The Reject option had already gained the upper hand in public opinion polls in Chile in recent months. Discover five reasons why voters preferred to say “no” to the text drafted by the Constituent Assembly since July 2021. Now, Chile will begin a new period of dialogue and negotiation, in an attempt to finally get rid of the 1981 Constitution . A more complex and challenging moment begins for the government of Gabriel Boric, which will have to distance itself a little from the group of friends with whom it was elected, dialogue more with the opposition, seek political moderation and try to assume a more statesmanlike posture than revolutionary.
First of all, the disinformation played an important role in this result. The spread of “fake news” was widespread and was felt on Sunday, in the streets of Santiago, when I interviewed voters at polling centers. Among the false arguments that I heard most among voters of the “reject” option were that the borders would be completely open to immigrants, that in the south, indigenous people could freely take land that belonged to large landowners and even that the government would become owner of people’s houses and apartments, to collect rent from them. None of this is in the constitutional text.
Second, there was strong disapproval of the concept of plurinationalism. The voters’ interpretation of the “reject” was that this would divide Chileans, that they would no longer be a single country, and that, as a result, cultural and religious values ​​would be at risk. Plurinationalism was not interpreted as a way of recognizing the existence of native peoples and allowing policies of social, cultural and idiomatic inclusion. And yes, that it would open a gap for territorial claims that would threaten private property and economic benefits that would be exclusive to this population. In a possible rewriting of the Charter, this concept must fall or be much more specific and limited, due to pressure from the voters of the “reject”.
Third, it is important to understand that the Chile today is different from that of the 2019 demonstrations. At that time, what drove people to the streets in a massive way was a demand for a new relationship between the State and society and a questioning of the Chilean economic model. Not that these guidelines are no longer on the table, so much so that the thousands of people who filled downtown Santiago at the end of the “approve” campaign continue to reinforce these demands. But the Chile of 2022 is a country impacted by the pandemic, in a worse economic situation, with high inflation by local standards and greater insecurity and cases of violence. The “reject” voters voted with a more pragmatic view of their day-to-day problems – mainly economic and security – and did not worry too much about the substantive issues that drove the constitutional process from the start.
Another reason is that more people went to the polls. With the obligation to vote and a high fine for those who did not show up, 80% of voters went to the polling centers. In this way, the opinion of huge strongholds was known that had not been manifesting themselves in the last votes, they had preferred to remain oblivious to the situation and were, in the end, against the entire process that began in 2019. , the “reject” option got more votes (7.8 million) than Boric himself (4.6 million), who was the most voted president in the country’s history.
An episode that may seem minor, but which had an impact on many voters, was what happened in ValparaÃso in the last week of the campaign. For an audience of 3,000 supporters of “I approve”, several artists put on shows and performances. One of them, from a group called “Las Indectables” consisted of remove a Chilean flag from the anus of one of the actors, stating that the act symbolized “the abortion of old Chile”. Both organizers of the “approve” campaign, the government and several opposition leaders repudiated the grotesque episode. Among the voters I interviewed on Sunday, however, many cited this episode as one of the reasons they would vote for “reject.”
