Chileans elect independents to rewrite constitution
May 17, 2021
Voters deciding on who will draft Chile's new constitution have widely rejected the country's ruling coalition in favor of independent and leftist candidates. A new constitution was a key demand of the 2019 protests.
Supporters of Chile's left-wing parties celebrate in SantiagoImage: Marcelo Hernandez/Getty Images
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Chile's ruling center-right coalition has failed to secure control of the body that will rewrite the country's constitution, according to early results of a vote that has been called the most important in Chile since the fall of its military dictatorship in 1990.
On Saturday and Sunday, Chileans cast ballots to elect 155 delegates who will be tasked with drafting the new constitution. The current Pinochet-era charter is widely blamed for social inequality, which sparked massive protests in 2019.
With more than 90% of ballots counted, projections show that Chilean President Sebastian Pinera's coalition, Chile Vamos, has secured just 21% of the votes, according to the electoral authority Servel.
Pinera's coalition was aiming to win at least a third of the seats in the 155-member body, as any proposal to be included in the new constitution will need two-thirds approval.
Independent candidates running on a variety of campaign promises and programs are expected to take more than 40% of the seats. Candidates aligned with left-wing parties received a third of the total vote.
What do the results mean for Chile?
The projected victory of independent and left-wing delegates has been seen as a rejection of Chile's ruling right and of traditional political parties.
President Pinera said the results were a sign that his coalition is not "attuned to the demands and aspirations of citizens."
"We are being challenged by new expressions and new leadership," he said.
Parties on Chile's political right defend decades of free-market economics and private property rights anchored in the existing constitution.
Leftist parties, however, want privatized resources to be returned to state control and more public spending on education, health, pensions and social welfare. A new constitution could also overturn the privatization of water, an issue that has become increasingly pressing in a country facing water scarcity.
Chile's deadly protests — in pictures
Anti-government protests, that have seen several deaths, are now entering a third week, with little sign of easing up. Civilians clashed with police, looted stores and endured an earthquake at the close of a huge rally.
Image: Reuters/J. Silva
Violent reaction
Protesters seek cover from riot police wielding a baton. The latest protest followed a short break in the wave of demonstrations in which several people have died, forcing the cancellation of two upcoming international summits.
Image: Reuters/J. Silva
Third week of protests
In this image, a man is dressed as the the movie character "The Joker" while brandishing a Mapuche indigenous flag. Many Chileans were on a long holiday weekend and the latest protest was relatively small compared to previous efforts.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/E. Felix
Women join forces for peaceful march
Dressed in black, marching silently and raising one fist, around a thousand women have demanded justice for those killed during the civil unrest in Chile. Their march started off a day of demonstrations on a long weekend in the Latin American country, expanding later as tens of thousands answered social media calls to match previous protests that attracted more than a million people.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Agencia Uno
A national protest
The sight of soldiers on the streets is unsettling for many citizens of a country still haunted by memories of military rule under dictator Augusto Pinochet. Armored personnel carriers drove slowly through the streets deploying heavily-armed troops as violence worsened in the capital, Santiago, and across the country. Here, one demonstrator waves a Chilean flag as the troops spread out.
Image: Reuters/I. Alvarado
Hundreds of arrests
Although Chile is one of South America's wealthiest economies, resentment has been rising over increased living costs and the shortcomings of public services. With Santiago engulfed in rioting over several days, security forces and protesters clashed repeatedly.
Image: AFP/M. Bernetti
Widening wealth gap
The protests began over a planned hike in transport fares last week, but have turned into a movement against Chile's economic model of creeping privatization, low wages and growing inequality.
Image: AFP/M. Bernetti
State of emergency
Metro stations, buses and businesses were set ablaze as the protests began to turn violent. Soldiers were deployed on the capital's streets for the first time since the military dictatorship ended in 1990, and a state of emergency was imposed. Curfews were also put in place in several other Chilean cities.
Image: Imago-Images/Aton Chile/S. Cisternas
Cloud of violence
Although President Sebastian Pinera canceled the planned hike in subway fares, the violence has only worsened, leading to nearly a dozen deaths. Tear gas has been used against the protesters, and the army confirmed it had shot people dead while chasing looters. Meanwhile, at least three people died when supermarkets were set on fire.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/E. Felix
Asking for the impossible?
This demonstrator is holding a sign that reads "Let's be realistic, let's ask for the impossible." After meeting with heads of the legislature and judicial system, President Pinera has pledged to seek "solutions" to "reduce excessive inequalities" in the country. Protesters, however, don't appear to placated.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/P. Vera
Military advance
A demonstrator gestures as Chilean soldiers advance carrying their weapons, during a protest against the country's state economic model in Santiago. According to the Gini index, the most widely used international measure of inequality - for which the higher the number, the greater the inequality - Chile ranks as the most unequal country among a group of 30 of the world's wealthiest nations.
Image: Reuters/E. Garrido
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A number of independents emerged during the uprising against Pinera's government in 2019, and include actors, writers, academics and lawyers. Their strong performance caught many observers by surprise.
"The political system is being reconfigured," Mireya Davila from the University of Chile's Institute of Public Affairs told AFP news agency.
"The electoral force of the independents is much greater than previously thought and this confirms that the citizenry is fed up with the traditional parties."
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Why is Chile voting for a new constitution?
A new constitution was a central demand of the 2019 protests, which left several dozen people dead, and shut down the capital, Santiago, for days at a time.
Chile's current constitution was drafted drafted during the 1973 to 1990 dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.
It promotes private enterprise in all sectors of the economy, including education, health and pensions.
This privatization has been blamed for deep social inequality in Chile, and was one of the main drivers of the protest movement.
In October 2020, 80% of Chileans voted in favor of a new constitution to be drafted by a body of elected delegates.
