Chileans reject “woke” Constitution

Chileans have rejected a bid to repeal and replace the 1980s Charter with a new “woke” Constitution, dubbed as the most Progressive in the World.

96% of the vote has reportedly been counted and an overwhelming majority (62%) rejected the new “woke” Constitution. The turnout was heavy and Progressive lawmakers, including President Gabriel Boric, were adamant to make history, but they were unaware of what Chileans really wanted.

Chilean President Boric has faced a serious setback with this loss. His political future was tied with the passing of the Constitution which was seen as a referendum on his performance after taking office in March.

His approval rating was going down and with this stunning defeat, Boric will need to do some serious thinking.

The proposed Constitution was written by a convention of equal male and female representatives. The charter’s primary focus was on gender parity and social issues, climate change, and recognizing Chile’s indigenous people for the first time.

Critics of the proposed charter argued that it was a mess as it lacked clarity and was too extreme in many aspects. Voters found the Constitution to be poorly written and even the majority of supporters lost interest in its passing over the way it was written and where it focused.

An overwhelming majority of Chileans from all sectors of society have already agreed that the country’s current Constitution has to change after the 2019 student-led protests. The writers of the charter now need to go back to the drawing board and draft what the majority of Chileans really want, and not something that many assumed would destroy business and livelihoods and looks good on paper.