Chileans have rejected a new constitution proposed by conservative delegates that would have affected laws in areas including abortion access, the ability to strike and rights for indigenous people. The new charter would have replaced the current one written during the military regime of Gen Augustine Pinochet.
In a referendum on Sunday, the draft was reject by 56% of voters to 44%.
Voters had already rejected a progressive draft last year.
Efforts to replace Chile’s existing constitution, adopted in 1980 under the Pinochet dictatorship, began in 2019 following anti-government demonstrations.
The protesters – many of them left-wing students – called for measures to address inequality and the cost of living crisis, as well as social and political reforms.
After weeks of unrest, the conservative president at the time, Sebastián Piñera, agreed to launch a process to rewrite Chile’s constitution.
The first draft, written by a body of 155 elected members, proposed reforms to Chile’s senate as well as formal recognition of the country’s indigenous groups, but was rejected by 62% of voters in September last year.
Credit: bbc.com
