Damn

The new progressive draft for a Chilean constitution was soundly defeated.

This is a depressing development, particularly since the election of the constituent assembly was an overwhelming victory for progressives.

It is clear that some of the opposition to the reform was due to its length and complexity, it had 499 articles, and some of it was because of perceived overreach.

Unfortunately, I do not see the return of a similar opportunity for a very long time:

Chileans have voted comprehensively against a new, progressive constitution that had been drafted to replace the 1980 document written under Gen Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship.

With 96% of the votes counted in Sunday’s plebiscite, the rejection camp had 61.9% support compared with 38.1% for approval amid what appeared to be a heavy turnout with long lines at polling states. Voting was mandatory.

………

“I commit to put my all into building a new constitutional itinerary alongside congress and civil society,” said Boric in a televised address to the nation, confirming that he would meet with the heads of political parties and both chambers of congresson Monday morning.

The 1980 document drawn up under Pinochet will now remain in force and Chile’s future looks decidedly uncertain.

In 2020, an initial plebiscite saw nearly 80% of voters opt to draft a new constitution, but after an arduous year of negotiations, people appear to have expressed their dissatisfaction with the end product.

………

The proposed constitution included a long list of social rights and guarantees that had appeared to respond to the demands of that vast social movement.

It enshrined gender parity across government and other organs of the state – for the first time anywhere in the world – prioritised environmental protection and recognised Chile’s Indigenous peoples for the first time in the country’s history.

They attempted to cover every potential situation and created a document that everyone would find at least thing that they objected to.

To quote (not) Tallyrand, this is worse than crime, it is a mistake.