The approval of a new Chilean Constitution is turning into a stalemate.
Last year, 62 percent of voters rejected the first draft, which was widely supported by President Gabriel Boric’s left-wing administration. But a new, more moderate text is also facing public disapproval, according to the latest polls.
A new poll by Cadem says 46 percent of Chileans would vote against the text currently being drafted by a committee of experts, 10 percentage points higher than in another survey earlier this month.
Meanwhile, 34 percent of those surveyed said they would vote for the proposal, with 20 percent undecided. Still, only 14 percent said they were properly informed about the content of the new text.
The draft is still subject to changes by the Constitutional Council, which will be dominated by the right after a landslide election victory earlier this month. This will be a drastic contrast to the first assembly, which was dominated by the left, leading to a polarized campaign in which right-wing and centrist forces campaigned for rejection.
President Gabriel Boric has said the right should “avoid making the same mistakes we did” and called for a centrist proposal to be drafted.
But the new constitution may now face opposition from both the right and the left. Communist Party members are already discussing whether to campaign for a “no” vote in the exit referendum, and the same could happen on the right if they feel their demands are not met and decide to stick with the current text, much of which has not been changed since it was approved during the 1973-1990 military dictatorship.
The committee of experts is expected to submit its first draft to the Constitutional Council on June 7. At that point, the discussion will move to the latter body, leading to a final draft that all Chileans will vote on in a referendum scheduled for December 17.
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