This Sunday, more than 3,200 polling stations opened their doors in Chile to accommodate the 15.4 million citizens who must decide whether to approve or reject the new proposed Constitution.

The current Magna Carta has been in force since the dictatorship (1973–1990), but has been reformed dozens of times under democratic conditions.

Polling places, which are legally guarded by the military, They will close at 18:00 local time. (2100 GMT) and the result is expected to be known in a couple of hours.

This is the fifth constitutional vote since 2020. and this happens just before Christmas, at the height of Christmas shopping, when many Chileans begin their summer holidays.

Although voting is compulsory and voters risk being fined if they don’t voteExperts predict a lower participation than the 85.7% recorded in the September 2022 plebiscite, when citizens decisively rejected the first Magna Carta proposal.

Proposal without consensus

The text consists of 17 chapters and 216 articles. did not reach a political consensus in the Constitutional Council, a body of 50 councilors elected at the polls who prepared a proposal for a period of six months and in which the far right and traditional right won their majority, winning 22 and 11 seats respectively.

The right argues that the new constitutional proposal This is better than the current Magna Carta. because it “gathers” current citizens’ concerns, such as security or migration, and ensures that its approval ends four years of institutional uncertainty that caused the 2019 social outbreak.

Social democratic rule of law state This is a big change from the current Constitution, although the left is not satisfied with the way one of its historical aspirations has been reflected and argues that there are articles that “empty” the concept and constitute the neoliberal model established in the regime. .

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The text includes articles that have caused great controversy, such as consecration of the “right to life of the unborn” – a rule that the ruling party fears will conflict with the application of the law, which allows abortion on three grounds: the immediate expulsion of illegal migrants or the first home tax exemption, which benefits people with higher incomes.

“This is a very long constitutional proposal, full of program elements that only appeal to one sector of the country, this deepens the neoliberal nature of current policies and demonstrates internal contradictions,” he said. EFE Javier Couso, constitutionalist at the University of Diego Portales (Chile) and the University of Utrecht (the Netherlands).

If approved, explained EFE Claudia Heiss, director of the political science program at the University of Chile: “This will be the second longest constitution in Latin America.”

“This is because norms were enshrined in the constitution that Today they are in organic laws. “This is a very programmatic text,” he added.

Although experts say the scenario is more open-ended than it seems, recent research published more than two weeks ago suggested that Citizens will vote against the text.

It is unknown how much this will affect the option defended by the left. reject an offer, a corruption case that has affected one of the parties in the ruling coalition and which has gained momentum in recent days with the arrest of two people.

If it is finally rejected, the current Constitution will remain in force and Constitutional debate will be closed at least for this period. because the government has already stated that it will not facilitate a third attempt.

(according to information from EFE)