politics," she told Americas Quarterly after the draft of the second proposal was released.

"There are specific foundational moments where a consensus is possible, and a document appears that is able to bring together all political camps," Maihold said, adding that this was currently not the case among Chile's political class. 

For now, Chileans will have to make do with their old constitution. President Boric made clear before Sunday's referendum that he would not try a third time.

Edited by: A. Thomas