Reconciliation and Reform; Chile's Long Awaited Plebiscite

On Sunday 25 October, Chile finally voted to change its constitution. The Chilean people have been awaiting this moment for decades, and whether they are conscious of it or not that single moment will be redefining their nation and national identity for years to come. 

In 1973, Augusto Pinochet commanded his junta army to storm the streets of Santiago. In a coupe aided and abetted by the US government, as a part of Operation Condor, the general took control violently. Usurping and brutally murdering the opposition party effectively quelling any sense of dissent among the people. 

Over the coming months, activists and leftists that were even remotely associated with the opposition or any potential resistance movements were locked away and imprisoned. The national stadium became a center for the egregious and murderous displays of right-wing malice that would become synonymous with the name Pinochet. The stadium was a place of joy yet the early days of the dictatorship saw it desecrated by bloodshed. 

A symbol of the duality of their tenuous democracy. 

When the stadium was too full the junta constructed new torture chambers in the north of the nation. They held tens of thousands of prisoners, killing, and discarding the bodies of many of them. An estimated 3,065 people have been confirmed to have died as a result of the dictatorship. While there are more than 40,000 people who are known to have been political prisoners, tortured, and made to disappear. All of them suffering at the hands of a leader poisoned by his own power. To this day thousands of people are still missing, leaving their mothers and families to search for them. 

Pinochet changed Chile forever, and the greatest vestige of his tyrannous rule is the 1980 constitution. Among his first acts after usurping power was to abolish the constitution of 1925. This left him and his supporters with the lofty task of rewriting the constitution, which they did. At the behest of their hostile dictator, the regime and their team of right-wing judges and lawyers produced a document that extended the power of the executive. 

The original council that was charged with designing a new constitution completed their first draft in 1978 but infighting prevented this draft from going anywhere. Finally, Pinochet and his military junta ceased control of the drafting process and produced a final document that enhanced the presidential powers and lengthed the transitionary period to secure himself essentially unlimited power over the government, another 8 years of undemocratic leadership, and eligibility in the next democratic election.  The greatest authority Pinochet granted himself as a part of this new constitution is found in Provision 24. This was the section of the document that gave way to his most vile acts as a dictator, but these expired after the 8 year transition period. 

The permanent articles of this constitution, however, lend themselves to an abuse of presidential power to the detriment of the Chilean people. Article 8 essentially condemns alternate ideologies, allowing for the arrest of individuals who espouse beliefs that aren’t supported by their government. The next few articles secure presidential authority above congress, and thus, above the will of the people. Pinochet worked diligently to actively seek out ways to assert his will, and to allow any possible future president to do the same.

Moreover, Pinochet was fiercely neoliberalist and he folded that ideology into his constitution as well. This left Chile with a system that ultimately values profit over people. With no constitutional way to reform the economic systems which Pinochet redesigned for his own profit, the people are left to deal with the impact of a truly free market where privatisation and inequality run rampant. 

This new constitution was then put to a plebiscite on September 11th. The vote, however, was severely manipulated. When a movement to leave your vote blank to show your discontent began among centrists and leftists alike, Pinochet declared that any blank vote would be a “yes”, and since he destroyed the registration ledger, every Chilean over 18 was expected to vote. Spreading propaganda about the bright future this constitution offered and actively sicking his military and police forces on the opposition. The vote was illegitimate. 

The constitution itself has been denounced by international onlookers and Chileans alike as a fractured document -- its very conception tainted by an era of dictatorial rule and suppression of the people.

But this is how the people lived, under a “president” that was clear on his consideration for the will of the people. His transitionary rule was just as brutal as the years before, but now he pushed through policies that would forever change the economy and life of the people. 

Finally, after 16 long years of uninterrupted power, Pinochet and the junta held their final plebiscite in 1988 aimed primarily at securing more years of power. Activist groups who realized that this was their chance, their opening to finally bring about the return of democracy. The campaigning soon began and the final vote of 56% NO brought an end to the dictatorship. A return to democracy then began, officially ending Pinochet’s cruel reign in 1990. 

Chile’s democracy remains fractured, the wounds of this era are still healing. They are still attempting to exorcise the terror that was visited upon them just 47 years ago. It has been a long and arduous journey to get to the place the nation is in today, and still the remnants of Pinochet’s reign linger on. 

His free-market policies and the privatization of social security continue to widen wealth gaps and impoverish the poorest 90% of Chileans. His campaigns against the opposition have left people missing to this day. His constitution still holds power over the very people he terrorized. 

Of course, various presidents have edited the 1980 constitution but the document remains lacking. Many academics and activists have been coming for the full reconstruction of the constitution for years, but those desires were first realized in 2019. 

Chile is no stranger to protest, especially in its most recent history. The youth have found a voice through protest and the most recent ones have called for a variety of changes. High school students first began protests anew in 2019 over a spike in the price of metro tickets. This was the tipping point that started the nation down this path.

The students were soon joined by thousands of their compatriots as they called out for major economic, political, and constitutional reform. President Sebastián Piñera, whose brother originally constructed the privatized social security system that was a cornerstone of the reforms the youth were calling for, responded with violence initially. He declared a state of emergency and put the military to patrol the streets, the first time any action like this has been taken since Pinochet. 

In the face of mass arrests, hospitalizations, and even murders as a result of the unrest, the protestors were unwavering. They continued to voice their demands, especially as coronavirus and the resulting shutdowns widened the wealth gap in the nation. It all came to a head this past Sunday when Chileans all over the world got their chance to vote. 

Polls closed at 8 pm Sunday night and as the counts came in celebrations broke out as Chileans everywhere got what they have been waiting for. An overwhelming majority voted for a new constitution to be written by a constitutional council. 

This may not bring an end to the socioeconomic tensions, but it’s a start to a journey of healing that should have begun in the 90s. This is the first step to a new Chile, one that is truly ready to crawl out from under Pinochet’s shadow. 

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Hayley is an emerging writer and journalist who works hard to create work that is fiercely feminist, anti racist and anti oppression on a whole. You can check out more of her work and content on her instagram @hayley.headley